Longtime mayor Larry Lavagnino is up for re-election, and he’s competing for votes with active Santa Maria citizen Ernest S. Armenta. Lavagnino has served as mayor of Santa Maria since 1996. Armenta ran against Lavagnino the last time the mayor was up for re-election four years ago and lost that race.
The Sun asked these two candidates the same questions that were asked of the candidates for Santa Maria City Council. Here are their answers:
SUN: The big buzzword in this year’s presidential election is “change.” What kind of change do you see yourself bringing to Santa Maria?
ARMENTA: The buzzword around this nation is not only change, but also relief for the TAXPAYER. The change I will bring to this City Council is that the voters will decide and will have the final word when it comes to council vacancies, NO LONGER WILL THE MAYOR HAVE A SAY IN IT.
LAVAGNINO: Santa Maria has changed from the small town where I grew up, into a city of more than 100,000 people. My duty as mayor is to prepare Santa Maria so that it’s a better place to live and work in for future generations. We’re in a building program that’s already seen the new Public Library open; now we’re expanding the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and next we will build two new fire stations. We must invest in our downtown and our infrastructure to sow the seeds of prosperity, and I want to continue this work for another four-year term.
SUN: Is there one issue that you would like to see brought to the forefront this year? If elected, what would you do about that particular issue?
LAVAGNINO: It’s important that we enhance the economic vitality of the city. We’ll do that by initiating a business improvement district, completing the Area 9 Industrial Specific Plan for a 550-acre business park along Black and Stowell roads, promote the airport business park master plan that our City Council approved earlier this year, and market our Revolving Loan Fund to businesses.
ARMENTA: Building back trust and confidence to the city mayor’s position, which has been tarnished by this current mayor.
SUN: What is the biggest challenge facing the city of Santa Maria in the next year?
ARMENTA: The biggest challenge facing this city is how to keep the state, county, and City Manager Tim Ness out of our pockets.
LAVAGNINO: The biggest challenge is to maintain service levels with decreasing revenues. For example, if Measure A fails on the November ballot, we’ll be forced to sacrifice street maintenance unless we somehow can secure alternate funding options.
SUN: What is the city lacking when it comes to leadership? Sum up your own leadership style.
LAVAGNINO: The city is not lacking in leadership. We have strong talent on our council and city staff. My leadership style depends on what the situation merits. A good leader uses all three styles: autocratic, participatory, and also delegates. We have great employees, and I see my job as getting the tools to help them get the job done.
ARMENTA: The hard-working men and women of this city don’t need a leader but a mayor who will defend and stand on their side when others on this council try to appoint their friends to the City Council or stand on the side of Santa Barbara County and try to raise property and sales taxes.
SUN: What are you going to do to help Santa Maria weather these tough economic times?
ARMENTA: We, the taxpayers, know that the top city manager like Tim Ness or the current mayor are not facing tough economic times, but it’s us, the hard-working taxpayers, that have to pay the price. As the new mayor, I will not cut from the bottom first but will start from the top and change how this council keeps putting the city in more debt.
LAVAGNINO: The city of Santa Maria is in as good or better economic shape than any other city in our region because of careful planning, spending restraint, and healthy reserves. We have built a new library, a youth center, new parks, and new fire stations without borrowing money or raising taxes. We have not increased solid waste fees to residents for seven consecutive years because we instead receive revenue from an innovative program. I voted to increase the city’s funding to the Chamber of Commerce for economic development and helped convince Trader Joe’s to open a store here. I will do everything I can to promote business, such as continuing to meet with business prospects and keep public safety a top priority so that Santa Maria is attractive to commerce.
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2008.