It's the Economy, Candidates

The three candidates for Walnut Creek City Council revealed some fundamental philosophical differences--as well as some areas of agreement--as they faced off on business and economic issues.

The occasion was a candidate forum Friday hosted by the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce.

The candidates, Kristina Lawson, Cindy Silva, and Justin Wedel, were asked a series of questions, some prepared ahead of time by the chamber, and some posed by members in the audience. 

Lawson is an attorney and planning commissioner. Silva is mayor pro tem, running for her second term on the city council, and Wedel runs his own IT business.

Here are some highlights of the discussion, with the topics raised and the candidates responses, either in their own words or summarized. Note: In each section, the candidates are listed in the order they responded.

The Vision Thing: Is Walnut Creek going in the right direction?

Silva: "We have been going in the right direction for a number of years." While Silva says that, financially, the city has its challenges, "we are stable and will continue to be stable." Silva cited the new library as a project that will help the city's long-term fiscal health.

Wedel: "I think we do some things very well, but I do think we need to change the way we've been doing things. [The city's current budget crisis] has been caused partially because of the spending spree our council has been on for the last 10 years."

Lawson: "Walnut Creek has a long history of visionary forward thinking. And we in the community have been moving in the right direction." She adds that the city will need a comprehensive economic development program as competition grows for business, especially amongst municipalities.

The city's management during the economic downtown: Good, bad?

Lawson: She mentioned ways that the city has adapted to state and national economic conditions, such as proposed changes to laws regarding inclusionary housing in new residential developments. Such changes could give developers "the relief they need to move forward."

Wedel: Once again, Wedel mentioned the "spending spree" the city has been on that has "backed us into the position we're in today." He said: "We need to get our own house in order."

Silva: She reminded chamber members of how the city, with the help of a grass-roots organization of residents, fought back efforts by an outside developer to block, through a lawsuit and an election measure, the construction of Neiman Marcus in downtown Walnut Creek. "It was a project that would bring jobs, and sales tax revenues." She added that the city or the council "did not cause the economic downturn."

The city's financial stability

Silva: With 70 percent of city expenses going to salaries and benefits, the city and council recognized it had "structural deficiencies" back in 2008.  "We knew we had to begin a process of making structural changes," and that included working with employees on freezing salaries and asking them to begin contributing to their medical and retirement benefits.

Lawson: "The city is in great shape financially compared to other cities. We faced a massive decline in sales and property taxes.  During the recent budget discussions, we put up a budget that is in operating balance, but not in structural balance. We'll need to get the budget in structural balance," she said. 

Wedel: "I'm in agreement that the council had no role in causing the economic downturn, but we can't continue to blame our problems on the global economic crisis." The current "broken" city council should fund essential services before "we fund niceties," he says and adds: "I'm an arts fan, of open space." But, he emphasizes that "we need to have safe protected neighborhoods, and we need to have our roads paved."

Staying competitive

Wedel: "We have a history reinventing ourselves and pulling in businesses. We need to focus on building our brand, and to keep bringing in new and exciting businesses into WC."  He said Walnut Creek can do an better job of focusing on the medical industry to increase its job base and to make Walnut Creek a centralized location for health care services.

Lawson: She proposes Walnut Creek devise a long-term economic strtregy that includes the Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Business Association "to keep the high level of businesses that we have here."

Silva: She cites changes in zoning and land use policies as one way the city can stay competitive. The city has also focused on redeveloping key areas, such as the Mt. Diablo/Locust Street site specific plan that the City Council just adopted. Other areas of focus could be on making Shadelands "more of a medical park," and she questions whether the North Main Street corridor should continue to be reserved for auto dealerships, given that auto sales are down and the auto industry is changing.

Concerns in California about "out of control" spending on public employee health and retirement benefits

Wedel: "We don't have that problem in Walnut Creek, though we need to correct some imbalances."

Silva: "We don't have unfunded retirement liabilities, but we need to get those costs under control. Our pension costs keep rising more than the consumer price index." She added that for every dollar spent on public safety employees 49 cents goes into the retirement system. For every dollar spent on non-sworn [civilian] city employees, 23 to 24 cents goes to retirement, and that excludes medical costs. Silva said that Walnut Creek has worked with its employees on finding ways to share the burden.

Lawson: "There's no question the pension system throughout the state is unstoppable. We need to work with employees to help solve it. The solution needs to come from a position of trust and collaboration."

Name the city program that is your lowest personal priority. That is, the program you would cut if you could.

None of the candidates wanted to name any program, with Lawson, for example, saying that it doesn't help the debate to consider what she would personally cut if she were "dictator for the day." Wedel agreed with the other candidates that it is not council members' role to cut programs based on personal preferences. But he repeated his call for the need to fund essential services and "to make sure all groups are equally represented at the table" when those discussions take place. Silva said a Blue Ribbon Task Force could help in deciding how city funds are allocated to different programs.

What are examples of the spending spree Wedel mentioned?

Wedel: "I'm not anti-library. I was for a smaller library, a $23 million library, and the community was saying the same thing."

Lawson: "I don't think we've been on a spending spree," she said and cited the library as one of the great resources of the city.

Silva: "We haven't been on a spending spree. We have no debt. With regard to the library project, no $23 million project was ever brought forward. That might have been an idea mentioned in someone's letter to the editor." She said the library came in on time, under budget by $6 million, and private fundraising brought in $5 million.

Any thoughts on the debate over bringing Neiman Marcus to Broadway Plaza and what it said about local control of downtown?

Silva: "As a local community, we need to have local control, not be subject to outside interests." Silva said that when concerns were expressed about the initial plan, the council went back to Broadway Plaza and asked them to fix it, and Broadway Plaza met with more than 2,000 people in the community. "In the end, it was so well supported. … The community rose up and said we want to have a say in our own future. I'm proud to have been a part of that."

Wedel: "We need to have local control. It's despicable that someone was coming in from the outside, telling us what to do with our downtown."

Lawson:  "I'm proud to have been part of the Yes on I campaign."