Four candidates for two seats on the Santa Maria City Council discussed a wide range of topics, including public safety, housing, homelessness and a fallen firefighter’s memorial, during a Friday night forum.
About 100 people attended the event held at First United Methodist Church and organized by the League of Women Voters of Santa Maria.
District 3 incumbent Gloria Soto, seeking her second term, has been challenged by newcomer Steven Funkhouser to represent the southwest areas of the city.
For District 4, Maribel Aguilera-Hernandez, an attorney and Santa Maria planning commissioner, and Carol Karamitsos, an obstetrician-gynecologist and a member of the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District board, will battle for the chance to represent the southeast areas. That race lacks an incumbent because District 4 Councilwoman Etta Waterfield did not seek another term on the panel.
The top voter-getter in each race will win the four-year terms, which begin in December.
Regarding public safety, Aguilera-Hernandez said the Police Department should create a cadet program to help span the three-year gap between Police Explorers and when candidates can enroll in a law enforcement academy. It could help deal with a shortage of officers, she added.
“We need to provide them the technology and the resources that they need so they can continue to do the job that they do to provide public safety locally because that’s how we will attract the businesses, that’s how we will help the businesses grow,” she added.
Karamitsos said community members should support police officers “because it’s really irrational to expect them to be the standard bearers for public safety.”
“I think prevention is key,” she said, adding that police officers also should be expected to respond to incidents within their jurisdiction.
“We should not be expecting them to respond to things that are social or mental health or medical issues,” adding that she believes the city has “a measured and well trained” police force.
Funkhouser said he believes Santa Maria police officers are overworked and undermanned.
“I’m supported by the police officers association, and I think they’re doing a great job with what they have,” Funkhouser said.
He recalled going on a ride-along with police officers as they handled assorted calls and didn’t “go in guns ablazing” or do anything that might prompt critical social media posts.
“It was maintained,” Funkhouser said.
Soto said data indicated that investment in youths and education leads to less crime.
“Adding more police officers on the streets is not going to prevent crime,” Soto said. “Officers arrive after a crime has been committed, after harm has been done. In order for us to keep our community safe, we need to invest in prevention.”
She added that she is “a very proud proponent of more schools and less jails.”
In addition to opening and closing statements, candidates also tackled other topics, including water, small-business support, growth into ag land, and relocation of the Alvin Newton Memorial.
Aguilera-Hernandez said it’s inhumane not to help those most vulnerable and maintained that the city must work with the county to get mental health and other services to those in need. The city also needs to work with the county to decide where to place transitional housing, she said.
“We need to make a decision, and we need to execute because we have the money, the resources. We just need the will to move forward and help the homeless population,” she added.
For families experiencing homelessness, Karamitsos said she supported rent stabilization, tax credits, a housing affordable housing trust fund and other subsidies.
For those dealing with trauma, addiction or mental health, Karamitsos said, transitional housing should be created so people can feel safe, warm and fed before addressing other issues, which will require funding.
“In the end, the community saves money because people are cared for,” she said.
Regarding small-business issues, Funkhouser said he believes small-business owners are underappreciated in Santa Maria.
“We need to make sure that we streamline the ability for permitting and for business licensing and educating people on how to start a business and how to go about the legal red tape to do that,” Funkhouser said. “I think that by itself will make things better, especially for the downtown where we’re missing a lot of these small businesses.”
Small businesses could revitalize the economy, he said, adding that everybody needs to have the ability to start a small business to make their families and community better.
Soto noted she support the eviction moratorium during the public health crisis and called for ensuring small-business owners know about various opportunities available through both the city and nonprofit organizations such as The Fund for Santa Barbara.
“There are things that are currently in place that we can expand on to continue supporting the backbone of our community, which are these small businesses who kept people employed during some of the most challenging times and honestly kept our city afloat,” Soto said.
Several people submitted questions about a city proposal to relocate the Alvin Newton Memorial for the fallen firefighter. The city has entered into an agreement for a mixed-use building at the memorial site on the southeast corner of Broadway and Main Street.
Soto said she wants to make sure the city honors the legacy of firefighters, while Funkhouser said nothing had been finalized about the small monument’s relocation and said discussions should occur with The Vernon Group.
Karamitsos questioned the logic for housing at the busy corner and said the city should honor Newton’s loss of life, while Aguilera-Hernandez noted the loss of the “true public servant” and said it’s important to remember fallen heroes.
To find the voting district for any residence within Santa Maria, go to the city’s interactive map by clicking here.
A video recording of the forum can be found on the YouTube channel for the League of Women Voters Santa Maria Reporting, or by clicking here.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.