Sutter supe candidates face off

Flores, Ortega talk issues at candidate forum

The first of two candidate forums hosted by the Yubasutter Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Appeal-democrat took place

Monday night in a relatively packed house at Boyd Hall on the Feather River Academy campus in Yuba City.

With a crowd eager to hear from candidates in the upcoming June 7 direct primary election,

Sutter County District Two Supervisor candidates Dan Flores and Courtney Ortega were the first to take the stage and present their vision for the county.

Before taking questions from moderators Bob Harlan, executive director of the Yubasutter-colusa United Way, and Robert Summa, editor of the Appeal-democrat, each candidate gave an opening statement.

“The reason I’m seeking a third term as your Sutter County Supervisor is I have

roots in this community and I want to see it continue to succeed. I want to share with you some of the good things that have happened in the county over the last few years,” Flores said.

“The county purchased the Kmart complex last year. The current tenants cover a good portion of the expenses of the building and we have developers interested. The value of the property is much higher than the purchase price, making the property a great investment for the county. The current budget is balanced and lower than the prior year.”

Flores, the incumbent for

the District Two seat, also highlighted improvements and new business coming to the district, including a new hotel, restaurants and apartments.

“I want to continue moving Sutter County forward,” Flores said.

Ortega said she is running for supervisor

because of her convictions to make Sutter County a better place.

“We need to hold our elected officials accountable for the service they provide and the tax dollars they consume. Sutter County deserves leaders who are wholeheartedly dedicated

to serving Sutter County,” Ortega said. “We are troubled with an inability to properly address the growing number of homeless and transient people in our community. The county needs to prioritize public safety departments to ensure we are protected from

crime. Our government needs to be ran more efficiently, rather than asking taxpayers for more money. We must be

more transparent, more accessible, and more representative of the

people who live here.”

Ortega said she has a background in community service and has “worked with the most vulnerable populations” through her nonprofit work. She said she also has taught children with “atypical learning abilities.” With a degree in political science, Ortega said she has experience as a staffer and with lobbying for bills in the Oregon Legislature.

After their opening statements, Flores and Ortega answered several questions related to the seat they are both seeking to fill. The following is a summary of their answers.

What is your vision for the future of Sutter County?

Flores said he was “very excited” for the future of the county. In his answer, Flores highlighted the economic growth that has accelerated recently.

“We have Sutter Pointe coming online, which will be a 7,500 acre and 3,500 new homes down in the southside of Sutter County,” Flores said. “We have a new tax agreement that I negotiated with the city of Yuba City for the development … (of) new housing within Sutter County itself. And I can just say, I’m just very optimistic about the overall growth and just excited about what we have coming into the future.”

Ortega said she wanted to get spending under control and increase funds for public safety.

“And possibly change some departments which are unnecessary to nonprofit organizations, so that we can get our spending under control,” Ortega said. “The best way that government can support business is to get out of the way.”

She said the homelessness issue needs to be addressed in order to bring more businesses to the area.

What challenges are preventing progress in Sutter County?

Flores said the old challenge preventing progress in the county is the mindset of some of the people who have lived in the area.

“Our lack of confidence to build further and be strong economically and be leaders within the state, we need to improve upon that,” Flores said.

Ortega said the county should be selling or making revenue off of unused real estate.

“Instead of investing in real estate or capital like new vehicles, which we can lease when we need them, we could be investing in systems that could be saving us money,” Ortega said.

How would you make sure more affordable housing is available in the county?

Flores said Sutter

County has “tackled the issue” through more housing developments, including the Harmony Village project which provides affordable housing.

“We worked closely with the city of Yuba City to provide a new housing project called New Haven, over on Garden Highway,” Flores said. “This has also been a very highly successful project. We will continue to build affordable housing to meet the needs of our citizens as we go forward.”

Ortega said the reason the county needs affordable housing is because “our citizens

cannot afford to live here.” She said there was no reason for the county to raise taxes.

How would you work with other groups, such as the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, to bring economic development to the area?

Ortega said regional economic development groups are important because they help the county develop relationships with other counties.

“However, we need to make sure that we are prioritizing Sutter County over the greater Sacramento area,” Ortega said. “We are not Placer County. We are not Sacramento County.

Our general plan focuses on agriculture and we remember that that is our bread and butter in this community.”

Flores said over the past few years he has served on the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) and has been involved with the Greater Sacramento Economic Council.

“On SACOG especially, basically think of it this way: It’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. We need to be involved in SACOG as much as we can,” Flores said. “It’s a very competitive process that allows us to obtain funding for the roads, for instance, that we built going from Yuba City all the way to the airport, it makes it more accessible.”

What is your stance on growing or selling recreational marijuana in the county?

Flores said even though dispensaries are profitable in Marysville, that doesn’t mean it can work out well in other jurisdictions.

