Personal information:
Name: Kenneth Parlet II (aka Kenny Parlet)
Age: 58
Family: I have four children, Ariana, Michael, Aaron, and Jamie. My Mom, Lotte, lives in Scotts Valley. My sister, Linda, and her husband Danny live in Kelseyville with my two nieces, Dannielle and Lindsey, and their two grandchildren.
Career/current job: Owner and manager of Lakeview Supermarket and Deli. Commissioner of the Coastal Mountain Officials Association and a sports official.
Education: Attended elementary school and freshman and sophomore years in the Bay Area. Finished high school at Clear Lake High School in Lakeport. Finished my formal education at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Length of residence in Lake County and your particular city: I have lived in Lakeport since 1970.
Web site or email address where community members can contact you: My email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Questions:
1. Please outline your experience serving the local community. Include all community or volunteer service.
I was a board member and vice president of the Lake County Rodeo Association for 19 years.
I joined the Lakeport Rotary Club in 1977 and have been a member for 35 years. I have served as board member for a number years and as president (1989-1990).
I have been the commissioner of the Coastal Mountain Officials Association for the last 20 years and have served as a sports official for 28 years or so.
I was on the faculty of Mendocino College for over four years as a part-time instructor and taught over 12 semesters here in the county.
I was on the steering comity and on the board of the local economic development group known as Mt. Konocti Facilitation since its inception.
I served two terms on the Sutter Lakeside Wellness Foundation Board.
I was a member of the Clear Lake High School Booster club for over 12 years.
I was on the board and served three terms as president of the Northshore Business Association.
I served over 10 years on the board of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce and served two terms as president.
I was part of the marketing committee of the Lake County Chamber that started the shop-local campaign, known as “Shop, Stay and Play.”
I have been part of the Wine Alliance community fundraiser every year since its inception nearly a decade or so ago.
I worked the last nine years as a committee member of the Stars of Lake County Community Awards Program.
The Lake County Chamber and I started and sponsored a series of seminars for Lake County Businesses called “59 minutes to a Better Business.” I personally prepared and delivered many of these presentations.
2. Why did you decide to run for public office?
As a businessman and a longtime resident of Lakeport, and with my connections with the community at so many levels, I felt that I would be a great candidate to serve as a city councilman
3. What are the important qualities you would bring to public service?
I have excellent leadership skills and have the education and training to serve. My experience as a president and commissioner of four esteemed organizations gives me the tools to lead well in the role of a city councilman. In addition, I feel that I have a unique ability to be innovative, and see the opportunities that others fail to see. Furthermore as a very successful business owner and marketing expert, I have skills that involve every facet of business from energy conservation, to cash flow and inventory management as well as excellent negotiating and people skills.
4. What are the primary functions of a city council member? What are the important skill sets a council member should possess?
A city councilman is entrusted with the responsibility of representing the members of the community, and making decisions regarding the welfare of the city both long- and short-term. The ultimate goal would be to promote the economic viability of the city while making available the most public services at a minimum cost to the businesses and citizens. The partnership between the city, the business community and the citizens should be balanced so that a mutually beneficial co-existence can be sustained over the long-term. Taxes and expenses should be managed so that while services are made available, the cost of living in the community and doing business in the city would be just and affordable to all concerned.
To make the best decisions regarding tough issues takes a great deal of experience. Having led many organizations as the president, I know what it takes to make judicious, effective and sympathetic decisions. As president of the chamber, several hundred business owners expect their leader to represent the decisions that best support economic vitality. As a business owner, my future as a business man requires that I be innovative and agile in response to changing business climates and trends. As a business owner, it is also essential to manage all resources and staff to achieve maximum efficiency and to remain profitable. Managing cash flow in a business and intelligent management of inventories and essential supplies are also essential skills, I possess.
As a club leader in a service organization, diplomacy and discretion is required when dealing with scores of business peers.
As an experienced leader and successful local businessman for over four decades I feel that I am uniquely qualified to bring a large list of essential skills from my many experiences.
5. What is your city’s single greatest challenge? How would you address it?
In the city of Lakeport, doing more with less revenue will be a serious problem for the foreseeable future. The business climate currently is as challenging as it can be. With fewer businesses, and declining tax revenues, the city will be faced with a declining budget, yet expected to still provide a high level of services. While it is difficult enough to maintain the same level of quality services on a fixed budget year to year due to increased costs, it is even more difficult, or rather impossible to maintain a level of quality service with an ever decreasing budget.
