Seeking office

The veracity of climate change, marijuana use and fracking were hot topics as six candidates vying for three offices—two statewide and one county—took part in a League of Women Voters candidates forum Monday (Sept. 22).

The event, held in the Chico City Council chambers, began with State Senate District 4 candidates CJ Jawahar, a Democrat from Roseville, and incumbent Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber. They were followed by District 3 Assembly candidates Republican James Gallagher and Democrat Jim Reed, while the forum wrapped up with nonpartisan candidates for Butte County assessor, longtime appraiser Diane Brown and county Supervisor Bill Connelly.

Water and climate change were common themes for the state office candidates, while those running for the county office mostly fielded questions from the audience and reporters about what the county assessor does.

Each candidate was given two minutes for an opening statement, followed by a series of questions and ending with two-minute closing statements.

Jawahar began by saying he was thankful to be away from the Roseville area because of the smoke- and ash-filled air generated by the massive King Fire burning east of Sacramento. There are many more fires going on right now than there were at this time last year, Jawahar contended, quickly making known where he stands on a fairly controversial topic.

“With all that, climate change is real. We need to do something about it,” he said. “I used to wonder how our ancestors handled these wildfires. They did not have fire trucks, they did not have helicopters, they did not have fire deterrence. You know what they had? They had water.”

He said the state has been failing over the years to store enough water for “farming, drinking and industrial use and to protect from fires.”

Nielsen, who was elected to the office in 2012, began by recounting that, as a young farmer, he “realized that most of what was affecting my ability to produce and profit as a farmer was government and what I was doing was complaining about it.”

So, he got involved as a leader in the farming industry, the community and the Republican Party, he said.

“Then I took leave of my senses and ran for state Legislature,” he joked, noting that he’s since “found nothing but frustration along the way.”

Nielsen also said climate change “has been real since there was an Earth. It ebbs and flows over the eons. It didn’t just happen because of human beings.”

Both candidates said they support Proposition 1, the water bond that, if passed, would include the construction of the Sites Reservoir in Colusa County.

But they differed on the subject of marijuana, with Nielsen saying it should be tightly regulated by local communities and Jawahar suggesting the state follow the leads of Colorado and Washington by legalizing recreational use.

In the State Assembly District 3 forum, Republican Gallagher and Democrat Reed are running to replace termed-out Dan Logue, who is running for a congressional seat against incumbent John Garamendi.

Gallagher, an attorney practicing in Yuba City, said he is running to make sure the area has “secure water rights and safe communities where my children can thrive.”

Reed, also an attorney, said he has great respect for scientists and believes that climate change is occurring.

“To me it is undeniable,” he said. “It is occurring and if we don’t do something about it soon, it is going to be cataclysmic.”

Gallagher said the jury is still out on the matter of human-caused climate change and that the debate should continue.

The candidates both said they support Prop. 1 but differed on the use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as a means to extract oil and natural gas reserves from shale rock formations.

Gallagher said fracking has been used for many years in the North State and allows for the harvest of clean energy and reduces the country’s reliance on foreign energy sources.

Reed said he supports Butte County’s efforts to ban fracking and “would encourage every other county in Northern California to do the same. Water is our most precious resource.”

The candidates for county assessor, Brown and Connelly, for the most part tried to explain what the office does, which is appraise property values that in turn affect property taxes, the major source of revenue for county services like public safety.

Brown pointed to her 30-plus years in the office, working her way up from a typist/clerk to her current position as a principal appraiser.

Connelly said his 10 years as a supervisor qualifies him and overrides the fact he has no experience as a property appraiser. The supervisor’s job, he said, “a position, I might add, that I’d never held before,” puts him in charge of 2,500 county employees.

Connelly said he is running because there have been problems in the office in recent years, including the lagging submission of property tax rolls and rude public relations. Someone from outside the office, he said, would be better at fixing such troubles.