LAKEPORT, Calif. – A forum held last week spotlighted the three candidates in this fall's race for Lakeport City Council.
Lake County News and the Lake County Chamber of Commerce hosted the forum at Lakeport City Hall on Thursday, Oct. 16.
Candidates Robert Michael Balentine, Stacey Mattina and Mireya Turner answered 11 questions in just under an hour.
The three candidates are running for the two seats that will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot.
The questions asked are listed below.
– Please explain why you have decided to run for Lakeport City Council. If elected, what would be your primary goals as a council member? Why do you believe you are the most qualified candidate?
– What do you believe Lakeport's biggest needs are currently, and how would you plan to address those needs as a member of the Lakeport City Council?
– Would you be in favor of or against the annexation of South Main Street in Lakeport? What do you see as the pros and cons of such an action?
– As a member of the Lakeport City Council, what would be your approach to improving the experience of making residential and commercial property renovations in the city? Based on their experiences, some city residents believe the permitting process is broken, with changes occurring during the process without notification to the applicants, new conditions suddenly being introduced or implementation of certain city ordinance that do not seem appropriate.
– Do you feel the investment in infrastructure for the city's water and sewer departments, which involved a user rate increase, was necessary? Why or why not?
– Do you believe the relationship between the city of Lakeport and the Lake County Board of Supervisors is broken? If no, why? If so, how would you fix it?
– What are your plans to encourage sustainable business development in the city? What should the city be doing to promote job creation?
– How well are the city’s marijuana cultivation rules working? Are there any changes to the rules or the enforcement that you believe are necessary?
– How should the city respond to drought conditions?
– What are your feelings about transparent government, how should the city approach it?
– For several yeast council members and mayors in particular have worked to make the council culture “user friendly” for constituents. How would you further that effort?
See the full video above.
Editor's note: In watching the video, it is necessary to boost volume due to sound issues encountered in the chambers.