San Juan Bautista
– The City of San Juan Bautista will be holding a candidates’
forum Thursday, a formal opportunity for City Council candidates to
present themselves to the community and answer questions from
voters.
San Juan Bautista – The City of San Juan Bautista will be holding a candidates’ forum Thursday, a formal opportunity for City Council candidates to present themselves to the community and answer questions from voters.
“There are three positions open and five candidates,” City Manager Jan McClintock said. “So voters certainly have a choice this year. It’s always a good idea to pay attention to what’s going on so you know what to do on election day.”
Councilmembers Priscilla Hill and Chuck Geiger are both defending their city council seats this year; Councilman Arturo Medina opted not to run for re-election after serving one term with the city.
Three challengers are also vying for spots on the council this year. Residents Jeff Bagley and Jim Pereya are running in next month’s election, as well as former San Juan city councilman Bob Paradice.
“I think that’s really a good thing,” Geiger said. “The city council should have a variety of people who can offer different strengths to the city.”
The forum will be at 7pm at the Community Center. Candidates will be given five minutes each to state their platform, after which they will field questions from the audience about local issues.
“There are so many issues to consider in this city,” McClintock said. “Everything from the chickens to the water project to the sewer, new development and historical resources.”
City Councilmembers, once elected, are responsible for making decisions that affect residents in a big way – including approving city budgets, developments or new projects and ordinances. The council meets monthly at meetings that can stretch well into the night.
Recently the council has come under fire for a number of controversial decisions. After receiving a $3.8-million grant from the Economic Development Agency to help fund repairs to the city’s outdated water system, San Juan became embroiled in months of unsuccessful negotiations and bad feelings with co-grantee the San Benito County Water District over which portions of the project each agency would control. This led the EDA to suspend the grant until a compromise could be reached, which happened after the San Benito County Grand Jury investigated the matter and issued a report placing blame on both agencies for the communication failure.
Because San Juan is such a small community, officials are hoping residents will make it a point to become informed and participate in elections next month.
“Working with your local city council is where you can have the most effect,” McClintock said.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. She can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 338 or [email protected].
