San Benito County Supervisor Anthony Botelho announced through the Mission Village Voice — which granted BenitoLink permission to run the announcement — that he will seek re-election to the Board of Supervisors. Below is his announcement:
I am pleased to announce through the Mission Village Voice my intention to seek reÂelection for San Benito County Supervisor for District 2. It has been a privilege to have been able to serve San Benito County as your Supervisor for the past eleven years. During this period of time there have been some very difficult decisions, and I personally have learned a lot along the way.
I hope you agree the future of San Benito County looks bright and that I have earned your support to continue serving as your County Supervisor. Over the past three years and more, we have been able to accomplish a lot. Making tough decisions, the County survived the recession and is in good financial condition today. The unfunded liability has been reduced significantly and is at a very manageable level. The County has put in place a new accounting system that allows the public to follow our budget in a more transparent way than in the past. The New County General Plan has been completed. It has always been my priority to protect and promote our historic and agricultural heritage, and through the newly revised County General Plan, we have established that goal.
Opportunities are now available within the County with the Wine Trail Overlay that will promote agricultural tourism, as well as selected areas for commercial development along some of the main transportation corridors. All this has been accomplished while maintaining our rural character and prime farmland. Public Safety is always a priority for me. I was instrumental in the formation of the working relationship between the County and the Cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista to improve Fire Services.
The County is now in the process of adding a new fire station in North County. We were able to add more firefighters that cover a wider area of response in the County to save lives and property in addition to lowering the cost of fire insurance to many property owners. The County has recently added an additional Sheriff Deputy on patrol, with plans to add another this coming year. The State of California has opened the new Courthouse in downtown Hollister.Working with the Courts, the County is providing necessary security to make sure those who may be utilizing the judicial system have a safe environment in which to conduct their business.
I am most proud of being able to secure funds to help enhance local parks over the years. It is gratifying to come into San Juan Bautista and see many folks using the San Juan Elementary School field playing soccer and other sports. I have been able to secure more County funds to enhance that field, as well as Verutti Park, to assist the volunteers making improvements. This was only made possible with the collaboration of the School District and City of San Juan with the County. The County continues to improve and invest in its parks and is planning a new regional park with a trail system that will ultimately connect Hollister to San Juan.
Going forward, there are continued challenges. The biggest issue I see for our County are the roads. We must work with Caltrans to improve State Highways 101, 25 and 156. Also, as the State had decreased the local share of local road maintenance funding during the recession, the County and Cities need to find a way to catch up with much needed deferred repairs to these valuable public assets. In addition, as a community, we need to do much better dealing with the problem of homelessness. Plans are currently being developed to build a Center and provide the help to get families and individuals that want to get off the street and back into productive lives. Also, with a growing County population, we need to find a way to expand the County library and improve basic County services that need more staffing that had been cut during the recession to improve customer services.
There is much more to do in San Benito County. Over the years, I have done my best every single day to represent District 2 that starts in thee west with the Aromas community through San Juan Bautista and ends in east Hollister. It is a diverse District, and I still have the enthusiasm to represent this area of the County. I hope to have your support in 2016.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me on my cell phone at 831Â-801Â-8246.Supervisor Anthony Botelho San Benito County Supervisor District 2