CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. (KERO) — Four council candidates and three men running for mayor reveal their plans for California City and answer questions during a forum at Victory Baptist Church.
- Meet the Candidates event also included Kern County District 2 Supervisor candidates as well as those vying to be on the East Kern Health Care District Board and Mojave Air and Space Port Board.
- Mayor pro tem Ron Smith asks the candidates questions. Smith said the event was well attended with nearly 200 people.
- Mayoral candidates Duane Vasquez, Marq Hawkins and Kelly Kulikoff say they have specific plans to get California City out of its rut and solve its fiscal woes.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Safe to say, the upcoming election will be pivotal for California City. Residents had the chance on Friday to meet some of the candidates who will attempt to improve the desert town.
I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter.
Council candidates and three men running for mayor gathered at Victory Baptist Church to talk about their plans.
"I was nervous. I didn't know what to expect. I found out a couple of things when I got here. But it's good. I'm human."
LaShelle Cooper is one of eight candidates vying for two seats on California City's council.
She quickly settled in during a candidate forum that included four council candidates and three men running for mayor.
Cooper is working on council after taking over for Karen Macedonio, who stepped down seven months ago.
"I know that it's a challenge, it's been a challenge for the past seven months. I didn't expect it to be easy. But I am up for the challenge," Cooper says.
For a city that has plenty of chaos to deal with, Cal City's candidate forum went rather smoothly with next to no debates.
The council candidates played nice and the mayoral candidates had few disagreements.
Duane Vasquez and Marq Hawkins, both running for mayor against Kelly Kulikoff, say they have a specific plan to get Cal City out of its rut and fiscal woes.
"I think it's so important that we engage with the community, that we answer the tough questions, and that we build trust," Hawkins says.
Eight candidates are vying for two council seats.
Half of them showed up to the event, including Cooper, Shawn Bradley, Socorro Chavez, and Michael Hurles. Jim Creighton, Jesse Hightower, Rick Jones and Quiana Spears are also running for council.
"I love that everybody was respectful of one another. Everybody has their opinions, if we just respect their opinions … Unity is what it's all about and if we don't lose sight of that I believe we'll be OK," Cooper says.
I'll be providing more updates about the candidates up until the November 5th election.
I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter.
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