How do Grover Beach candidates for mayor, city council compare?
In Grover Beach, two candidates are running for mayor and three candidates for two open seats on the City Council in November.
In the city’s new District 1, Robert Robert is running unopposed for the Grover Beach City Council seat.
In District 2, Ron Arnoldsen is facing off against Daniel Rushing for the open seat. Meanwhile, Karen Bright is running against Stacy Korsgaden for mayor.
Arnoldsen did not respond to Tribune requests to participate in the Voter Guide.
Here are the remaining candidates’ responses about key issues including homelessness, water, cannabis and Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, organized by candidate and in alphabetical order. Some responses have been edited for length or clarity.
Mayor
Karen Bright
What is your vision for what Grover Beach should look like in five years? 10 years?
A safe, thriving beach town with diverse housing, businesses and population where residents and visitors alike enjoy living and visiting.
What do you believe is the most important issue facing Grover Beach today, and what will you do to address it?
According to our residents, it’s homelessness. However, the lack of affordable, senior and work force housing is a major factor in combating that issue. Engaging in public-private partnerships and having a development code that encourages housing of all types are crucial to healthy cities and neighborhoods.
Grover Beach has led the county in approving and opening cannabis dispensaries in recent years, but that’s also led to pushback from some residents who believe the businesses are negatively impacting the city. Do you think the city is going in the right direction in terms of the cannabis industry? Is there anything you would like to see change?
The short answer is “yes.” When the concept first came to the council, I was not in favor. However, after hearing so many people — retired law enforcement, firefighters, prominent business owners, athletes, etc. — in public comment discuss how cannabis helped to ease their cancer treatment related issues and aided in weaning from pain opiates, my opinion changed. Apparently our residents were of the same mind, as it was approved by more than 66% of voters.
How do you feel about the city’s response to homelessness and what specific policies, solutions on that front would you pursue if elected?
To continue working with the county and 5Cities Homeless Coalition to create environments such as Cabins for Change, a temporary housing shelter to put the unhoused on a path to permanent housing. Another facility is in the planning stages. Together, these projects will also help to reduce a large segment of the homeless population, which will allow our public spaces to be used as they were intended. In conjunction, I would continue to support eviction prevention and rapid rehousing to alleviate adding to the unhoused population.
Grover Beach and its neighboring cities are pursuing a significant recycled water project aimed at improving the region’s water reliability. What are your thoughts on the Central Coast Blue Project? Are there any issues you see with it implementation or any changes you would like made to the city’s involvement?
I am proud of our regional approach to our water issue. We definitely are stronger together. If we are to protect our city wells from salt water intrusion and potential salination pollution of what little water we have left, steps must be taken to bolster our groundwater and basins. Water reclamation and reuse makes sense and I am extremely grateful to have been part of this collaboration while at the same time keeping our water rates at the low end in comparison to other cities in the county.
Stacy Korsgaden
What is your vision for what Grover Beach should look like in five years? 10 years?
A thriving downtown corridor, supported by a diverse business portfolio. Full support of tourism from people all over the world enjoying camping and riding on the Oceano Dunes, driving commerce into our clean town. Grover Beach will be known as a safe community for its citizens and tourists alike ... and Grover Beach will be a fiscally responsible town that can maintain public services at the highest level.
What do you believe is the most important issue facing Grover Beach today, and what will you do to address it?
Homelessness and vagrancy.
Grover Beach has led the county in approving and opening cannabis dispensaries in recent years, but that’s also led to pushback from some residents who believe the businesses are negatively impacting the city. Do you think the city is going in the right direction in terms of the cannabis industry? Is there anything you would like to see change?
My concern is Grover Beach must diversify its business portfolio. Cannabis will be opening in neighboring cities, which will diminish our market share. I am in support of privately owned hotel development, expansion and promotion of our unique experience at the Oceano Dunes. Grover Beach has one of the two entrances to the park. I also would work to promote and encourage small tech or manufacturing companies to relocate to our community.
