Candidates in the upcoming June primary election mingled with locals Wednesday, March 28 at the second annual San Benito County Association of Realtors Candidate Forum.
“San Benito County has always been a small community, but our voice has carried in strength and volume,” Association President-Elect Tony LoBue said as he opened the event at Paine’s Restaurant in Hollister.
LoBue asked two questions to each group of candidates seeking election, including races for California governor, 12th State Senate district, 30th State Assembly district, San Benito County Supervisor District 3 and 4, San Benito County Superior Court Judge Number Two, San Benito County Sheriff-Coroner, and San Benito County Treasurer-Tax Collector. Topics included housing growth, road maintenance and infrastructure, cannabis, and economic development.
LoBue asked the five 30th State Assembly candidates how they would make sure funds from Senate Bill 1, a gas and vehicle registration tax adopted statewide in 2017, would go toward highway infrastructure and road repairs and not for something like the proposed bullet train. Candidates include current San Benito County Supervisor Robert Rivas, Gilroy City Councilman Peter Leroe-Munoz, Watsonville City Councilwoman Trina Coffman-Gomez, Neil Kitchens, and Bill Lipe.
“The gas tax needs to be repealed,” Kitchens said, referring to SB 1. The bill raised gas taxes and vehicle registration fees in order to generate billions of dollars for road and infrastructure repair over the next decade.
Kitchens claimed the money would not be used for infrastructure.
“When I get up to Sacramento I will rattle their cages and call them out,” Kitchens said. “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that it’s repealed.”
Leroe-Munoz told the audience that SB 1 was not intended to include funding for the proposed high speed rail project.
“If there is any discussion of sending funds to high speed rail that does not specifically address highway improvements or road repair, then certainly that’s something I would very much oppose and be extremely vocal about,” Leroe-Munoz said. “For me, transportation will be one of the top committees that I would be willing to focus on and certainly want to focus on, recognizing how incredibly important that is to this district.”
Candidates running for San Benito County Supervisor District 4 answered questions concerning cannabis and housing. District 4 candidates include incumbent Supervisor Jerry Muenzer, Hollister Councilman Jim Gillio, county resident Elia Salinas, and Hollister School District Trustee and San Benito County Republican Party Vice-Chair Rob Bernosky.
“San Benito County has been experiencing housing growth pressure from Santa Clara County,” LoBue said. “What will you do to make sure that Santa Clara County is doing their part to support us for housing their commuters?”
Bernosky stated that Santa Clara County is not the enemy.
“In fact we rely on them for a great deal of things including the jobs that they provide to most of the people living here in San Benito County,” Bernosky said. “We need to work with them. Their jobs mean our homes.”
Gillio brought up Santa Clara County’s Measure B, which allocated millions of dollars for the construction and improvement of the Highway 101 and 25 interchange just south of Gilroy.
“It’s important that we make sure that Santa Clara County understands that that is a huge priority for us and we don’t want their Measure B money going to the north Bay Area prior to coming to fix that intersection.”
When it came to cannabis, the majority of supervisorial candidates indicated their support of an ordinance to regulate pot operations.
Though in support of a cannabis ordinance, Supervisor Muenzer said he received calls from south county residents opposed to commercial cannabis cultivation.
“This is definitely a NIMBY (not in my backyard) issue,” Muenzer said. “The board of supervisors is trying its best to resolve all the issues when we do have the ordinance in place.”
San Benito County established a cannabis ban last year while supervisors work with staff to establish a regulating ordinance. While the ordinance is expected to go before the board for approval later this year, supervisors placed a cannabis tax measure on the June ballot for voter approval.
Salinas, the self-professed “cannabis candidate,” said the county was behind in the process.
“We are behind the 8-ball here,” Salinas said. “Proposition 64 specifically says those counties that banned marijuana will not receive tax revenue from the state, which would go directly to law enforcement and education.”
Salinas disagreed with placing the tax measure, Measure C, on the ballot without an ordinance.
“I think you need to have an ordinance so people can decide whether or not they’ll vote yes or no on the measure,” she said.
The complete list of candidates who attended the San Benito County Association of Realtors Candidate Forum include the following:
Governor
- Jeff Taylor
12th State Senate district
- Anna Caballero
- Rob Poythress
30th State Assembly district
- Robert Rivas
- Peter Leroe-Munoz
- Trina Coffman-Gomez
- Neil Kitchens
- Bill Lipe
San Benito County Supervisor District 3
- Richard Perez
- Peter Hernandez
- Pat Loe
San Benito County Supervisor District 4
- Jerry Muenzer
- Jim Gillio
- Elia Salinas
- Rob Bernosky
San Benito County Superior Court Judge Number Two
- Robert Foley
- Greg LaForge
San Benito County Sheriff-Coroner
- Darren Thompson
San Benito County Treasurer-Tax Collector
- Melinda Casillas
San Benito County Superintendent of Schools Krystal Lomanto, up for reelection this year, was expected at the forum. She did not attend due to illness.