“Right now Sutter County is considering the growth of cannabis and potentially distribution of cannabis for the future. It offsets a lot of the costs in taxes,” Flores said. “So, it’s something to look at but it doesn’t mean that Sutter County is going to accept it. Ultimately, it’s up to the people of Sutter County to decide whether or not cannabis would be something that we would want to consider in the county itself.”

Ortega said she comes from a “pro-marijuana” community in Oregon that she said has been “ruined” by legalization. Ortega blamed accessibility to legal cannabis on increased issues of homelessness, crime and dropout rates among students.

“That is something that for me I would not support any growing or any sales of marijuana in the community,” Ortega said. “I believe it does nothing positive for the community.”

With the purchase of the Kmart building, what are your thoughts on the consolidation of services? Do you approve?

Ortega said she would sell the Kmart building if elected.

“The Kmart building that was purchased in 2017 under the leadership of my opponent, Dan Flores, the county began leasing the Kmart building and this took the building off of generating sales tax and property tax for the community,” Ortega said. “They started renting for $200,000 a year and then three years later bought it for $8 million. So, now, the county has started a homeless parking lot trial in the middle of town with this building.”

Flores said the Kmart building purchased by the county was an “eyesore.”

He said it was a boardedup building for years that was an opportunity for the county.

“One of the priorities to the board was to purchase a building for consolidation. We have 1,000 employees in over 20 locations driving around 2,000,000 vehicle miles a year. Do the math folks. If you take 2,000,000 vehicle miles, the cost of that is really expensive,” Flores said. “So we purchased the building to consolidate the offices and save money, consolidate services, this in the long run we will have. It’s something that takes more time than expected. At the end of the day, it is one of the better investments that the county has made.”

Should another COVID surge or other pandemic occur, what would you do to help protect the health of the residents of Sutter County?

Flores said he would do exactly what the county did during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We address the issues as they come along. … We rolled up our sleeves. We learned the best science we could for all that we did. And then we actually did not do any mandates,” Flores said. “We did make sure the systems were educated and not mandating any of the processes. The biggest thing we did was support the businesses as we came out of COVID and being able to provide them with a leg up so that they can move on and succeed. And right now, they are succeeding.”

Ortega, a vocal opponent of mask and vaccine mandates, said the county could have done better amid mitigation efforts by the state to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

During her answer, Ortega suggested that businesses such as Millenium Fun Center closed down and moved out of the state because of restrictions related to the pandemic.

The owner of the building, John Buckland, said his business never closed. He said the center was shut down for 63 days because of the pandemic, but the tenant of the building who was using that name was struggling before pandemic restrictions were put in place. He said the tenant hadn’t paid their lease for about seven months before leaving.

Buckland said his business is still there and thriving. It includes ax throwing, kart racing and other activities for the family.

Ortega also said residents were “put on house arrest” because of positive COVID tests.

“Ultimately we are afforded rights by the

U.S. Constitution. …

Our county meetings were closed down to the public. They could not go in and address the government with their grievances in person,” Ortega said. “I think all this stuff should have been changed, it should have been different. The people of this county are smart enough and care enough about themselves and other people to keep themselves safe. And if they’re sick, they’re smart enough to stay home. I would give people the right to choose to what level that these mandates that they wanted to follow.”

What resources and solutions do you believe in to help with the homelessness issue?

Ortega said over 1,000 employees work for the county and half work for health and human services.

“How do we not have a solution to this problem? Over 500 people come to work every day in

Sutter County to support our most vulnerable population. The majority of people who are homeless have fallen on hard times or suffer from an addiction or mental illness,” Ortega said. “They are motivated to be rehabilitated with help. This needs to be something that is gone after actively. We need to be involved in outreach in this community to see what each person’s issue is and how we can get each person help and on the road to rehabilitation or in contact with loved ones.”

Flores said coming up with solutions is something the county has worked on “diligently” over the past several years.

“If you look around the whole state and around the whole country, you’ll see that the homeless problem has been growing substantially. We were mandated by the state of California to provide housing,” Flores said. “… We did some housing and we did provide some of those solutions, but until we address behavioral health and until we address the mental illness and drug addictions, this will be a challenge going forward. … We will continue to find solutions to those issues.”

Give your opinion on if the county is overstaffed or understaffed. What changes would you be pushing for if elected?

Flores said the size of the county staff is a “lean staff ” for the population of the county.

“We want to continue to support our staff,” Flores said. “They work very hard in what they do. They are dedicated to their jobs and we want to continue to support them.”

Ortega said since

Flores has been in office, “the county budget has increased by 16 percent, from $255,000,000 to $410,000,000.”

She said the county has not done enough to justify its spending.

