City’s first district election draws six council candidates for two new seats
For the first time, Brentwood residents will pick a council member from newly created districts to represent them instead of choosing from a citywide cast of candidates.
But regardless of the districts they hail from, the candidates are all talking about issues that resonate throughout the city: how to retain and attract more businesses, bring in more jobs, provide adequate fire safety and deal with growth.
In District 1, Councilwoman Claudette Staton faces three people who are trying to unseat her — former mayor Brian Swisher and political newcomers Jovita
Mendoza and Faye Maloney.
In District 3, political newcomers Indrani Golden, Susannah Meyer and Olga Vidriales are competing for an open seat.
Staton, a council member since 2016, is a small business owner and nonprofit co-founder. She says she promoted the future Innovation Center@Brentwood to the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and hopes it’ll generate many new jobs. She also supports a business incentive program.
“Since COVID 19 has hurt existing businesses, I would advocate at the state and federal level to continue to provide economic relief, especially to provide small business rent relief,” she said.
Staton also approved increases in impact fees charged to developers for fire services and says she would support merging the cash- strapped East Contra Costa Fire Protection District with the Contra Costa Fire Protection District.
Sw isher was elected mayor in 2002 and served a couple of two-year terms, but did not seek re- election because of family health issues. Now, 49, the father of four and the owner of a cement contracting firm says he is ready to serve again. He points to his experience running a business, negotiating labor contracts and attracting business.
Swisher said he wants to re- examine the city’s zoning with an eye toward include more light industrial areas. “…the more people that work in Brentwood the more it allows businesses to thrive during the day when right now everyone leaves,” he said.
Swisher also says there’s too much red tape for businesses. And although the city has done “a pretty good job” in helping businesses during the pandemic, the shor tage of downtow n parking is problematic.
“If we want downtown to thrive and become the gem that we know it can become, we need a parking garage in an appropriate place with commercial on the ground floor and garage in the back,” Swisher said.
Despite local and nationwide calls to cut the budgets of law enforcement agencies in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis officer, Swisher said “training and education is key over defunding. We still need order and peace in the community.”
On growth, Swisher says stopping it would not solve the housing crisis. “There has to be some growth to a city, but the balance of houses to businesses needs to be on a different ratio than we have experienced in the past,” he said.
Mendoza , a 48- yearold customer analy tics manager, said the council should reflect residents’ rather than special interests’ needs. She has worked on the campaigns to defeat growth expansion measures F and L and the rezoning of golf courses to allow housing.
The city is close to buildout and should stick to its general plan, which has an optimal mix of housing, commercial and parks, she said. “We can no longer allow developers to push rezones,” she said.
“Additionally, we should suspend any additional growth until we stabilize our emergency response times to the three to five minutes stated in the general plan,” she said.
The city needs to attract and encourage businesses that bring livablewage jobs, she said. Mendoza also suggests the city should consider tapping into its 30% funding reserve to help businesses.
“A pandemic is an emergency,” she said. “We need to explore what the biggest needs of business owners is and do our best to help.”
On fire safety, she says Brentwood needs to work with neighboring cities and the county “to find sustainable funds” and include new development in community facilities districts to help pay for service.
Maloney, a police supervisor, also cites fire protection service as a priority and notes that the district needs to work with the state to adjust the property tax allocation set decades ago when it served a smaller population.
Maloney, who was abducted by a parent as a child and lived in several different countries, has also advocated for child abduction victims and is working to bring a youth empowerment group to Brentwood.
Maloney says she supports creating a fifth police beat, which would add five officers.
In her job, she also works with nonprofits and other jurisdictions in Alameda County to help its unhoused population.
In District 3, Meyer, a senior services advocate and aide in Sen. Steve Glazer office, says she wants to correct the disparity in social services funding in East Contra Costa County.
On homelessness, she says Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Roomkey and Homekey projects that offer temporary housing are good first steps but measures to prevent people from landing on the streets need to be a stronger piece of the puzzle, she says.
Meyer says she is not anti-growth but refuses developer campaign contributions and believes the city’s general plan should be followed as closely as possible.
“We know our emergency services are stretched beyond their capacity, so that is an easy roadblock to establish,” she said. “Beyond this issue, though, we need to protect our open space and our agricultural legacy. We need to carefully, lineby- line, understand EIR reports, and know our responsibility when it comes to school student-body density and congestion on our roadways.”
As for business, Meyer says the city should take more of a marketing approach to supporting small businesses at risk of closure. Agritourism also should be a priority she said, noting she supports a regional wine alignment.
Golden said she supports protecting agricultural land through the 11,000- acre Brentwood Agricultural Core. She would also continue the city’s Small Business Assistance program for those struggling from the pandemic, waive late fees for business licenses, and consider a grant program.
To attract new businesses, she says the city must streamline the permitting process, encourage home-based businesses and market the Innovation Center@Brentwood. Extending the Highway 4 bypass to four lanes at Balfour Road and building Route 239 to Tracy would also help move goods more quickly. “We must ensure Brentwood is not a cul- de- sac community,” she said.
Although she believes the local fire district should merge with Contra Costa Fire Protection, she says it’s not the council’s place “to direct things or the city’ budget to subsidize services for all who live in the district.”
She also says any new growth should offset its impacts, including paying for “more police, fire and roads, and setting aside land for desired open space, as well as trails.”
G olden says there’s enough affordable housing, with several complexes already approved and 258 multifamily units proposed as part of the Bridle Gate project. “” The Council can approve additional marketrate affordable, multi-family housing along Highway 4 ( bypass/extension) which is where it makes sense.”
District 3 candidate Vidriales is a real estate professional with banking experience, who also ran for council in 2016. She says Brentwood needs “life- cycle housing” with smaller homes and condominiums for people just entering the market. When it comes to new housing, she says Brentwood should adhere to the general plan but “remain open to the changing dynamics of our community’s needs.”
As for the unhoused, Vidriales says the city can no longer ignore the issue and must shift its views.
“T he unhoused have complex issues that need to be addressed,” she said. “We need to look at the ‘ whole person’ and treat individuals holistically.”
Vidriales said she would focus on bringing technical and medical jobs to the city.
She also is in favor of a fifth police beat when “financially possible” and points to the newly established “equity forum” as a way to address any racial injustice issues.
As for fire services, Vidriales said the fire district and city must work with all regional partners.
“Merging with Contra Costa Fire appears to be a very good option,” she said.