On September 28 at the Recreation Center in American Canyon, the Napa Sierra Club Group (Scott Thomason) and the Napa Valley Wildlife Habitat Conservation Coalition (Yvonne Baginski), hosted a Public Forum for candidates running for American Canyon City Council.
Purpose of the gathering was to give each candidate an opportunity to answer environmental and land use questions prepared by several conservation groups including
Napa Vision 2050, Napa Climate Now!, the Sierra Club, Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), and the Napa County Wildlife Habitat Conservation Coalition (NCWHCC).
Attendees included American Canyon citizens, Napa County environmentalists and four of the five City Council candidates, including incumbent David Oro, Sindy Biederman, Robert Cole, and Jason Kishineff.
Questions included how to address sea level rise threats, the impact that proposed industrial and housing developments will have on wildlife and habitat in American Canyon and surrounding land proposed for annexation, how to mitigate and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, how to improve the impact of transportation along Highway 29, and water usage, conservation and sustainability in American Canyon.
Ironically, one question, “How effective do you think our local LAFCO is in protecting the environment, the rural character of American Canyon, and preventing urban sprawl? What could make it even better?” was submitted by former LAFCO Executive Director Brendon Freeman before he was recently replaced by the LAFCO Commission.
Each candidate was sent the questions to be asked a week in advance, then given three minutes for an opening statement and two minutes to answer each of the questions on a rotating sequence throughout the afternoon.
The purpose of the forum was not to endorse any specific candidate, but instead to give those attending an opportunity to hear answers from each candidate and form their own opinion about who to support.
“As I always thought, being on the City Council is not a part-time job,” states American Canyon resident Joe Nabrynski, who attended the forum.
“The knowledge you must have, just on the environmental issues alone that affect the community, require a lot of research and work. Whoever you vote for, that person will have to make a full-time commitment. I thought the candidates handled themselves very well,” Nabrynski added.
“I'm very glad I attended the forum and learned more about the City Council candidates and how they view the issues confronting American Canyon,” stated long-time environmentalist Christina Benz. “I was most interested in the responses to questions about the sea level rise threat, open space protection, and making Highway 29 safer and more pedestrian- and bike-friendly through American Canyon.
“The presenters did a great job!” Ms. Benz concluded.
“I thought it was excellent,” stated Linda Brown of Napa Climate Now. “Both the format and the preparation of questions, it’s the best environmental forum I have attended in Napa,” Brown continued.
“I think we should do this in every city and make it an institution in Napa County throughout the jurisdictions. Kudos to the Napa Sierra Club Group and the Napa Valley Wildlife Habitat Conservation Coalition for pulling that off and for giving each candidate sufficient time to think about the questions,” said Ms. Brown.
“I was impressed by the quality of discussion and the thoughtful questions presented during the forum,” American Canyon mayor Pierre Washington stated. “Scott and Yvonne created an environment that allowed candidates to speak candidly about issues that matter to our community and our environment.
“Events like this provide voters with a valuable opportunity to get a genuine feel for the people seeking public office and to better understand how they approach complex issues. I would welcome more forums of this nature, as they play an important role in fostering civic engagement and helping residents make informed decisions at the ballot box,” said Mr. Washington.
Afterwards, Ms. Baginski reflected on the forum and the current situation in American Canyon.
"Balance between the environment and development was something each candidate agreed on, but this is not what we are seeing in American Canyon at this time,” she stated.
“Development is the priority and wildlife conservation isn't part of the conversation. I'd like to see conservationists, developers and city planners at the same table, talking before a project even gets considered. If you want balance, you must specify how that looks,” Ms. Baginski continued.
“Is it a percentage of the land? Is it adherence to certain protections? Balance is a big word that doesn’t mean anything unless you put a structure around it.”
“In the past three years that the NCWHCC has been involved in watching the land issues in American Canyon, I haven't seen one instance where balance or concern for wildlife habitat was even a consideration. Let's see if this will change with the new candidates," Baginski concluded.