O.C. Supervisor candidates talk issues: shelter, transportation, resumes
Housing in Orange County — the cost of it for some and the lack of it for others — was a key theme of a supervisor debate Thursday in Newport Beach.
Three candidates for the open 3rd District seat — former congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, Irvine Mayor Don Wagner and former Anaheim councilwoman Kris Murray — offered their ideas on how to deal with those problems and a few others, and why they should win the March 12 special election.
They spoke to a crowd of about 100 business and political leaders. Here’s some of what they pitched:
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Why them?
Sanchez: The 20-year former congresswoman framed herself as the candidate with the deepest legislative connections, something that she said will allow her to bring back federal and state funding to Orange County – especially with her fellow Democrats running Sacramento and holding all of the county’s House seats. Sanchez credited herself with funneling federal dollars to numerous county public works projects in the county, coordinating with local officials to complete transportation improvements and a groundwater system.
“The biggest difference in this race is that I know where the money is,” said Sanchez, who is endorsed by the Democratic Party of Orange County.
Wagner: The recently re-elected mayor is running on his track record in Irvine (the county’s safest large city) and the state legislature (where he says he got the most bills passed of any Republican member amid Democratic control). Wagner, who has been endorsed by the Republican Party of Orange County, credited his oversight as key to the revitalization of the Great Park, which now has tentative plans for museums, a botanical garden, and an amphitheater.
“I’ve been privileged to lead the city in what I’ve been calling a renaissance,” Wagner said. “The job of supervisor is more, to my mind, than just grabbing money from Sacramento, from your friends in Washington. It’s working with the locals… It’s how do we do this for the collective benefit of the county.”
Murray: The eight-year former councilwoman highlighted some of her successes in Anaheim, including addressing homelessness (“We’ve helped shelter over 1,000 individuals”) and regional transportation (“I literally refer to ARTIC as my second child”). Known for using tax incentives to lure large developments to her city, Murray said she’ll use public-private partnerships to increase developments on county land to bring new revenue streams and amenities to the county.
Pointing out that county leadership has been too partisan, historically, Murray said: “I’m a lifelong Republican, but I’m not running as a Republican; I’m running to be your supervisor.”
Give them shelter
All three candidates agree on the broad strokes of how to address homelessness: increase housing availability, bolster mental-health and drug-abuse treatment, and work collaboratively across the county. But their track records differ.
Wagner: While the Irvine mayor blamed Sacramento Democrats for the high cost of housing, and for driving homelessness, he opposes state-led efforts to penalize cities for not having enough affordable housing. Wagner noted that Irvine’s homeless population dropped under his leadership. And he deflected criticism that the city hasn’t done its fair share in sheltering the homeless, saying he personally has been negotiating with city leaders and a federal judge to identify a fix.
Murray: Homelessness in Anaheim ballooned under Murray’s tenure, but she also made substantial strides to fight it, working with county leaders to clear the riverbed encampment last year and to open the county’s first transitional homeless shelter. She blamed the problem partially on burdensome state regulations that she says make it difficult for cities to encourage affordable housing. Murray also touted her work on a new state law establishing a housing finance trust in Orange County, which she said will “help cities close the funding gap to build housing for low-income and homeless in their communities.”
Sanchez: The Orange resident said she’s spearheading a business enterprise (nearing the pilot-project phase) to expand housing stock by building small houses that people can place in their backyard – a setup allowed under a 2017 California law in an effort to improve housing stock.
Getting around
Murray: The Anaheim Hills resident called for a combination of building rail lines and expanding toll roads, which she said will bring more business to the county if reduces traffic jams. “The more options that those driving around our counties have, the more organically it reduces congestion on our freeways.”
Wagner: The former three-term assemblyman said the infrastructure improvements he likes to see are widening bridges and roads to accommodate more cars – not more rail lines. Wagner said that autonomous-driving vehicles could soon essentially increase road capacity, making other projects moot. “Think for a moment what we’re going to be able to do with our infrastructure if instead of having to go bumper to bumper…. you can do it at 60 because you’re in a smart car,” he said. “You don’t have to lay another mile of asphalt because you’ve quadrupled capacity.”
Sanchez: The former congresswoman said she wants to facilitate the county to build out a mass-transit system – including rail, streetcars, and other infrastructure. Until that happens, Sanchez said she’ll work to reduce wait times for the county’s buses and shuttles to only five-to-10 minutes. “I want to ensure that our workers can get around Orange County,” she said.