“The unrestricted general fund which my opponent is directly responsible for has increased by $20,000,000 since he’s been in office,” Ortega said. “What does the county have to show for that money? We need to be doing better. The overall spending needs to slow down and begin to decrease. We need to be smart about reducing our budget and we need to be thoughtful about how we’re spending it.”

Ortega said she would work to consolidate positions and cut spending.

Sutter County Assessor Todd Retzloff said he took issue with the call for more cuts in county departments.

“When I started, there was 25 employees. I now have 16 full-time employees. How much more would you like me to cut? I can’t do too much more,” Retzloff said.

He also said budget numbers presented by Ortega were misleading. Retzloff said the spendable general fund portion of the budget has actually gone down this year.

“She was wrong about that one,” he said.

In relation to the Kmart purchase and property taxes, Retzloff said he sat on one of the original committees related to the sale.

“The county and the tenants that were still in there were required to pay property tax until it was purchased by the county,” Retzloff said. “Now, the tenants that are still in there have to pay tax. It’s a different kind of tax than property tax. But, when you occupy a county space, you’re still gonna pay the equivalent. And so, that’s not correct.”

How will you help bring unity to the community?

Ortega said Sutter

County is unified and diverse. As examples, she presented the many religions and cultures that thrive in the county.

“I think that this is a wonderful place to live and I think that we are unified. For a community that has so many differences, we are (an) extremely unified community,” Ortega said.

Flores agreed that the community was unified.

“It’s great to live here and be a part of this community,” Flores said. “Be a part of different nonprofit organizations. I’ve been involved with Kiwanis. I’ve been involved with my own church, just being involved with all the variety of organizations and cultural festivals and things that we have here.”

What is your definition of a good supervisor?

Flores said a good supervisor is a person who carefully watches over the budget and who is available to the citizens of the county.

“A good supervisor is one who makes sure that they are dedicated to the growth of the community overall,” Flores said.

“Our role is to serve and protect the people of

Sutter County and to be dedicated to that. I take that job very seriously and

it’s important that we do that.”

Ortega said a good supervisor has the time to dedicate themselves to the community.

“A good supervisor has conviction and ethics to support this community,” Ortega said.

She also said a supervisor should be available to meet with constituents and attend meetings where the public’s voice can be heard.

“The supervisor needs to be responsible for the tax money that they are given,” Ortega said. “They need to be a good steward of finances. And they need to protect the rights of the people who live in the community. That’s the number one purpose of the supervisor.”

What is your feeling about the trucking situation in Sutter County?

Ortega said trucking is one of the area’s largest local industries.

“Since my opponent took office, it’s been very much a good old boy’s club where certain business owners get preferential treatment and others get put through the ringer,” Ortega said. “We need to be working with these business owners and ensuring everyone plays by the same rules. We need to make sure business owners can obtain permits in a reasonable time and foster communication and relationships so they are aware of requirements they need to keep growing their businesses.”

Flores said trucking is a very important industry and one that has been growing in the area.

“It’s really important that we plan where those trucking yards are going to be situated. And they’re going to continue to grow, so we have to plan appropriately for that,” Flores said.

What should be done to get more people involved with decisions made by the county?

Flores said the county needs to continue to hold town hall meetings and keep the community informed through outlets such as the county’s website.

Ortega said more people from diverse backgrounds need to be involved in county decisions.

“We can make sure opportunities for involvement are broadcasted to the public,” she said.

Ortega also said meeting times should be changed so that more of the public can attend.

Closing statement

During their closing statements, Ortega said the county is falling apart financially.

“Even though the county is at a record high total budget and record high general fund budget, our sheriff and fire departments are understaffed and underpaid,” Ortega said. “Roads are not being repaired and beggars and squatters continue to plague our second district businesses. Instead of selling assets and cutting non-essential services, the county is now looking to increase taxes on our already financially burdened citizens. What is going on here?”

She said, overall, the county is not being responsible with its spending.

“I will work tirelessly to put this county back in financial order. I will decrease spending and sell assets so that we won’t need to increase taxes, while keeping the programs we need properly funded,” Ortega said. “I will find creative solutions to our many county problems and work with partners in the community to ensure we are doing a good job by everyone’s standards.”

Flores said decisions supervisors make must be based on the long- and short-term interests of the community.

“Decisions should not be made that only benefit a select few, but everyone. A supervisor should not grandstand or cater to special interest groups or pet projects, but do the right thing, even if it’s not always easy. Knowledge and experience on the ins and outs of the county, its budget and how it operates and is managed, is critical,” Flores said. “Idealistic visions that are not based in fact and reality only cause slowdowns and interfere with getting things done in the county. Wasting time on negativity is counterproductive and I will not waste that time. A purely idealistic person does not make an effective leader. I believe the residents of Sutter County deserve a supervisor who has the experience and ability to see them safely through all the challenges the community faces … and always respond to their needs.”