Solvang’s four City Council candidates racing to fill the seats being vacated by current Councilmembers Karen Waite and Daniel Johnson were unanimous about one thing: They want to do things differently than the current council.
Former Architectural Review Board member Mark Infanti said that he feels the current councilmembers have not been responsive to what residents want.
“The bottom line is the City Council makes a whole bunch of decisions that keep the city running. I want to make it run as smoothly as possible so the citizens don’t have to get involved but, when they are involved, we listen,” Infanti said.
His goals are to develop a COVID-19 economic recovery plan and long-term budget; preserve the Danish character and culture of the city; improve the city’s infrastructure, including the Vet’s Hall and the wastewater treatment plant; and encourage local hiring.
Due to budget cuts, the city had to let go of some of its staff, but Infanti said when looking to fill positions in the future, he wants to ensure they’re locals.
“We have to get staff that preferably live here, like the people we had before that could tell you what’s going on and know how to run an operation,” Infanti said. “We could contract people that are qualified, but they aren’t local and don’t have a vested interest or experience in our city.”
His goal is to make tangible decisions now and sustainable long-term plans for the future of the city.
Keeping the city financially viable now and in the future is candidate Justin Rodriguez’s main campaign focus. He said coronavirus impacts have caused the city’s revenue to drop because its usual number of tourists aren’t visiting—however, tourists have started resuming their travels to the Solvang community, safely.
Continuing to allow businesses to use parking spaces for restaurant tables is necessary, Rodriguez said, but the council should look into how to assist other businesses to keep their operations viable.
Rodriguez served on the city Planning Commission and says his experience includes insight into what developers and local residents are trying to accomplish with their businesses in town. He wants to put an emphasis on streamlining the process for getting permits to renovate or upgrade buildings and facilities within the city.
“Applicants have had a lot of challenges in the past, so I think it’s all about streamlining the process to allow people to reinvest in their properties and get them up and running sooner,” he said.
He also wants to focus on finding ways to generate tax revenue while keeping rates down for utilities like water for residents.
“I also have a family in town; I have two little girls that are really young. I want this town to be successful in the future because I want them to be able to live here and be able to afford living here,” Rodriguez said. “I want Solvang to be a prosperous place for everyone in the future.”
Candidate Chris Bowyer said there’s a saying he learned in the U.S. Marine Corps that’s applicable to ensuring a viable future for the city: “The good plan executed now is better than the perfect plan in two weeks.”
In terms of assisting businesses for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that the Copenhagen Drive closure was a good plan.
“Now it’s time to start dialing in the bold adjustments that we’ve made and start making some fine corrections to adapt to the world in COVID-19 and post-COVID-19,” Bowyer said.
His campaign is also focused on the upcoming update to the wastewater treatment plant and finding ways to continue with that project in a fiscally responsible manner—facing a possible increase in water rates or construction costs.
“So looking at those two things and ensuring that we have certain safeguards in place but still have development in a responsible way that doesn’t lose out on the soul of this town and the process are all big priorities for me,” he said.
If elected, Rodriguez wants to hold more workshops and get more community involvement in projects and plans the council must decide on. He said he has experience in listening and working with others as well as being a leader after serving six years in the U.S. Marine Corps and building a security company with his two friends.
“I do have this experience in understanding and the knowledge on how to dissect a budget to look at what kind of costs are unnecessary or nearly redundant in some cases, as well as to see how we can go about making certain systems within city government a little bit more efficient,” he said.
Claudia Orona is a local business owner helming the family business, Solvang Trolley. With 13 years of experience working several positions within the business, Orona said she wants to bring that knowledge and insight of the business community onto the City Council if she’s elected.
“First thing I want to do is bring the focus back on our community. I want to put the focus on engagement with our local businesses and residents into our local government,” she said.
The current council puts a lot of emphasis on tourists and transient occupancy tax dollars, but Orona said there are also residents who are impacted by the tourism industry. She wants to continue working on the tourism industry with the community as a first priority.
If elected, she hopes to improve the relationship between the business community, the Chamber of Commerce, and the City Council.
“I want to make sure that we have the expertise needed at the city for the various projects that we need to tackle to keep it running smoothly, especially since the impacts we’ve seen from COVID,” she said.
This article appears in Oct 8-15, 2020.