Orinda City Council Candidates Discuss Issues in Public Forum

    With election season well underway, Orinda’s three candidates vying for two city council seats discussed the big issues facing the City during a candidate forum on Oct. 7 in Orinda Library’s auditorium.
    Candace Evans, Mayor Darlene Gee and Cara Hoxie answered questions and shared their goals for bettering the city during the event sponsored by The Orinda Association (OA) and the League of Women Voters, which also served as moderator.
    Hoxie, current president of the Orinda Union School Board (OUSD), has “very deep roots in Orinda.” She attended Orinda schools, returning to the city after law school to raise her family. She has remained involved in the community, contributing to the improvement of OUSD buildings and programs, serving on the board of the Lamorinda School Bus Transportation Authority and volunteering.
    “I am proud of my service on the school board,” said Hoxie. “I have also learned a lot about how government organizations function, how to bring the right people to the table to get things done and how to ask the right questions to set goals and policy so that we can be proactive, and not reactive.”
    Gee, an Orindan for 35 years, has two sons who attended local schools. A licensed state engineer with over 40 years of infrastructure consulting experience, Gee has served as a city council member for nine years, including two as mayor, championing the rehabilitation of city infrastructure, downtown planning and wildfire prevention and emergency preparedness. “I believe my experience is especially important right now,” said Gee.
    “Change is great,” she said of the addition of new leaders in the planning department, police department, city staff and fire district. “It provides great opportunities and new thoughts, but I believe there’s an important reason why continuity is going to be incredibly important this year.”
    An Orinda resident for over six years, Candace Evans has represented the City on the Advisory Council on Aging in multiple roles and serves as treasurer for the county’s Meals on Wheels program. She is currently a legislative recorder for the City of Oakland and owner of a natural foods market and garden center.
    “I’m a proud Orindan and a resident of many years,” said Evans. “I love our community.” She also said her upbringing in a highly respected, loving and political home has left her able to “understand how Orinda is run very well.”

DPP and Wildfire Evacuation
    Evans supports the Downtown Precise Plan (DPP), saying “I think that Orinda has to move forward with diversity, inclusivity. I love what Orinda has done since I moved there. It has moved forward so tremendously. My main concern with the plan was to properly address the safety concerns for a fire evacuation.”
    The protection of community families and elderly is important, Evans said, and she looks forward to collaborative work in solving the problem.
    Gee spoke of the City’s decision to merge the environmental impact report process with the DPP and the required housing element, along with the safety element for the city’s general plan. She supports the DPP and compliance with the housing element requirements. “I continue to be supportive of looking at opportunities downtown,” she said.
    “Orinda is facing competing interests,” said Hoxie. “The interest of revitalizing our downtown, of providing housing and of keeping our existing families safe.” She believes that fire evacuation needs to be taken seriously and that addressing all the interests of the City will not be an easy task.
    “Downtown needs to be revitalized,” she said. “We need to do work. It’s tired. And we need to provide more affordable housing in Orinda, but we need to do it in a way that takes into account the residents and citizens who are already here, and make sure that the evacuation routes for everybody are adequate.”
    Evans reiterated the importance of safety for Orinda residents in relation to wildfire evacuations, and Gee pointed out that while Orinda has the right to expect the preparedness of professionals in the area, there will always remain variables in the situation.
    “There is no model in the world that can capture and evaluate the actions of thousands and thousands of people simultaneously,” she said. “Modeling is not the answer.” The community needs to take advantage of the emergency preparedness and response information available to them, she added.
    Hoxie spoke of the collaboration between the MOFD, the City and the school district that resulted in stationing buses at Sleepy Hollow to evacuate students and avoid gridlock in the event of a wildfire. “We need to think creatively, and we need to take into account how human beings behave,” said Hoxie.

Fire Risk and Insurance Cancellations
    On the issue of Orinda’s homeowners’ insurance cancellations and non-renewals, Evans endorses a straightforward approach to promote awareness. “As a councilmember, you have to get out in the streets and actually walk door-to-door, which I’m willing to do.” She emphasized the role of fire fuel reduction programs and state and federal grants.
    “In Orinda, what we can do is protect ourselves, to make our homes as safe as possible, to do what we can to harden our homes, to do what we can to clear the debris and brush,” Hoxie said, “But the fact of the matter is many of us are going to be on the FAIR plan until this is resolved.” She acknowledged the necessity of Orinda residents sharing their point of view with the state.
    Gee previously helped organize an appearance by the insurance commissioner’s office for a town hall meeting regarding the growing rate of cancellations. She spoke of working alongside MOFD to ensure maintenance of property and home-hardening, ensuring that preventative actions are “actually meaningful to the insurance companies,” and continued advocacy at the state level.

Private vs. Public Roads
    With around 20% of City roads designated as private, the reconciliation of private versus public roads, with the additional issue of storm drain maintenance, was a topic of discussion.
    Gee mentioned the City’s efforts to map all its infrastructure and the importance of long-term infrastructure funding. Evans also acknowledged the role of funding for maintenance of public and private roads, specifically in terms of emergency evacuations. Hoxie expressed her support for Gee’s efforts toward the 27 miles of privately maintained storm drains in the city.

Crime
    The issue of perceived increase in crime in the City was raised.
    “The reality is that crime is not going up in Orinda,” said Gee. “The actual statistics, as provided by our police chief this year, [show that crime] is actually going down.” She supports the use of cameras in the community and technology to help the 
police.
    Hoxie spoke of the Medicine Shoppe’s four break-ins, and of laptops being stolen from Starbucks patrons. Like Gee, she voiced her support for technology.
    According to Evans, however, “It is imperative to revisit the model of our police and put more police force on task.”
    Absentee ballots have been mailed to all registered voters. To find your registration status, voter information guide and your in-person polling place, go to contracostavote.gov/elections/voter-registration/my-voting-information/#VoterLookupandSampleBallotSearch.