Here’s where Morro Bay council candidates stand on 7 key issues — from water to wind energy
Two mayoral candidates and five city council candidates discussed key issues facing Morro Bay at a recent forum.
The election forum, held Oct. 5 at the Morro Bay Veterans Memorial Hall, was hosted by the League of Women’s Voters and sponsored by the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce.
Incumbent John Headding and small business owner Carla Wixom are competing to represent the city as mayor in San Luis Obispo County’s Nov. 8 general election.
Meanwhile, five candidates are competing for two city council seats, including business owner Cyndee Edwards, attorney Dave Duringer, server Sarah Smith Robinson, marketer Casey Cordes and homemaker Zara Landrum.
The forum featured a lively discussion between candidates about topics from energy projects to housing policy.
To the surprise of the audience, Duringer ended his closing statements by expressing support for the Second Amendment and pointing a plastic gun at the ceiling.
Here’s where the candidates stand on seven key issues.
Where do candidates stand on harbor infrastructure tax?
Morro Bay voters have proposition B-22 on their ballots this November.
If passed, B-22 would impose a tax on city residents to fund improvements to city-owned harbor infrastructure including sea walls, piers and docks, according to the city’s website.
Wixom and Landrum don’t support the tax, and said the city should pursue other types of funding such as grants or loans. With high inflation, Landrum said she didn’t think the city should be charging residents with another tax.
Robinson also opposes the measure, noting that not all city residents use the Embarcadero so it’s unfair to charge them to maintain it.
Duringer would rather focus the tax on properties near the waterfront instead of the whole city, and said the city should repeal the tax once the harbor’s infrastructure needs are fulfilled.
Edwards, however, supports the measure. She said she’s usually “not a fan of short-term fixes,” but the harbor needs funding immediately and the tax provides it.
She said the city could charge for parking along the waterfront to generate funding, too.
Headding supports the measure, calling it a “fair tax.” He said the city has struggled to fund harbor infrastructure for more than 20 years, and the measure will help fix that.
Cordes also supports the tax, noting that if voters don’t pass the tax, the city will need to find another funding source.
“This is not money that we are going to avoid. It’s a cost that we’re going to have to incur as people who want to have a Morro Bay future,” Cordes said. “There was no Morro Bay in the first place without the harbor.”
What is vision for downtown Morro Bay?
Candidates were asked about their vision for downtown Morro Bay — Main Street in particular — and what they see as the major challenges and opportunities.
Cordes, Edwards and Headding said they support increasing height requirements on some buildings to allow for growth, and expanding mixed use zoning to accommodate for housing, restaurants and retail downtown.
Wixom, however, is skeptical of changing building height requirements.
“You’ll change the charm of downtown if you’re not careful about what you do,” Wixom said.
Cordes said he wants to attract new businesses and “bring forward some new life into the city that might make it feel a little more vibrant.”
Edwards said she wants to support existing businesses in their growth, and Robinson agreed.
“We have some really great locals here that have wonderful businesses, so I say just keep giving them support and keep shopping,” Robinson said.
Headding wants the city to build a “connector” between downtown and the Embarcadero so tourists can easily travel between the two.
Both Headding and Wixom want to accelerate the permitting process to help residents start businesses more easily, while Landrum and Robinson said the city should accelerate the process for granting a business license.
All of the candidates supported building another public restroom.
Duringer said the city should copy the practices of “red states” to attract more businesses.
Rental control ordinance for mobile home residents
Morro Bay has 14 mobile home parks with approximately 750 residents. There is a rent stabilization ordinance protects these residents from out-of-control rent raises.
Duringer said he doesn’t support the ordinance or any kind of rent control.
As an eviction attorney in the 1990s, “I probably made more homeless people than anybody else here,” Duringer added.
The rest of the candidates all support the rent control ordinance, expressing concern about rising rent prices and folks on fixed incomes.
Cordes called evictions “catastrophes for us to lose working, contributing neighbors.”
“They participate in our community. They recreate here. They shop here, and should have a safe and affordable place to live,” Wixom said, echoing the other candidates.
How to maintain city roads, sewer pipes and infrastructure
Robinson suggested the city assess the state of all streets, identify which streets need to be fixed first and figure out how much those fixes would cost.
“Providing safe streets is a basic responsibility of a full-service city,” Robinson said.
Headding said that the city allocated $2.8 million of its budget this year to roads, but that is only enough funding to maintain the infrastructure, not to improve it. He suggested that the city pursue a bond measure for roads, and Wixom, Edwards and Cordes agreed.
