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Carlyn Obringer
City Council
The only candid ate endorsed by the Concord Police Assoc.
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IT’S YOUR PAPER
CNWS, economy and housing drive city council candidates’ campaigns www.concordpioneer.com
PABLO BENAVENTE
PEGGY SPEAR Concord Pioneer
The development of the Concord Naval Weapons Station, affordable housing and economic development all figure prominently with the seven candidates vying for two slots on the Concord City Council. With Edi Birsan the only
EDI BIRSAN
September 23, 2016
GLORIA CASILLAS
incumbent running – Dan Helix opted not to run for reelection – the field is wide open, and the candidates spread across all ages and backgrounds. The Concord Pioneer asked the candidates what they thought were the biggest issues facing the city and what their priorities would be if elected.
HOPE JOHNSON
PABLO BENAVENTE Longtime Concord resident Pablo Benavente can trace his roots to middle school in Concord. He also attended CSU East Bay, studying political science emphasis in pre-law and a minor in music. He worked for Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta at Congressman Sam Farr’s office in Washington, where he focused mainly on
Helix calls for hotline to address rental crisis issues PEGGY SPEAR Concord Pioneer
City Councilman Dan Helix is proposing a Rent Reporting Hotline to help solve the issue of rising rents and the calls for rent control. In an exclusive interview with the Pioneer, he said the hotline will allow residents to tell Concord officials what is really going on in a city that has 9,400 apartment units, most of which would be subject to some type of rent control. Helix, who serves on the Housing and Economic Development Committee, said a hotline would be a way for local government to wrap its hands around the problem. Rising rents and the issue of rent control have rocked the city for months. Several wellattended city meetings, including a standing-room-only City Council forum last month, underscored that the issue of housing has reached crisis proportions in Contra Costa County’s largest city. COUNCIL NEEDS FACTS “After many hours of emotional testimony, it is obvious that we have a rent control issue in Concord. The true nature of that issue is unclear
because we do not actually have the empirical data necessary to make a fair and unbiased recommendation to the entire City Council,” Helix says. “I have a proposal which I believe will cure this defect and give us the data we need to take the next step in this process.” He points out many factors, some obvious, some not so, that led to his proposal. “There is a rental housing crisis in Concord and in the Bay Area, and rental rates are currently high. There is general agreement that the payment of rent is the largest single household expense,” he notes. He also says that there is unsupported testimony that people in the Bay Area are paying 40 percent to 45 percent of their income for housing. “There seems to be no uniformity as to when rental rates are raised, or any standard percentage increase amount. The consensus seems to be that an annual increase is fair,” Helix says. “There is also no uniformity on the amount of rental increases. The range we’ve heard about goes from five percent to 50 percent” He thinks that a fair threshold, consistent with the Consumer Price Index, seems to be
acceptable to most parties. Furthermore, he says the issue of no-notice eviction or eviction without just cause has not been adequately documented. “Also not documented is the charge that some landlords are seeking to eliminate ‘relatively’ low income tenants so they can raise all rents to market,” he says. Helix gives credit to community activist and rent control advocate George Fulmore for pointing out the “major chokepoint for making a fair and unbiased” recommendation to the City Council. “The fact is, no one is tracking information from tenants,” Helix says. “Without a tracking mechanism, how is it possible to get a fix on the problem? How can we know what steps to take to ameliorate the problem in a manner which is fair to all concerned?” He believes local government “absolutely” has a role in addressing the problem. “In order to keep the spotlight of public attention on this issue, I recommend we initiate a Rent Reporting Hotline to track and compile all rental increase data from the landlords and renters
See Hotline, page 8
925.672.0500
HARMESH KUMAR
immigration reform issues. After graduation, he worked as a political organizer in multiple campaigns around the Bay Area. After about a year, he got a job with an organization that represents caregivers across the state. There, he helped with campaigns to elect officials who want to lift working people out of poverty. He also advocated in the Capitol for the passage of SB3 that will increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 and give homecare workers three paid sick days. “I have lived in Concord for most of my life. Concord has given much to me and my family, and I would like to give
EDUARDO MANUEL
back to my community. I believe I have the leadership and discipline necessary to serve the community on the council,” he says. “Currently, there is a lack of diversity on the council. As a member of the millennial and Latino community and a recent first-time home buyer, I understand the issues affecting a large number of underrepresented people of our community.” He says the three main issues facing Concord are making sure the incoming labor force is comprised of Concord residents, ensuring that new housing developments include affordable units and seeing that new development brings the
CARLYN OBRINGER
community together rather than dividing residents. “As the development at the Naval Weapons Station takes form, we must take the opportunity to bring our subdivisions together as one community. A unified Concord, not separated by class distinctions such as race, color, religion or economic status, will be a stronger Concord.” He also wants to focus on making sure that he is a voice for people who have not been heard on the City Council. “As a college-educated millennial, I have a different perspective. The current City Council average age is 64 and the median is 66.”
See Candidates, page 8
Large turnout enjoys ribbon cutting for Concord Pickleball
Sean Liming
Over 200 people were on hand last Saturday for the ribbon-cutting at the 14 new pickleball courts at Willow Pass Park in Concord. City officials and staff celebrated the new courts which were part of court resurfacing at the park and there were demonstrations and mini skills clinics. There are now four tennis and 14 pickleball courts on the site. Rich Lopez (near court) readies to return ball from David Wage (right) and Caden Nemoff. There were so many players on hand to take part in play after the formal ceremony that eventually city staff had to close things down in order to clean up and open the courts for general play.
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