Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - BrentwoodPress_05.02.08 - Index

MAY 2, 2008 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 13A
Debate from page 1A
cessful the first time and I’ll be successful the second
time.
Question: What needs to be done to protect the
Delta?
Piepho: Unfortunately, the discussions in Sacramento
are completely bypassing Contra Costa
County and what’s important to us: water quality,
water quantity and service delivery to our communities
and its citizens. They are talking behind
closed doors. The governor is ignoring his own
blue ribbon task force commission’s report. They
are making deals on studies that do not have our
interests at heart.
We are extremely vulnerable to a peripheral canal
coming through without our having a single say
in the discussion. There’s nobody up in Sacramento
protecting Contra Costa County’s interests today
on the peripheral canal coming through and taking
our water away and diverting it down to southern
California. And that mouth is big down there. And
we haven’t protected our farmers, we haven’t protected
our water users, we haven’t protected business
in this county on this issue.
Houston: We need more water in California,
and the solution isn’t just to take our water and
send it down south. I support the concept of having
more reservoirs in California. There’s a plan
for a reservoir north of Sacramento. That would
help out our water needs here in northern California
in case of a drought. I support expanding Los
Vaqueros Reservoir. We need to have more water in
California.
But the solution is not to just put a straw in the
Delta and suck it all down south. So I don’t support
what the governor is doing in regards to that.
We have water-quality issues, we have environmental
issues and then having (enough) water for human
consumption if and when we have a drought.
So I’m in favor of having more sources of water
in California. That’s been something that’s been
very difficult to get through the legislature. There
are many in the legislature that do not want any
more water sources in California, which makes it
very difficult. So we will continue to fight in that
regard. But the solution is not to just take what we
have and send it down to southern California.
Question: What’s your top transportation priority?
Houston: Highway 4 is a priority. Vasco Road
– we have talked about much over the last couple
years – that’s a priority. I think we also need to
start long-term looking for a vision for this county
for how we are going to look in the future. I think
we should have BART run down 680 freeway con-
necting up Dublin to Walnut Creek. I think that’s
something that needs to be looked at.
eBART having a loop all the way around East
County so that we have loop system that would run
from Livermore to Tracy to East County. We need
to have a way for people to get around. Those are
long-term visions and things that aren’t going to
happen overnight. In the short term, we need to
make sure Highway 4 is taken care of.
I’m very concerned about the Concord Naval
Weapons property and what that can do to blow
up the transportation in that area. I would have a
different vision for that area than is being contemplated
right now. The county exacerbating it with
thousands and thousands of houses I don’t think is
the right way to go.
Piepho: I’m not sure what thousands of houses
Mr. Houston is referring to. But I don’t think Highway
4 is a priority, I know it’s a priority. I drive these
roads each and every day. Behind the wheel average
time a month is about 60 hours. That’s 60 hours of
working hard to serve the people of Contra Costa
County sitting in the same amount of traffic that
each and every one of you are.
Highway 4 is a top priority. We’re on plan to
be completed by 2015 up to the Senator John A.
Nejedly Bridge in the Antioch-Oakley border, and
I’m thrilled with that.
The Highway 4 Bypass first segment is being
opened up this afternoon, which will connect with
Segment 2. And Segment 3 will be opened up in the
middle of this summer.
I’m proud to be the only candidate with the
support from my colleagues to bring a barrier to
Vasco Road to increase safety. As we work to find
other solutions for Vasco Road, we are still bringing
other barrier projects to Vasco Road – a concrete
barrier.
We need support from our state and federal delegation
to move these projects forward. But we’ve
become a self-help county because nobody is helping
us. We’re having to fund these projects at the
local level through developer fees and impact fees
because we don’t have the leadership that we need
to move these projects forward without. So we are
doing it on our own and we should be very proud
of that. But, by gosh, we could use some help down
here.
Closing Statements
Houston: What you’re going to see out of Guy
Houston as supervisor is a little bit difference in
priorities and style than what we’ve been seeing
from the incumbent. Instead of firing local representatives
in Alamo, Byron, Knightsen and Diablo,
I will be demanding that our county park and road
dollars be spent in those areas.
Instead of violating the voter-approved Urban
Limit Line in Danville and San Ramon, I will
work hard to make county departments more userfriendly,
business-friendly and defending small
businesses like windmill farms. Instead of spending
valuable county time doing silly things like waterski
bans in Discovery Bay, I’ll be voting to fully
fund our sheriff for very important public safety
priorities.
Instead of giving myself a 60-percent pay raise,
giving big raises to department heads, I’ll actually
vote to reduce the county retirement problems that
we have. The incumbent says that the county retirement
debt is problem one, two and three, and then
conceals the truth that they have failed to even ask
the unions to negotiate the issue. I will be up front
with my constituents and tell them about the county’s
problems and will not vote yes for a contract
that does not reduce the long-term obligations.
I am endorsed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger,
county Sheriff Warren Rupf and the entire financial
team at the county. Vote for Guy Houston.
Piepho: I’ll tell you why I’m here – because I
want to work hard for this county. This is where I
was born and raised and where I’ve lived and where
I’m raising my own family. I began my work a little
more than three years ago and I’m proud of the accomplishments
that we’ve made.
But as I said to the assemblyman when he
called to ask me if I was going to run for his job,
I said, “No, I’m not done here yet. There’s still a
lot more work here to do.” I have a young family,
my husband’s a firefighter, and it’s just too much
to commute to Sacramento now. My county’s important
to me; I’m dedicated to the work and the
results we are accomplishing.
This race isn’t about me. This is about four
strikes. Guy Houston went to Washington to get
support to run for Congress – he didn’t get it. He
came back to California to get support to run for
Senate – he didn’t get it. Then he opens up a state
Board of Equalization account – he didn’t run.
This is his fourth choice. Is that the kind of county
supervisor you want?
I’ve made this job my first choice to serve and
to sacrifice in the public’s interest, not my own. I
have a legacy to follow and want to create. I stand
ready and with your continued support to be strong
on the issues, strong about correction, strong about
reform, and making this county strong for all of
our futures. It’s my home. I couldn’t care any more
about it than I do. And I’m very proud to have had
the opportunity to serve you.
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