BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Bakersfield City Council’s Ward 3 is in northwest Bakersfield, stretching from the mouth of the Kern River Canyon to Westchester and the 34th Street corridor. Two of the candidates running for the Ward 3 seat on the City Council, Boyd Binninger and Ken Weir, tell 23ABC that they want to bring improved safety to the area.
Boyd Binninger is a commercial real estate broker and a lifelong resident of Bakersfield.
“I’ve talked to people who have certain corners that are dangerous, and they say ‘How many people have to die before we put a 4-way stop in?’” said Binninger.
Binninger says he’s running to represent Ward 3 because he feels the ward has been neglected when it comes to addressing safety and improving the area.
“Really, it goes back to basic infrastructure,” said Binninger. “Make sure the roads are in good shape, making sure it’s safe so people feel safe coming to east Bakersfield.”
Binninger also wants to shore up first responder services in Bakersfield.
“We need to make sure our police department is adequately staffed and adequately equipped, and that goes for the fire department as well, so they can cover the entire city and make people feel safe where they live,” said Binninger. “You need to feel safe where you live otherwise it’s not a good quality of life for you.”
Binninger has also heard from Ward 3 residents about infrastructure concerns, but still says the main concern people have is for the safety of the area.
“They want to see infrastructure, that’s a big part of it, but most of all is crime, and again I go back to what I said earlier,” said Binninger. “We just need to make sure that we are staffed correctly, that the police department is staffed correctly.”
Incumbent Ken Weir has also heard from Ward 3 residents about their safety concerns.
“This lady called, and I don’t have her name, but we talked for a while, and she told me, ‘I just don’t feel safe anymore. I don’t feel safe. I don’t go outside unless I have to,’” said Weir.
Weir has been on the Bakersfield City Council since 2006 and says he is already actively working with the council on ways to make the town safer, with new measures to increase housing options and prevent homelessness.
“We just put in place some brand new measures that we are going to be using to combat the homelessness, and appeal to safe settings, and try to take care of them and get them into services,” said Weir, adding that he has been a part of spearheading the new approach to mitigating homelessness in Bakersfield.
One east Bakersfield resident, Lisa Bradley, wants to see the council take action on homelessness, but she wants the city to take on the problem with humanity and compassion.
“Homelessness could happen to anybody. We just need to help those that are having problems and having trouble,” said Bradley, adding, “We need to have people coming out and using more psychology and helping people. When somebody is running away, you don’t need to shoot them. I want people to be better and happier and more helped in their goals.”
Beyond the concerns of safety and homelessness, both Weir and Binninger are prepared to address what they see as neglected infrastructure in Ward 3.
“We need to improve east Bakersfield to where businesses want to move up there,” said Binninger. “Right now, it’s kind of deteriorating and we need to make it more inviting, and that’s what I’d like to do. Make it more inviting for businesses to come up there.”
Weir agrees.
“We need road improvements in Ward 3, and we need that desperately in Wad three, and I want to see that done,” said Weir. “I really want the city to have a vision for where it’s going to be in 10 years, and I’ve been working on that for more than 10 years.”
One particular spot of concern is the old East Hills Mall property. Residents say the now-demolished mall, defunct since 2017, has been an eyesore for many years. New owners took control of the property in 2021, but so far, nothing has been developed on the site. Both candidates say they want that to change.
“We will get the City Lights Mall completed and operating,” said Weir. “That will be a big boon for northeast Bakersfield because the shopping there is limited.”
23ABC reached out to the other two candidates running for Bakersfield City Council’s Ward 3 seat, Barron Zeferino and Lonnie Daddow, but we did not hear back from either of them.