joel anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAnderson said low-income, high-density projects \u201cmake zero sense\u201d in backcountry. In Sacramento, he said, he worked on bill to lower cost and streamline approval process to build density projects within a half mile of public transportation.<\/p>\n
\u201cSB 35 provided high-density, low-income [housing] near trolley stations,\u201d he said. \u201c[Housing] takes planning and sticking to the plan, but the plan keeps changing [and that] is the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor, who said she does not take campaign contributions from developers, said she supports a \u201chousing first\u201d approach for lack of affordable housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it is important for us to remember that everyone doesn\u2019t make less than $30,000 a year or less than $10,000 a year,\u201d she added. \u201cWe need to make sure we have a plan for the middle class.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she is against development sprawling into the backcountry because \u201cwe need to make sure we\u2019re not the next Paradise, California.\u201d She suggested accessory dwelling units could be a solution to adding housing in East County without taking away open space.<\/p>\n
Sesko said housing problems stem from mandates coming from Sacramento that \u201cmake no sense for those of us that live in the backcountry.\u201d He said he feared the state will remake all neighborhoods to be more dense and decried affordable housing as \u201ca way for people to look to government to solve the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think every taxpayer wants to be paying every nickel and extra dollars to accommodate all the wishes and pleasures of people that need affordable housing,\u201d he said. He suggested less regulations to lower cost of housing.<\/p>\n
All the candidates supported developing around Gillespie Field to spur economic activity in the region.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Homelessness and mental health<\/strong><\/p>\nWhile all the candidates acknowledged a growing homelessness problem in East County, they differed on solutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that we can do quickly is give the sheriff the tools so he can start arresting these people, getting them into housing to get them off our streets, to get them out of our parks,\u201d Sesko said. He suggested public housing can be done easily by building military-like housing with cots and storage.<\/p>\n
Taylor said her experience as a therapist has taught her that \u201ceveryone who is homeless doesn\u2019t have mental health issues,\u201d and stressed that economic issues are a primary factor that impacts mental health and wellness.<\/p>\n
She said she would work to expand programs like vouchers for hotels and motels for the recently homeless and added that \u201chousing in jail should not be tolerated. I disagree with that. People deserve dignity and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vaus said people have a right to clean and safe streets and parks, but at the same time, there is a \u201cmoral obligation\u201d to help people who are struggling. The county increasing short-term housing vouchers and the homeless assistance HART program are \u201cbig steps in right direction but we need a lot more big steps,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Anderson touted a bill he helped work on in the Senate to bring state funding to address homelessness in San Diego County. \u201cIt was a pilot program and the county chose not to use that money,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need that mental health money to triage the homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anderson acknowledged that not all homeless are mentally ill, \u201cbut we\u2019ve all seen people talking to themselves. We know that that\u2019s a big portion.\u201d He said it is important to not \u201cwarehouse these people, but address their issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said there are only 100 beds for mental health patients in a county of 3.5 million people and that he would expand beds by working with Supervisor Nathan Fletcher to fix problem.<\/p>\n
A question on ambulance response times in East County brought a mix of responses. Sesko and Vaus said the county should find funding for more ambulances. Anderson said that more ambulances are only part of the solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can get more money for ambulances, but if we don\u2019t preserve our roads, we\u2019re wasting our time. They go hand in hand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Taylor said the county needs to invest in programs that bring health care to the backcounty.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople shouldn\u2019t have to just go to the hospital by ambulance,\u201d she said. \u201cWe should have opportunities where we\u2019re invested in apprenticeship programs, so when people are interested in going into EMT or other helping professions, we have resources that are there to protect the backcountry and use prevention and early intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jobs and transportation<\/strong><\/p>\nOther questions issues raised at the forum included jobs and the state Route 94\/125 interchange.<\/p>\n
On jobs, Anderson pointed to the 70 acres around Gillespie Field as \u201cripe for good jobs.\u201d Vaus also said infill areas are a good place to look for economic development opportunities.<\/p>\n
Taylor said she would push to bring apprenticeship programs back to schools, ease regulations for entrepreneurs and promote jobs for veterans.<\/p>\n
Sesko said the problem with jobs is lack of work ethic among workers, that he and his friends can\u2019t find people to \u201cactually show up and work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI use GoStaff when I need somebody to come out and help,\u201d he said. \u201cI love those guys because they come out and they\u2019re willing to work for minimum wage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The night\u2019s biggest back and forth came following a question about the 94\/125 interchange. Vaus laid blame to the delayed project on the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are state routes. That should have been in the plan, should have been fought for in Sacramento,\u201d he said, adding that as SANDAG chair, he got the board to prioritize $90 million to fund highway routes in East County, including the 94 and 125. \u201cAnd we\u2019re not done yet,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Anderson countered that it is SANDAG\u2019s fault for taking $120 million in bond money for roads and using it for the trolley system.<\/p>\n
Sesko blamed SANDAG\u2019s bloated overhead. \u201cOne of the ways we can fund some of these roads is do a little investigation as to how come so many people are getting so much money at the top of the food chain out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Taylor stressed urgency to fix the \u201cnightmare\u201d roads in District 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important regarding the discussion about transportation to include the East County now \u2013 not later, now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
All four candidates will be on the ballot for the March 3 primary. The top two candidates with the most votes will compete for the seat in the November election.<\/p>\n
- Comun\u00edquese con el editor Jeff Clemetson en jeff@sdnews.com<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By JEFF CLEMETSON |\u00a0Mission Times Courier On Jan. 29, the Grossmont-Mount Helix Improvement Association (GMIA) held a forum for candidates running for the District 2 County Board of Supervisors seat. The forum, held at Murdock Elementary School in La Mesa, was moderated by the League of Women Voters. \u201cThe role of county supervisor is critical […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":778,"featured_media":231765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11558","_seopress_titles_title":"District 2 County Supervisor candidate forum","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11558,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-231764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-mission-times-courier","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/778"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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