Duringer said he wants to avoid the “knee-jerk response” of a bond measure or a tax. Instead, he suggested a special tax on electric cars, because they’re heavier and cause more damage to the road.
Landrum agreed that the city needs to better maintain its roads, but offered no specific solutions.
Morro Bay water reclamation facility
Morro Bay is building a water reclamation facility that will treat wastewater and inject it into the groundwater basin. The water then filters through the soil into the aquifer, and can then be used for drinking water months later.
The facility has the potential to supply the city with 80% of its water needs, The Tribune previously reported.
Candidates were asked if they think the water reclamation facility will adequately address Morro Bay’s water needs for years to come, and how they’d make sure it is run efficiently.
Cordes, Edwards and Headding said they support the project, noting that it will help the city fulfill its water needs, especially during times of drought.
“It does guarantee us in the future water resiliency,” Headding said.
Wixom called it a “state-of-the-art facility,” but said the city must stay on budget while managing it.
Landrum and Robinson said they hope the facility is effective since it cost so much money to build.
“It has been a strain on the businesses, on the residents, on our pocketbooks,” Robinson said.
Duringer said he doesn’t mind using the “toilet-to-tap method” for non-potable water uses, but prefers that the city doesn’t use it for drinking water.
How do candidates feel about battery storage plant?
Texas-based energy company Vistra Corp. is planning to build a 22-acre, 600-megawatt battery storage plant in Morro Bay, which would house 180,000 lithium ion batteries, The Tribune previously reported.
A future city council will have the opportunity to approve or deny the project, according to city manager Scott Collins.
All of the candidates at the forum expressed concerns about the safety of the facility.
Headding and Cordes said they are worried about the potential for fires at the plant, though Headding toured the facility and learned about its fire suppression system. He said he will “trust the process.”
Cordes, who went on a ride-along with the Morro Bay Fire Department, said firefighters told him that the battery storage industry creates instructions for how to deal with emergencies — which concerned him.
“That was the first time that I really looked at the safety of this and I took it seriously, because I spoke to an expert,” Cordes said. “If I’m elected, I will trust the experts. I will lean on the people who we as a community trust to keep us safe.”
Wixom said the facility is too big, and Robinson said the project is in a bad location — next to Morro Bay High School and local spots popular with tourists. Landrum is worried about the safety of the technology, and Edwards is concerned about traffic.
Still, Edwards said the city needs another power source, and the battery storage facility could be the right opportunity.
“I think it’s important to recognize California is moving more towards renewable energy,” Edwards said.
Duringer completely opposes the project because, he said, the United States would be reliant on Chinese minerals to build the batteries.
He thinks the country should use fossil fuels, instead.
“I don’t trust the experts. I think they have an agenda,” Duringer said. “They believe that we can effect global warming by modifying carbon dioxide output. A lot of people disagree with that.”
Should floating wind farm be built off coast of Morro Bay?
A floating wind farm may be built off the coast of Morro Bay in 2030.
The proposed project, which would feature offshore wind energy turbines, is planned for federal waters, so the federal Bureau of Ocean Management would manage the leasing process.
The Morro Bay City Council does not have the authority to approve or deny the project. Still, Morro Bay city council and mayoral candidates shared their thoughts on the proposed wind farm.
Wixom is skeptical of the project. She agrees that the county needs to pursue renewable energy, but is concerned about this type of technology, as it is newer, and could negatively impact the fishing industry.
Robinson and Landrum also don’t support the wind farm out of concern for fishermen and the environment.
“I’m worried that we’re trading a food source for electricity,” Landrum said.
Robinson said she supports wind energy projects in other locations, such as the Mojave Desert, but not off the coast of Morro Bay.
Duringer doesn’t support renewable energy in general. Even if the United States reduces its carbon dioxide emissions, India and China will continue to pollute, he said.
“They’re going to be laughing all the way to the bank whatever we try to do,” Duringer said. “It’s foolish to tether our economy in any way to this technology.”
Headding, however, supports the project because it will supply the county with energy — which is important if Diablo Canyon Power Plant closes.
Edwards said she’s concerned about the project’s potential effects on the fishing industry, but said the city must embrace that “California is moving towards renewable, green, clean energy.”
Cordes also supports the project, and said the city must aid the fishing industry if the wind farm is built. He said it’s possible that the wind farm would improve fishing in the area, too.
To watch a recording of the candidate forum, go to slo-span.org.
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 9:44 AM.
