by Richard Lieberman
Candidates will compete for four seats on the city council in districts 1,4,5, and 6 for the November 8th election cycle.
Alyona Brody, Liz Campos, Marco Cuevas, and Helen Eloyan, are the candidates in District 1. Incumbent mayor Sophia Rubaclava has declined to run. Candidate Jim Rundle and incumbent Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios will compete in District 4.
Marie Lakin and Bill McReynolds will face off in District 5. Current councilmember Jim Friedman is not running.
In the District 6 race, incumbent Lorrie Brown is challenged by Jim Duran, Danny Carrillo, and Steph Karba.
The Breeze has given a forum for the candidates to answer questions based on reader feedback. We were able to interview 10 of the 12.
Marco Cuevas
Age: 24 Occupation: Assistant Vice President
Education: Bachelor’s degrees in business and economics.
What ideas do you have to address the problem of housing affordability and homeless issues facing Ventura today?
“The same issues I ran on 4 years ago are the same issues today. Seems like they are the same issues today, they seem like the same issues I have seen in my entire life, Homelessness, infrastructure, and the economy. My background is in economics and business. It is a matter of incentive. We have to make sure we have affordable units. We have to work with those people who are building housing in the city. Section 8 and other such programs. We need workforce housing. Teachers as an example, if we could supply teachers with affordable housing in properties the city or school district owns it would be just one example of a step toward affordable housing. With over 70% of the five hundred homeless residents in Ventura unsheltered, we should increase the capacity to shelter these individuals. There is no one blanket solution Looking at the ARCH shelter there are two more floors that can be built out. Using existing buildings before we try and build new buildings would be a start.
What do you intend to do about attracting high paying jobs to the city?
We need infrastructure to attract businesses to Ventura. For example, we need better internet services we need to make our city attractive to have businesses come. We also need to have the highest quality infrastructure. This means having well paved roads, safe walkable sidewalks, and brighter lighting. Many companies are increasing their use of technology, so we need to make sure that we have broadband internet that can support this.
Liz Campos
Age 68Occupation: Retired Teacher
Education: Master’s Degree in English, bachelor’s degree in chemistry with a minor in plant biology.
What ideas do you have to address the problem of housing affordability and homeless issues facing Ventura today? Immediately we need an inclusionary housing ordinance that is truly inclusionary not just use the ambiguous word affordable but require units for all income levels meaning low income, extremely low income, and extremely low income that means not to segregate put them all together and that will help solve part of the problem of homelessness. Put strong restrictions on rent increases even going lower than the state but still making sure property owners make enough to do what they need to do. Change the requirements that allow an owner to come in and buy a big property and say oh it needs major renovations and kick everyone out and also somehow work with people who make a business out of buying a house renting it to someone for 9-12 years and the minute the mortgage is paid off they kick them out and sell, then they buy another house cheap buy it low sell it high. There are lots of people living in boats and cars in Ventura who came through that situation hard working people who cannot find a house now because it is so expensive. There is also a need for immediate help. I know that the school district is working extremely hard to support families that are homeless there is a lot of children who are homeless in Ventura. Our rental costs are increasing and that is why I think we should put a cap on rentals. We need to encourage not discourage the building of ADU’s. We have a broken system, and it needs to be fixed.
What do you intend to do about attracting high paying jobs to the city?
I think that over the last thirty years in government and in the media, there has been so much talk and competition about things like bring Amazon here I do not think that is the way Ventura will grow. Ventura needs to maintain a powerful focus on tourism and prepare for that, however we need to limit short-term vacation rentals, but we have a huge swath of our population unemployed a lot of the unsheltered people have great college educations, but they are not employed. So rather than attracting more businesses where the employees may have to live in Santa Paula and Oxnard and spend their money there, we need to start programs that train the population we have into high end jobs.
Helen Aloyan
Age: 27 Occupation: Environmental/landuse planner
Education: Bachelor’s degree in environmental science and resource management, master’s degree in public policy and administration.
What ideas do you have to address the problem of housing affordability and homeless issues facing Ventura today?
There are a lot of creative entities county wide that can help cut the cost. Also having a one stop shop program so it would be working with Westside community development corporation. Come to us we take care of the management of the whole entire project. Housing and homelessness issues require a collaborative approach to be effective and the following options are a good start:
- Facilitate lower-density housing solutions like accessory dwelling units, that is, that are reduced in size but offer communal living areas.
- Offer a “one-stop-shop “development program for property owners who are interested in developing ADUs in exchange for long term affordability.
- A multi-disciplinary approach to homelessness that incorporates supportive services at each touch point with unsheltered individuals.
- A Tailored approach to meet each unhoused individual’s needs, whether it be mental health services or addiction counseling.
