The Tribune endorses Fonzi, Bourbeau for Atascadero City Council

Roberta Fonzi continues to impress us as a smart, articulate and hardworking council member. She also scores high marks for her responsiveness to constituents.

One example: When citizens objected to the Planning Commission’s decision to allow a beloved oak tree at Sylvester’s Burgers to be cut down — but balked at paying a $935 fee to appeal the case — it was Fonzi who asked that the item be heard by the City Council.

The council ultimately decided the tree should be cut down for safety reasons — a decision we supported — but opponents did have another opportunity to present their side.

Fonzi also has been a strong proponent of affordable housing and of cutting red tape for businesses.

She proudly points out that the city’s business license application was reduced from 12 pages to one, and business sign fees were cut by 90 percent.

Recently, she’s been outspoken in her criticism of the closure of Atascadero’s recycling center, and we expect she’ll be leading the charge to bring one back.

That said, there have been times when we have vehemently disagreed with Fonzi.

For instance, she voted against putting a transportation sales tax on the November ballot, and we strongly believe voters should have the opportunity to decide that issue for themselves.

Despite ideological differences, we’ve found Fonzi to be unfailingly gracious — a trait we wish more politicians shared — and she’s a strong advocate for the citizens of Atascadero. The Tribune strongly endorses Roberta Fonzi for re-election.

Charles Bourbeau has an impressive résumé that includes serving on the city’s Planning Commission and volunteering with the Police Department’s graffiti abatement team. He also served as finance director for the city of San Luis Obispo from 2011 to 2012.

He’s extremely knowledgeable on the issues, he regularly attends City Council meetings and reviews staff reports, and he has attended every city advisory committee meeting at least once. In other words, he’s more than ready to hit the ground running.

We also believe he’ll bring a different point of view to council discussions.

For example, he told The Tribune Editorial Board that he disagrees with the City Council’s decision to cap Wal-Mart’s share of costs for road improvements. He supports Measure J, the countywide transportation sales tax — albeit reluctantly — in part because it will help defray the cost of those improvements.

We believe Charles Bourbeau will be a breath of fresh air on the council, and we give him our strong endorsement.

This story was originally published September 17, 2016 at 3:39 PM with the headline "The Tribune endorses Fonzi, Bourbeau for Atascadero City Council."