More than 60 people gathered at Flintridge Preparatory School on Monday, Jan. 29, to hear from the five candidates running for City Council.
The candidates are vying for three open seats on the Council, with voters set to cast their selections in the March 5 election.
The candidates — Quemars Ahmed, Keith Eich, Stephanie Fossan, Rick Gunter and Jeanne Hobson — each kicked off the lively forum with an opening statement, in which they reflected on their experience in the community, their respective jobs and what priorities they envision for the city.
Gunter and Eich are incumbents for their seats in the race, while City Councilwoman Terry Walker is not running for reelection.
The moderator of the evening, Flintridge Prep Head of School Vanessa Walker-Oakes, then shifted into a question and answer format, posing questions curated from community members. After some review, candidates were asked a total of 13 questions on topics that ranged from homelessness, housing, racial equity, traffic safety, climate change and the sales tax measure, to name a few.
The Outlook Valley Sun is highlighting a few questions that were deemed as garnering the most informative discussion.
Q: Do you support Measure LCF [which would increase local sales tax] and if so, what would you prioritize with those funds?
All five candidates said they support Measure LCF and listed off various priorities they would look to fund with the money, including emergency preparedness, public safety initiatives, road improvements, more recreation opportunities, and investing into the community center.
Fossan stated that she was a bit disappointed in how the city prepared the public for the sales tax measure and would like to get more feedback from residents on what they wish to use with the money.
“I personally sat in on some of the town halls on [the sales tax], and I noticed that there were folks who were saying, ‘I’d like to see something real, I’m worried this money will feel like it’s just disappeared,’” said Fossan. “I think we should have some aspirational things that the city would like to do with those funds.”
Gunter spoke of how the city has not imposed any new taxes in the last 47 years, while costs continue to rise, along with the needs of the community.
Ahmed explained that he has heard skepticism around the measure and about what the funds will be used for.
“The funds are going to go to the General Fund,” said Ahmed. “So, it really matters who you vote for in this election to see where the dollars will go. I would like to use them to invest in our infrastructure, invest in our community center, invest in parks and green space, and increase the staffing at City Hall. I want to make sure that we don’t misuse the funds.”
Q: If elected, how much new housing will LCF add during your term, and how will you communicate transparently with the community around the issue of housing?
All candidates responded by referring to the 600 Foothill project and its current ongoing lawsuits against the city.
Hobson said that moving forward and settling the city’s housing element is key.
“We do need to resolve the situation that’s at 600 Foothill, because that will have a lot of long-term implications for us, and we need to make sure that we resolve that positively,” said Hobson. “I’m sure that with the new mandates that we have, and with our new housing element and zoning regulations that are now in compliance, that due diligence with our planning commission or our design commission will ensure that we have responsible housing and responsible development that fits the character of our town.”
Ahmed, meanwhile, suggested creating more engagement with residents and what they would like to see at the beginning stages of any development.
Keith Eich discussed a mid-point check on the housing element that will be necessary in four years to review development.
“We need to be compliant, again, with making sure that any development that is done on any of those reasonable properties, meet the numbers that we set forth,” said Eich.
Senior housing was also addressed in Eich’s answer.
“I think what we’ve done with incentivizing [developers] with clear guardrails and guidelines of what we expect to be built in town, I think is the best thing that we could do,” said Eich. “And we have that [housing element] approved by the state. What I hope for is more senior housing built in the next four years. I think our seniors want it, and I think we want it as a community.”
Q: What role do you believe the police play in providing for public safety and the partnership with the City Council?
Gunter spoke in favor of the city’s relationship with the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s station.
“We find that the relationship between the Sheriff’s Department and La Cañada Flintridge is quite strong,” said Gunter, elaborating on the Flock Safety camera system and how that idea originated from a local resident. The station was able to help support the city in that initiative, he added.
Hobson agreed with Gunter about the strong relationship with the Sheriff’s station, but said that more goal setting is something to work on.
“I think one of the things we can do in City Council is to ensure that we’re level in setting expectations,” said Hobson. “What does response time look like? Let’s strategically look at it together to say, ‘let’s set a goal of reducing crime by 10%,’ and working together with our Sheriff’s Department to accomplish that.”
Instead of “finger pointing,” and working together as one, the city and the Sheriff’s station can accomplish more, said Hobson.
Eich agreed with Hobson about setting some key performance indicators which would be helpful for the community.
He also added that primarily through the city’s public safety commission, the city can direct the Sheriff’s station in areas of crime they want to see resolved, like burglaries and retail crimes, to name a few.
Fossan suggested that the city and the sheriff’s station work together to share crime data with citizens over time and create comparative data with other cities.
Q: How would you support racial equity in LCF, specifically addressing racial covenants and home titles or profiling?
“I’m the product of immigrants who came from South Korea, and I certainly have known what racial profiling is, and racism, as I was growing up. If I felt that it was happening within our community, I would want to address it,” said Hobson.
She continued to say that the city should be inclusive and treat everyone with respect, “no matter what color, no matter what gender, [and] no matter what age you are.”