I believe that improving the economic climate in the city, thereby increasing sales and tax revenues could help. This is a difficult problem. I have always been a big advocate of shopping local. Perhaps more education, more public outreach, more focus and a better understanding of the benefits might yet yield some benefit to our local business community and eventually to the city’s tax revenues.
6. If you are elected, what will your top issue be? What other issues are of particular interest to you?
It has come to point where everyone in Lake County needs to focus on the health and well being of the Lake. In my opinion, at no time has the lake had as many problems with odors and access as in the last year. I have nearly always spoken of the eutrophic dynamics of the lake, and how a little algae and lake weeds are part of our living ever-changing ecosystem. But now we are seeing businesses suffer greatly with the pervasive algae blooms, explosive growth and choking lake weeds and horrendous smells of some types of lake algae. A united effort must be made to intensify any and all solutions to make striking changes in the appearance, accessibility and reputation of Clear Lake. Due diligence must be given not just to traditional solutions but we all must investigate innovative solutions to our challenges in both the physical and financial realms. We all need to foster a buy-in of individuals, businesses, organizations, the city and county to work together in a concerted effort to rebuild the perception and reputation of our lake.
Though little progress and little success have been made toward the acceptance of a shop local campaign, I still believe we all should work towards a better understanding of what it means to support local businesses at all levels. Few understand the huge benefits that will accrue to all when we start to better dedicate ourselves to a more focused effort to shop with local stores, vendors, suppliers and use more local services.
7. Is there a matter that you’ve seen the council handle that you believe should have been approached differently? If so, how would you have handled it?
In a time of economic difficulties for many, the thought of having one’s water bill double in a few years is not good. Surely some drastic measures need to be taken to insure the quality and cost of our city’s water supply. However, perhaps the solution could have been made more palatable by making smaller increases over a longer period. I am not too sure that this particular council was to blame. Perhaps this was a problem that should have been handled many, many years ago, and was dumped in the lap of the current council.
I believe the best approach would have been to start with a “front page” news media blitz explaining in detail the current crisis and problems, the expected financial implications and especially the punitive fines that would and could be levied. Once the citizens grasp the gravity and serious financial implications, it would then be easier to understand such a sudden and heavy burden that would require a doubling of rates. They might not like the concept but they would at least see a justification for such a serious increase.
8. What ways, if any, would you encourage public and media interaction with you and the city council should you be elected? How would you approach public interaction, especially on controversial issues?
As in the example with the water rate increase, the city council, engineers and the city manager could use the media to foretell any serious crisis that was on the horizon before it really became front page news. When you educate people to the reality of a problem and the future implications many will see the light and respond in a more positive manner. A good public relations campaign involving all branches of the media, that is well designed to educate the public, could go a very long way in softening the blow of an upcoming catastrophe. Partnering with the media is essential, in my opinion, to shape and reframe problems so that the public and the business community can help buy into the possible solutions, thereby helping to eliminate much of the opposition and contempt.
Public input can be a healthy catharsis, although no simple solution may be available. It is often enough to let people vent their frustrations and concerns even when there cannot be any simple solution that will please the majority. When a series of public hearings are held, it is a learning process for both the citizens and the members of the city management team. In the end, at least everyone can say they had an opportunity to participate in the process of local government, whether they were pleased with the outcome or not!
9. When you think of your city in 20 years, what do you hope it will look like? When considering that future vision of your city, what would you want your legacy to be in improving your community?
In 20 years I would like to drive down Main Street with every store front boasting a thriving business with every resort and bed and breakfast full on the weekends and most weekdays. Cars parked everywhere, so that there was hardly a place to park.
The “new” docks all along the lakeshore would be full of boats coming and going, with people both locals and tourists climbing in and out to visit the city’s businesses and restaurants.
The lake would be full of racing jet skis, boats and sail boats all being trailed by a glistening white wake free of algae and lake weeds.
The people of Lake County are still talking about the lake, and the algae and how it used to be, but now they are talking about Clear Lake, the gem of Northern California, where everybody wants to be, and where everybody wants to vacation again! (Even the locals!!)
Financial information: See Form 470 below. Parlet said that to date the only money he has spent is on the mailing fee for the ballot. The amount he has invested is somewhere around $325.
Lakeport City Council Candidates - Kenneth Parlet - Form 470