http://media.kzyx.org/mp3/Ukiah%20City%20Council%20final%2010-16-18.WAV
More than 150 people packed into the civic center in Ukiah last Thursday night to hear from the candidates for Ukiah city council. Five candidates are running for three open seats. The forum focused primatily on three topics: economic development, homelessness and housing. The atmosphere was collegial, the candidates directed their answers to the audience rather than each other and rarely disagreed on policy issues, at times it was uncertain where candidates stood on the political spectrum.
Homelessness was a major topic. The recommendations of homeless consultant Dr Robert Marbut were brought up several times. Marbut promotes a zero tolerance approach to encampment, more data management, and consolidating services to facilitate outreach. Not all the candidates spoke in favor of the Marbut report. but no one spoke against it.
The questions then turned to housing. The vacation rental website, Air BnB, is often sited as a contributor to the housing shortage, in 2017 county supervisors enacted a temporary moratorium on coastal vacation rentals. But during the forum all of the candidates spoke in favor of allowing Air BnB’s to continue operating in Ukiah. They also recognized that the lack of housing negatively affects local economic development.
During the amicable forum there was disagreement about one issue. It related to proposition 10, which supports local governments ability to enact rent control. four of the candidates had reservations about the measure. Juan Orozoco was the lone dissenting voice. At the end of the forum, all of the candidates reiterated their willingness to listen to constituents, and to work hard for all the communities in Ukiah.
The full audio for the Ukiah city council candidates forum will be broadcast on KZYX on October 24th at 7pm. it is also available at KZYX.ORG. The last day to register to vote is October 22nd.