- Transportation options to return individuals home after they are discharged from the county jail or hospital.
What do you intend to do about attracting high paying jobs to the city
I intend to create an incubator zone within District 1 to foster the development of a highly skilled workforce and supply local job opportunities for residents. I believe we can leverage the creative and entrepreneurial nature of our community to create more job opportunities that offer higher pay. For example, the development of a vocational school specializing in healthcare, construction trades, culinary arts, business management, etc. would inherently diversify and create a highly skilled workforce that can directly contribute to our local economy. This setting would be attractive for the development of new local businesses and would give residents a chance to pursue their desired employment opportunities.
Jim Rundle
Age:55 Occupation: Emergency medical technician. Education: Bachelor’s degree in history.
What ideas do you have to address the problems of housing affordability and homeless issues facing Ventura today?
The homeless issue is of great concern and we as the City Council, and me specifically, need to look to having a closer relationship with the organizations who are already addressing this issue such as Ventura Social Services Task Force and Homes for All. I would like to have a close relationship with these organizations and look for ways to continue the work they are already doing as well ask work together to see how we can go forward to address the homeless problem even further and find solutions to their problems, not just band-aids.
What do you intend to do about attracting high paying jobs to the city?
Ventura has a lot of higher paying jobs already. We have many jobs in the government center as well as through our hospitals and health care systems. I do not know that attracting more high-paying jobs is the problem. I would like to focus more on retaining our small businesses and addressing the needs of our local businesses that are already a part of our community. There are many fees that these businesses pay that are pure government overreach and need to be addressed such as the fee charged just to hang a sign up at a place of business. We should be working with these businesses to encourage their growth and opportunity, not making it harder for them to even exist.
The city council first has to look at expanding roads and to be honest get rid of bike lanes. I am not in favor of taking away traffic lanes for bike lanes I am never going to favor that. You do not see thousands of bikers on our roads. To be honest they are not safe riding next to 4-6 10,000-pound vehicles.
Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios
Age:48 Occupation Councilwoman District Director for state lawmaker. Education: Bachelor’s degree in women’s studies with a minor in political science, master’s degree in public administration and enrolled in educational leadership doctoral program.
What ideas do you have to address the problems of housing affordability and homeless issues facing Ventura today?
One of the options we do have is we can purchase land and sell the land for dollars where affordable housing developers can come in and build affordable housing which is something the city has not done. At the end of the day, we have to provide all income levels Its about equity making sure everyone who works here has a place to live. As a whole we can start to look at some of those projects where having a workable relationship with developers is so important. Homeless challenges will not be solved overnight. Strengthening partnerships with public housing agencies, private partners and non-profits can help produce a collaborative solution. Also allowing for denser development in compatible areas for affordable and mixed-income housing developments.
What do you intend to do about attracting high paying jobs to the city?
We need to be responsive to businesses when they want to come to Ventura, the city has to be welcoming. We need to say how can we work together what do we bring to the table see how they will fit in our city. One way of attracting businesses to the city is to be responsive to businesses when they want to come to Ventura. Recently, the council voted to further streamline our building permit review process by cutting down on outside contractors by using three firms rather than a multitude of contractors. This allows for cohesion, efficiency, and improved customer service. The city must continue supporting start-up businesses as well as major corporations by providing resources that help start, retain, or grow businesses in Ventura. Working with the chamber, visitor’s bureau, and other community groups to collaborate on attracting businesses to Ventura is also fundamental.
Marie Lakin District 5
Age: 62 Occupation: Non-Profit president. Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication with an emphasis in public relations.
What ideas do you have to address the problems of housing affordability and homeless issues facing Ventura today?
Much of the housing we are currently building in Ventura is market rate and expensive. We are in need of affordable and workforce housing for the families who work in this community. Ventura should look at an inclusionary housing policy which mandates a portion of every new rental project include affordable units or an in-lieu fee paid to build it elsewhere. The city should prioritize partnering with the county on permanent supportive housing efforts such as building out the floors above the ARCH shelter. Project Room key, which currently houses 198 people in local motels, is set to expire soon. A replacement or extension of this program must happen.
What do you intend to do about attracting high paying jobs to the city?
People and companies can now choose to locate wherever they want. Those with choices want Ventura’s lifestyle. We need to invest in what people already love about this city — the beach, open space, downtown, neighborhood centers and parks. We are not doing enough of that.
New businesses want certainty and timeliness when opening new facilities. Our community development department suffers from staff shortages and tech problems. We need to do better.
Bill McReynolds
Age:51 Occupation: Residential Builder. Education Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.
What ideas do you have to address the problems of housing affordability and homeless issues facing Ventura today?
