COAST RECREATION AND PARKS CANDIDATES PARTICIPATE IN Q&A
FORT BRAGG » The League of Women Voters of Mendocino County held a teleconference forum via Zoom Tuesday evening for the five candidates running for a position on the Mendocino Coast Recreation and Parks District.
Moderator Lee Tepper welcomed four of the five candidates to the question-and-answer style forum, which included Keith Stiver, Angela Dominguez, Cutler Crowell and Cynthia Coupe Audo. The fifth candidate was John Huff, who was unable to attend due to a 48-hour paramedic shift that evening, Tepper announced.
Candidates were asked questions aboutwhat they thought was going well with the district, what they thought could be going better, what challenges the COVID-19 pandemic had created and more, including some questions fromthe audience.
Many of the candidates focused onthe closure of the CV Starr Center earlier this year and the fiscal difficulties the district has been embroiled in, in recent years.
“The deficit isn’t something that happened overnight and it’s not something the board can pull them out of overnight,” Stiver said. “That’s a part of the long-term plans. Expansion of services, even in COVID. Restaurants are doing it now, they’re figuring it out. To be able to offer activities with the proper precautions and give people something to do.”
“Without being on the board and seeing the other side of this, it’s impossible to knowwhat’s been tried and what hasn’t worked,” Coupe Audo said. “Services can be provided now, recreation doesn’t stop and it’s not supposed to stop just bc we’re in COVID. We live in such a rich recreation area, and I don’ t mean financially rich, I mean abundant. It doesn’t seem appropriate that we’re near bankruptcy.”
Dominguez suggested the district could get “involved with some non-profit stuff.”
“There’s somany places we can join hands with. There are a lot of things we can do,” she said. “There’s volunteering, donations, getting stuff for the good things we’re doing — I just think there are plenty of things we can do to get out of bankruptcy, we just have to plan and focus.”
Stiver also said he would like to “raise the bar” on leadership in the district. “I think they’ve been focused a lot on the administrative management of the district and some select projects and their debt, which is something the cur-rent board didn’t create — but it’s a burden they have to bear.”
The candidates focused heavily on their opinions about expanding the district’s services to the areas outside of Fort Bragg.
“I think it’s important that we bring services (to the south coast),” said Coupe Audo. “Looking around at the demographics of the people that are visiting, if it’s anything like the north coast, then we’re getting a lot of people out here who really like being outdoors. It’s important to have recreational opportunities available for not only tourists, but the people who live here too. It’s almost like the cobbler’s kids have no shoes.”
Dominguez addressed an attendee’s question about fixing the tennis courts in Gualala. “I think (we can) get those improved and refurbished,” she said. “There are
things we have in Fort Bragg that we can get down to the south coast.
Crowell brought up the point that it would be very hard to do anything outside of the current services the district offers during a recession.
“The problem with addressing those issues is lack of staff and money to pay for staff. Staff would be great for coming up with ideas and hiring people from those areas,” he said. “But with the budget crisis and the recession that we’re starting to get into, it’s going to be really hard to do much of anything.”
Onequestion from thea udience in particular seemed to be aimed at Crowell, when an attendee asked if any of the candidates had any current or former altercations or legal issues with staff or members of the district board. The other three candidates answered no, but Crowell said he had had past issues with staff. He did not answer when asked to elaborate.
More information can be found out about each of the candidates on the county’s elections website at www. mendocinocounty.org/government/assessor- countyclerk-recorder-elections/ current-election-information.
The League of Women Voters will hold another Zoom forum, Tuesday, Oct. 13, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. for their popular “Pros & Cons” on the state ballot measures. League members will present each measure, and there will be time for questions from the audience.
Register to join the meeting by going to League of Women Voters of Mendocino County atmy.lwv.org/california/mendocino-county, and clicking on Calendar.