It’s De La Cruz and Cruz again for District 5. But this time
around, it’s former Supervisor Bob Cruz’s wife Marian Cruz running
against the man who four years ago inched out a victory by 10
votes.
It’s De La Cruz and Cruz again for District 5. But this time around, it’s former Supervisor Bob Cruz’s wife Marian Cruz running against the man who four years ago inched out a victory by 10 votes.
Before the June 3 election, the Free Lance sat down with candidates to get their views on major issues for the county and their knowledge as prospective leaders. De La Cruz once again is focused on economic development, and Cruz emphasized wanting to hear the people before making decisions.
De La Cruz: ‘Time
is money’
“I don’t look at it as a reelection … I look at it as the citizens rehiring me,” said incumbent Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz, who’s finishing his first four years in office.
De La Cruz said he feels he has done a lot in the last four years to spur economic development. In today’s economic situation, job creation is an important element, which needs to be addressed.
“One of the things I kept pushing for was economic development in the last four years,” he said. “We brought in Lowe’s.”
He noted how the board allocated $50,000 to hire an executive director for San Benito County Economic Development Corp. That will help hire someone who can go out into the community and start finding new businesses that would want to come here. “Time is money,” he said.
De La Cruz said his district’s main concerns are jobs, crime and housing issues.
“You’ve got to be able to put food on the table for families,” he said.
De La Cruz emphasized a need to cut back on crime in the city. He said to curb gang violence, he would like to create an apprenticeship program that would attract at-risk kids. They would be given the tools to pursue careers in professions such as carpentry and engineering, and once they’re certified, he hopes there will be jobs available for them.
He said he would like to create partnerships with trade unions, developers, school districts and the community for the apprenticeship program. He wants to make sure there would be projects available in the community, especially with the school district, that could create work for the kids to allow them to stay busy.
De La Cruz said when there are bad economic times, the crime element seems to bulge. He is working with the sheriff’s office, probation department, court system and the jail system to provide more funds to put more personnel on the streets.
“The county needs to be friendly to the businesses in this community,” De La Cruz said. “The community has been negative or not open to the business community in the past.”
And overall, De La Cruz said the county needs to show it means business.
De La Cruz said he wants to start moving forward on the general plan – which guides construction. A component of the general plan he wants is incorporating an economic development element into it, he said.
One idea he has for generating more tax dollars would be rezoning the intersection at highways 152 and 156. Gas stations, restaurants or retail businesses could go up on the four corners, so when people come through they will use those amenities, which would create jobs, he said.
There has to be the right amount of growth. “I do believe in a smart growth plan,” De La Cruz said.
De La Cruz said he hasn’t seen the full details of the El Rancho San Benito housing project. There are questions he wants answered before it goes to the next level.
“I don’t have a yes or no,” he said.
Cruz: ‘Let’s talk – I’ll listen’
“My experience working with people is very broad,” challenger Marian Cruz said.
Cruz said the differences are great between her philosophy and her opponent’s.
One person is just one vote on a panel of five, she noted, and to get anything accomplished, supervisors need others on the board who concur.
Cruz believes the community should have full access to what’s going on.
“If you’re going to represent people, (then) the people have to be able to look at the agenda and not guess to what’s going on,” she said.
Cruz said she gets the impression that citizens feel a disconnect with county officials. They believe people run for office and are available to the public and make promises – then once elected, voters don’t see the official too often until it’s reelection time.
The people don’t believe their voices are being heard, she said.
“I’m going to do whatever I can to change that,” Cruz said. “My motto is, ‘Let’s talk – I’ll listen.'”
Cruz said there are many issues that District 5 residents want addressed. Some include the high cost of water and sewage, and public safety, she said.
Cruz noted how most of the industrial businesses are in the city because Hollister has water and sewage capacity. The county doesn’t have the water and sewage capacity, which limits the types of services in the county, she said.
“I haven’t talked to one person who disagrees that expanding of our job base is important,” Cruz said.
She plans to have quarterly neighborhood meetings, she said. She believes that if someone is going to make a decision, that their choice should be based on community input, she said.
If the issue has to do with growth, then the planning commission should make its decision and it should be made without any ties to any particular group, whether it be a developer or Realtor, she said.
“I’m not anti-growth. I’m not anti-developer. I’m not anti-Realtor,” she said.
She made a comparison to the national level, where lobbyists have influence and people who get elected don’t make their own decisions.
She thinks that citizens don’t feel their voices count. “Talk is cheap,” she said.
Cruz noted how the general plan is in the process of being revised, and the level of growth depends on the economy, she said.
“We have to look closely at the general plan (and) figure out what it is (that) five people with community input decide on,” she said.
She said the information in the general plan should guide whoever is elected because it’s the will of the people, and there will be a spur in growth if people choose to build.
Right now, she asked, how many houses would be built with so many currently in default?
“I think everything is going to be determined by how the economy grows and (will be) directed by the input of the people,” Cruz said.
As DMB’s El Rancho San Benito project unfolds, it will determine whether it’s viable for this county, she said.
Cruz said she couldn’t vote on it one way or another without having all the information.
“Nothing stays the same,” Cruz said. “Change occurs, and I think that’s good. I believe District 5 is ready for a change.”
Jaime De La Cruz
Age: 42
Residence: Hollister
Family: Married 19 years, with 3 kids
Political experience: SBC Board of Supervisors (four years)
Occupation: Full-time supervisor
Marian Cruz
Age: 69
Residence: Hollister
Family: Married 50 years, with 3 kids
Political experience: Hollister City Council (two years)
Occupation: Retired educator