To ensure the creation of affordable housing, Ventura needs to update its inclusionary (affordable) housing ordinance to include rental units. That update will lead to the creation of low-income housing where the demand exists the most. The council needs to advocate to our state legislators for the creation of a dedicated affordable housing funding source, which we have not had since 2011. The opening of the ARCH emergency shelter in Ventura was a step in addressing homelessness. We need to continue working with our public and private partners to expand the social services offered at the ARCH, while continuing to expand the patrol task force, the frontline police officers that are addressing vagrancy.
What do you intend to do to attract more high-paying jobs to the city?
As we enter a post-COVID world, finding a sense of community in a potential location has become more important to businesses as they look to relocate or start-up. This is one of Ventura’s strengths. Ventura needs to market this strength to the business community. That marketing effort must include the story of Ventura’s most successful start-up Trade Desk. Trade Desk started in Ventura for this reason and has committed to remain in Ventura because of the community here. We need to assist Trade Desk in starting construction on its headquarters in Ventura, as this will add to our community and create an energy that will attract other businesses with high-paying jobs.
Lorrie Brown
Age: 51 Occupation Government service Education: Master’s degree in public policy and administration.
What ideas do you have to address the problems of housing affordability and homeless issues facing Ventura today?
I plan to continue being an unapologetic advocate for affordable housing on the dais, in committee and through policy.
I have already done many things in these three positions as chair of General Plan Advisory Committee, delegate to the Southern California Association of Governments and as former chair of the Housing Opportunities, Proactive Engagement, and Solutions committee. It has been my intent to make sure the opportunity for affordable housing alternatives were seriously considered and discussed while furthering the idea that housing is needed for our residents, our workers, our seniors, and our children. I will continue this fight.
What do you intend to do about attracting high paying jobs to the city?
Ventura is attractive because of all it has to offer. Moving into the future, it would be beneficial to partner with the county for workforce investment initiatives, promote local hiring, support skilled apprenticeships, advocate for healthcare requirements to keep our workers healthy and continue to support our vibrant small business community. Many industries in this county are faltering because skilled employees turn down lucrative job offers after discovering they are unable to find a place they can afford. Continuing the fight for housing affordability for starter families, graduates coming out of college and seniors on a fixed income is integral in sustaining a strong workforce.
Danny Carrillo
Age: 61 Occupation: Regional Director for local union, personnel commissioner for college district. Education: Associate degree in liberal studies, bachelor’s degree in business administration.
What ideas do you have to address the problems of housing affordability and homeless issues facing Ventura today?
We need to make sure the builders are in fact providing new housing that fits in to the affordability range where local workers and residents have an opportunity to live where they work. In lieu fees should not always be accepted as a way out for developers to only build high-end homes here. There are many programs, both in this State and throughout the country, where we do not have to reinvent the wheel to help our homelessness problem. This problem did not happen overnight, and a remedy will not be produced overnight either. We have to look at the three components that exists in addressing this problem. Number one is the law; number two is the mental health of those who choose to remain in the streets and number three is making sure we have enough workers and professionals who deal in case management today and have been.
What do you intend to do about attracting high paying jobs to the city?
There are opportunities to continue teaching a better green environment to not only our students who will be learning these programs but to our communities as well. Continuing to explore uses of solar, wind, the ocean and other technological fields will help attract not only green jobs but higher paying jobs. Working with our local school districts and community and university colleges will help to fill up that pipeline for generations to come.
Jim Duran
Age: 61 Occupation: Pastor, executive director of a nonprofit. Education: Associates degree in biblical studies, bachelor’s degree in ministry, master’s degree in theology
What ideas do you have to address the problems of housing affordability and homeless issues facing Ventura today?
Homelessness comes in all shapes and sizes, and we cannot implement a one size fits all to solve this problem. We have some amazing programs, and I plan to continue to support those programs that are making a difference. We need to deal with the top two reasons for homelessness, mental illness, and drug addiction.
With respect to affordable housing, I will support our inclusionary housing plan. I will also work with my colleagues in developing a plan for workforce housing. I recommend that our state money set aside for homelessness be used for affordable housing. If more affordable housing is not built, our homelessness challenge will only increase.
What do you intend to do about attracting high paying jobs to the city?
In order to attract more higher-paying jobs, we need to attract the companies paying these wages. I am a lifelong resident of Ventura, and I have had the opportunity to manage, own and operate several businesses in our city. I am committed to supporting a strong local economy to ensure we have the money to pay for the things we need.
I will work hard at decreasing obstacles in our current process that keep businesses from opening and prospering. I believe we need to treat every business as a customer and do what we can to help them succeed. Because when businesses prosper, so does our city.
