Meet the candidates for Seaside city Mayor
SEASIDE, Calif. (KION) - With less than 2 weeks away from elections, KION spoke with all three candidates about why they deserve your vote.
Campaign signs could be seen plastered around the city by the sea. Among those on the signs are three candidates each hoping to represent Seaside as mayor.
Dennis Volk, owner of Mals Market, Karla Lobo, a community activist, and Ian Oglesby, who has been the mayor of Seaside for the last 6 years.
"What separates us is the knowledge and experience and the know how to get things done. I think I've been very successful in getting things done here in the city of Seaside. We want to continue to do that," said Oglesby.
Despite never having been in an elected position, Volk says he meets all walks of life working for his deli shop.
"I've been in the grocery business for a long time. I've learned how to work with people, you know, even though I feel like some could be unreasonable. I've learned how to work with people. I've also done a lot of community banks. I've I've worked with the dog park. I work with the seniors. I've worked with the youth. I work with a lot of different organizations and people. And I've learned that compromise is a great value in your life, that you can compromise and you can make things that happen and work for everybody and still stick with your values," said Volk.
As for Lobo, she says her experience has given her a unique perspective on the needs of the community.
"Think just my well-rounded scope in different industries. I've done human resources, legal real estate, and the education sector as well as the county sector, working with the vita program, which was our covid 19 response for the Monterey County," said Lobo.
"What would you say is the biggest issue the city of seaside faces and how do you plan on tackling it
Dennis Volk: "One of the biggest issues in the nation is housing and affordable housing for people in our area. And of course, the area that we live in is an island, really high-income area where we have to find affordable housing for people that matches their income. And I would like to see us move into court or try to figure out how we can build 1100 square foot, 1200 square foot houses on 55 by 50 foot lots that I grew up in.
Ian Oglesby: "I think our biggest challenge is affordable housing, workforce housing. So that's one thing I look forward to tackling and trying my best to do. You know, it's kind of hard to solve, but we want to work on it and move it forward. And I think we want to do that by working with low-income and moderate-income developers and having to come into the city of seaside and build fordable and particularly workforce housing. What we want to do is keep the housing costs down. And so that's what they do is build a little smaller. But we need to build more housing units."
Karla lobo: "I think a focus on keeping family here and ensuring that family is rooted and thriving here. As we know, times are hard with the pandemic that came about and just the influx in rental prices and home prices, it's hard to keep our families rooted in the city of Seaside." when we talk about what affordable housing is, there are different components to that. When we incorporate income rental rent rates, market rent rate, you know, right now we have a short stock of affordable housing, but it is a local issue as well as a national and state issue."
Before you head to the polls, each candidate wants you to know:
Ian n. Oglesby: "We're working hard every day to earn your vote. And I will continue to work hard for them and fight for them on the issues that they care about."
Dennis Volk: "We need fences and yards and places for our kids to play. And I think building and stacking homes upon each other and putting people in a concentrated area is not a good idea."
Karla lobo: "It's important to understand the platform that all candidates are standing on, how that closely relates to your morals and standings, and what you see in your future. And when I see your future, think about your children's future. "
