Voters will be asked to choose between two candidates for the County of San Luis Obispo 3rd District Supervisor seat this November. In the running are incumbent Adam Hill and City of San Luis Obispo Councilman Dan Carpenter.
Below are their answers to questions impacting the area.
What is the most pressing issue facing the county and how would you address it?
Dan Carpenter
Water is the most pressing issue facing the entire county. I would address it in a similar manner that I have in my tenure on the city council. 1) Increase our surface storage by identifying opportunities throughout the county for future dam sites with a focus on retaining our rainwater before it reaches the ocean. Also, advocate for an innovative reclaimed water program like the one we’re implementing in SLO to recharge our groundwater basins. We must have diverse sources of water availability to continue in this prolonged drought.
Adam Hill
Clearly, water is our biggest challenge. We not only have to manage our aquifers in accordance with state legislation, but we need to make recycling and reclamation happen at sewage plants, and in homes and buildings as well. We simply can’t afford to waste anymore. Like everything else, once is not enough.
The homeless population is increasing across the county, what is a practical solution to the problem?
Adam Hill
Housing is the only solution. Everything else is temporary and can even be enabling. The state has allocated some money for this, but we need all our homeless service providers working toward the same goal: acquiring and building more housing units.
Dan Carpenter
First, we have a severe housing shortage in our county. We need to partner with our local builders and nonprofits to construct the type of housing inventory that will be affordable to our lower income and homeless population. Lower the investors’ risk by reducing impact and permitting fees and streamlining the application and entitlement process. We should expedite the construction of the 40 Prado Homeless Shelter and encourage/incentivize our homeless population to utilize services available in our county.
What can we do to counter the economic loss that will result from the closing of Diablo Canyon?
Dan Carpenter
We can start by adopting policies that reduce onerous and obstructive regulations that discourage business growth in our county. The most significant impediment to job growth in our county is the lack of workforce housing. New and relocating businesses will bring quality jobs if we have the housing market needed for their employees. We need to partner with our builder/investor community in helping them reduce the risk in building the type of housing that will attract quality employers.
Adam Hill
Some of endeavors I have been lead on–county partnership with the Economic Vitality Corporation on economic development strategy and partnership with Poly HotHouse–will need to be ramped up. We have helped nurture a growing tech sector here, and we need to help that continue and help new companies innovate here.
What sets you apart from your opponent?
Adam Hill
Quite simply, in my two terms on the Board, I have a record of leadership and accomplishments on jobs, conservation, increased service for mental illness, 50Now for homelessness and much more. Dan in his two terms on the council has done nothing. He’s been a negative force, opposing everything, attacking his colleagues and staff. Flaws and all, I am who I say I am. Dan is a pretender; he is extreme in his right-wing views and tries to hide them, though they inevitably burst out.
Dan Carpenter
What sets me apart from my opponent is my lifetime history of commitment to building a better quality of life for our county residents. My many years of public service are highlighted by treating people with respect and genuinely listening to all residents even those that don’t agree with me. I will bring civility back to the Board, which has been lacking with our current 3rd District Supervisor. People will be treated with dignity and respect when I’m elected.
The Third District includes 61 percent of the City of San Luis Obispo, the communities of Edna Valley and Avila, the City of Pismo Beach and the City of Grover Beach.
