We invite you to participate in interviewing the candidates for Santa Cruz City Council.

Join us for a forum showcasing the candidates for Santa Cruz City Council on Thursday, September 15 at the University Inn & Conference Center, 611 Ocean Street at 7:00 p.m. Candidates vying for three open seats are Parks and Recreation Commissioner Hilary Bryant, community volunteer Gus Ceballos, Planning Commissioner David Foster, insurance executive Kevin Moon, community volunteer Steve Pleich, retired firefighter Ron Pomerantz, Councilwoman Lynn Robinson and Transportation and Public Works Commissioner David Terrazas.

Santa Cruz business organizations including the Chamber, the Downtown Association, and the Convention and Visitors Council invite you to attend and participate in a forum of the candidates for Santa Cruz City Council on September 15, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the University Inn. This forum is open to the public and time will be allotted for some questions from the floor.  This is a free event.

The candidates will be asked questions pertaining to business and community issues. The audience will be invited to submit questions for the candidates.

The candidates are also be invited to respond to written questions. Their answers will be made available to you. Some of the questions submitted for written response are provided below.

Please join us in demonstrating the importance of these issues by attending the Candidates Forum:

When:  Wednesday, September 15, 7:00 p.m.
Where: University Inn and Conference Center
             611 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz
Cost:   Admission is free

Public Safety & Behavior in Commercial Areas
There is broad consensus in the community that public safety and commercial-area behavior are critical issues. We would like your opinion about measures to make improvements in these areas.
 
1.Do you support the hiring of eight new police officers authorized by the council in May 2010?
2.Do you support the increased police presence in downtown and other commercial areas promised as part of this additional hiring?
3.Do you support the "no camping" ordinance and other ordinances passed to limit behaviors that are incompatible with commercial activities in business areas?
4.Do you support the police department's engagement with anti-gang units of the federal government including the FBI, ATF, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement?
5.Do you support the actions of council and law enforcement that have resulted in misdemeanor citations for repeated violations of downtown 'behavior' ordinances  and injunctions against habitual offenders of downtown 'behavior' ordinances banning for downtown?

City Finance and Management In preparing the City budget for 2010-2011 the finance department projected total negative fund balance (accumulated deficits) of $54 million dollars over the next five years at 2009-2010 wage levels and current best-estimate income projections. While some of these numbers have changed a little since this projection, the overall reality has not: without changes in operating expenditures the city's general fund would be in deficit in an amount equal to more than 70% of the 2010-2011 general fund expenditures.
 
1.Do you support the Utility Tax fee increase proposed by Council for the fall election?
2.Do you support the creation of a "two-tiered" pension plan reducing benefits to new employees?
3.What other pension reforms would you support?
4.Would you support the privatization or contracting out of some city services, if proposed, as a measure to reduce costs?
 
Economic Development
Improving the economic vitality of our community will reduce social costs, increase the tax base, and increase the quality of life of people who live and work here. We would like to know what you would do to improve our economic vitality.
 
1.The City of Santa Cruz is perceived by some business people, both in Santa Cruz and elsewhere, as being anti business. What will you do to change this perception?
2.Will you strongly encourage our local member of the Coastal Commission, County Supervisor Mark Stone, to actively support approval of the LaBahia Hotel project prior to the Coastal Commission hearing on the project to be held in October?
3.If requested by the Economic Development and Redevelopment Agency, would you support the allocation of funds to recruit new regional and national retail businesses to locate downtown Santa Cruz?
4.Current independent studies of Convention and Visitors Council (CVC) marketing effectiveness demonstrate that each dollar spent by the CVC returns $9 to the City. Will you continue to support funding to the Convention and Visitors Council by the city at current levels notwithstanding the adoption the Tourism Marketing District (TMD) which will generate more than $1MM of funding directly to the CVC through a new assessment on lodging customers?
 
Other Important Issues

Candidate Qualifications:
  1.What in your background qualifies you to:
       a.  Work on a large and complex budget, especially in times of 
             significant financial stress?
       b.  Negotiate employment contracts in a time in which downsizing is
             occurring?
       c.  Make smart decisions about programs and services that must be 
             reduced or restructured?
       d. Identify and follow-through with a limited number of priorities in the
             face of broad demands?
 
Water
Our community leads the state in water conservation efforts. UCSC continues to receive awards for its water management. But we are faced with dire economic and social consequences when the next major drought strikes - as it inevitably will. We are interested in what you believe solutions to this problem are.
 
1. Do you accept as accurate the analysis done by the City Water Department that there is sufficient water to meet both existing requirements and all projected growth in the area served by the department the over the next 25 years (including projected university growth) EXCEPT in the case of prolonged drought AND that in prolonged drought there is insufficient water to avoid serious economic consequences to the city, the community, and local businesses with or without university growth?
2. Do you support the development of a desalination system as proposed by the City Water Department and Soquel Creek Water District?

City/UCSC relations
For at least two decades the City, the County, the University, and neighborhood groups have engaged in battles and brinksmanship over critical issues of transportation, water, housing, and the allocation of costs of an array of other services and costs. In 2008 principals from these organizations began a process the resulting in settling lawsuits and creating specific agreements and principles to guide future relations.
 
1.Do you support implementation of the agreement between UCSC, the City of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County and others settling lawsuits and disputes related to housing, transportation, water and other areas of shared interest?

Transportation
One of the core economic constraints for the City is transportation. The City Council's direction to its representative on the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission significantly affect funding and project selection for our transportation program. The City also provides much of the parking in commercial areas and uses its funds to support a variety of street and other transportation projects.
 
1.Do you support the proposed improvements at the intersection of California Highways 1 & 9 including widening of the Highway 1 bridge over the San Lorenzo River?
2.Many business and property owners in the downtown area believe that the cost and inconvenience of parking the downtown area are driving away customers. Do you agree?
3.Do you support the development of new parking to serve the southern portion of the downtown area?
4.Do you support the acquisition by the Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission of the Union Pacific Railroad line for use as a freight and tourism and/or commuter passenger train route?
5.Do you accept as accurate the analyses that conclude that traffic congestion on highway one has significant negative economic impacts on the local economy?

This forum is a joint venture of the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Council, and Downtown Association