How do you feel about the city’s response to homelessness and what specific policies, solutions on that front would you pursue if elected?
We cannot continue with the same ineffective policies. I would work to declare an emergency, provide emergency shelters that will provide a bed for every head. What must happen simultaneously is a city ordinance banning camping, sleeping in public spaces. We would coordinate with state, county and city officials to triage people to services from non-profits, government and faith-based services. We will lead in working with the new Care Court passed by California, Senate Bill 1338, to help place those with severe mental health issues and drug and alcohol addiction.
Grover Beach and its neighboring cities are pursuing a significant recycled water project aimed at improving the region’s water reliability. What are your thoughts on the Central Coast Blue Project? Are there any issues you see with it implementation or any changes you would like made to the city’s involvement?
Central Coast Blue is a tremendous project that will help solve a regional concern. I am in full support.
City Council, District 2
Daniel Rushing
What is your vision for what Grover Beach should look like in five years? 10 years?
Central to my vision for the future for the next five years in Grover Beach is the continued resurfacing of our residential streets, and completion of the redesign and repaving of West Grand Avenue and North Fourth Street. We also need to support low-income and affordable-by-design housing options, along with transitional shelters for members of our unhoused population who are ready to work with local nonprofits and agencies to find a way toward permanent and stable shelter. Water resiliency is crucial to our future, and supporting the upcoming water recycling project, Central Coast Blue, will be a a huge part of ensuring we have a reliable source of fresh water for years to come.
In addition to these items, within the next five to 10 years, my vision for Grover Beach includes more mixed-use building developments within our West Grand Avenue corridor, enabling an increase of retail and tourism activity, while making our city more friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists.
What do you believe is the most important issue facing Grover Beach today, and what will you do to address it?
Housing affordability and homelessness are front and center when it comes to important issues facing Grover Beach. As a city, we have already begun to make it better by approving a 53-unit low-income housing development, working with 5Cities Homeless Coalition to create a non-congregant transitional housing facility, and working with the county and 5CHC to open the temporary emergency housing facility, Cabins for Change Housing and homelessness are regional issues and will take regional cooperation to improve them. Moving forward, I want Grover Beach to work closely with our surrounding cities and communities to better pool our resources and individual strengths.
Grover Beach has led the county in approving and opening cannabis dispensaries in recent years, but that’s also led to pushback from some residents who believe the businesses are negatively impacting the city. Do you think the city is going in the right direction in terms of the cannabis industry? Is there anything you would like to see change?
I believe Grover Beach has been on the cutting edge of the evolving legal cannabis marketplace. In the years to come, I am sure we will see more and more cities embracing this industry. We have a police force that maintains close relations with our retailers, growers, labs, etc., and has done an excellent job in keeping the surrounding neighborhoods safe. The tax revenue from cannabis has allowed the city to emerge from the COVID-19 epidemic in an incredibly strong position and has helped us fund much needed capital improvements and other one-time costs.
How do you feel about the city’s response to homelessness and what specific policies, solutions on that front would you pursue if elected?
Grover Beach has been a shining example of what a city can do to help empower our homeless residents to find a way off the streets and into stable housing with transitional emergency shelters opening soon and transitional housing options in the works. Unfortunately, it is a slow process, and there are people in need now. If elected to continue my work with the Grover Beach City Council, I would support a collaborative approach to this issue, bringing in our neighboring cities and communities to better plan as a group and make the most of our individual strengths and resources.
Grover Beach and its neighboring cities are pursuing a significant recycled water project aimed at improving the region’s water reliability. What are your thoughts on the Central Coast Blue Project? Are there any issues you see with it implementation or any changes you would like made to the city’s involvement?
I believe that Central Coast Blue is our best available option as a community to help secure water resiliency for years to come. It is incredibly important that we ensure an enforceable local hire provision for this project to ensure that as many dollars as possible stay on the Central Coast during CCB’s construction.
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