Supervisor candidates debate water, public safety at forum

VICTORVILLE — A candidate forum held Thursday gave those in attendance a better idea of where candidates stand on important issues facing the High Desert.

Four candidates for San Bernardino County 1st District Supervisor and four candidates for the 36th Assembly District, which represents Hinkley in Sacramento, answered questions about water, public safety, transportation, budget and healthcare.

In the county supervisor race, each candidate is seeking their first election to the seat, although current Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt has been serving in the office since being appointed in January 2007.

Supervisor candidate and Hesperia Councilwoman Rita Vogler confidently proposed a water treatment plant to be built where Highway 395 intersects with the California Aqueduct.

“There’s no such thing as plenty of water in the High Desert,” Vogler said.

On the issue of Public Safety, Mitzelfelt touted his record of increasing funding for youth programs and gang intervention, and promised to continue doing so.

Candidate and Hesperia resident Bob Nelson said the community needs to get more involved and advocated for more volunteer programs to help fight the war on crime.

Vogler said she would fight crime by giving law enforcement everything they need to fight gangs and crime as if it was a war, because she said, that’s exactly what it is.

On transportation, candidate and Barstow attorney Bob Conaway said that corporate welfare needs to be ended. He also said that Mitzelfelt should have recused himself on the vote for the Nisqualli overpass or that his resignation from San Bernardino County Associated Governments would have been even better.

“Conflicts of interest has to stop,”  Conaway said.

Mitzelfelt said he would resecure the $15 million for the Nisqualli project that was taken away by SANBAG and if not, he would be willing to take it up in court. The project would build an Interstate 15 interchange at Nisqualli in Victorville but funding was yanked from the project for work on Interstate 10.

Nelson and Conaway both supported the county implementing mitigation fees that would encourage development to pay their own way.
Candidates for the 36th Assembly District, of which Hinkley is part, included, Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, attorney Steve Fox, Palmdale Councilman Steve Knight and educator Linda K. Jones.

Concerning public safety, Fox proposed making it a felony to belong to a gang, Knight suggested sponsoring a bill that would make it legal to carry a concealed weapon and Ledford proposed heavier enforcement on illegal immigration.

Jones — the only Democratic Assembly candidate at the forum — said that the bottom line is we can’t arrest our way out of the situation with crime.

Regarding the budget deficit, which is now more than $15 million, she said it would be irresponsible for her to say that she wouldn’t raise taxes, while the three Republican candidates have already taken a pledge not to raise taxes.

The Forum was hosted by the Victorville Chamber of Commerce, and although there were definitely differences of opinion, for the most part, candidates stuck to the issues instead of taking aim at each other.