Ahmed talked about the opportunity for residents to expunge any racial covenants within their deeds.
“Throughout this campaign, I’ve discovered so much within my own community and other communities that are struggling to find a voice, and so I think the other way that we increase racial equity is by just having more access to city government and City Hall,” said Ahmed. “A lot of people who are involved in city government are the people who have the free time, the wealth, the experience to be able to get involved, and so I think getting more people involved will help that.”
Eich explained the process of updating home title deeds and how easy it is to achieve.
Fossan, meanwhile, suggested that it might be more helpful if there were some city workshops given to go over the process.
Q: How important is it to you to implement the 2024 Climate Action and Adaptation plan goals?
Eich answered by explaining the city’s transition from using Southern California Edison to the Clean Power Alliance as its main electricity provider, a major step in its goals for the climate action and adaptation plan.
“I brought that to the Council,” said Eich. “I wrestled with our former city manager to have them come present. What it’s going to do is it will enable every resident in town to get access to an extra energy generation source that is 100% clean energy. Today, you can’t get that through Edison.”
Meanwhile, Fossan said, in addition to supporting the climate action plan and the city joining the Clean Power Alliance, she would be supportive of a gas-powered leaf blower ban.
“I think these are some things that we can really do to move our city forward and cut our greenhouse gas problem,” said Fossan.
Hobson said she is also in favor of the climate plan and said that it’s been good to set hard targets for the city to accomplish.
“I feel that the climate action plan that we have in front of us, in terms of a draft, has a lot of great ideas around it,” said Hobson. “It is prioritized for us. It will hold us accountable. And most importantly, it will make this a healthier environment for our future generations.”
Q: Do you think the city is doing enough about traffic and safety around schools? What more can be done?
Gunter said that in his role as Councilman he has been working with staff from the school district and the city to come up with alternative methods to control traffic around schools.
Ahmed suggested that more kids use the bus shuttle system in LCF, which would in turn lower vehicle counts for drop-offs and pick-ups.
“Another thing that the city doesn’t have, which every other city in the area has, is a master bike plan,” said Ahmed, adding that it could be an easier way for students to get to school without dealing with driving or finding a parking spot.
Eich agreed with Ahmed about encouraging more students to take the shuttle.
“We have to go out there,” said Eich. “We have to sit there and watch. We have to talk to the parents, talk to the administrators and teachers and the students and look for problems and how we can solve them.”
Fossan suggested that the city make it safer for bicycles, have more walking corridors for students and increase buses passing to and from the high school.
Q: What flag should the city of LCF fly? (And in particular, there are many questions about the Pride flag and whether that should be flown by the city in June.)
Hobson said that the city should be inclusive and if at a certain point in time, the city wants to highlight a certain group or it is requested, “it’s something we should consider.”
Ahmed answered by explaining how many residents in LCF identify as LGBTQ+ and that there are many kids in town who do not feel welcome in their own community.
“I would hate to feel that someone would not be welcomed in this community,” said Ahmed. “If there’s something as little as we can do to just raising a damn flag, why not?”
Eich said he would be in favor of having the conversation.
“I think the bigger question is: where do you start? And where do you stop?” said Eich. “If a church wants to put their flag up, or if a community group wants to put their flag up, where do you draw the line around making sure that you’re inclusive for all? I think it’s worth having the conversation.”
Fossan, meanwhile, said that the city should be going out in the community to talk to residents about what they would like to see in the city, rather than waiting for people to come to City Council meetings with their concerns.
“One of the things that I think would be really imperative is going out and talking to the LGBTQ community and understanding where they’re at,” said Fossan. “I have done a lot of phone calling in this campaign, and I have heard from people in the LGBTQ community that they don’t always feel welcome here. And I really think we should work on figuring out how to change that. I will be very open to flying the gay Pride flag during June and also talking with community members to figure out what meaningful progress would be for them to move forward in this community so that all of us, including the LGBTQ community, can feel welcome and included here in La Cañada.”
Gunter said he supports an inclusive community and noted that it’s important for him that the city treats everyone with respect, care and love.
“I think that there are many ways in which we can respond to the community and tell them that we care about them,” said Gunter. “…I’m not convinced that a flag next to the American, California or La Cañada flag is necessarily the right way. Again, because I’m worried that we would miss somebody.”
Q: How can the city improve transit connectivity not only within LCF, but with neighboring cities such as Pasadena, Glendale and Los Angeles?
All five candidates suggested a series of solutions for improved transit across the city, including more shuttle services, carpooling, encouragement to walk more, adding bike lanes and improved senior transportation.
Eich mentioned a city program like Dial-A-Ride that helps transport elderly people in the community and works to educate residents on resources.
Fossan discussed the city focusing on its own transit system.
“I think we really need to focus on our own transit system in La Cañada,” said Fossan. “Getting people on the shuttle bus and up into different locations in La Cañada, to get them closer to their homes up Angeles Crest, perhaps up some of the hills and closer to PCR, so that people can use those services and not have to drive.”
First published in the February 1 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
