Voters had the opportunity to hear from the three candidates for County Supervisor for Santa Cruz County District 3 at a forum hosted by the PRT at the Tin Shed Theater on July 13. Incumbent Bruce Bracker and challenger John Fanning will be facing off on July 30 in the Democratic primary. Republican challenger Jesus Jerez will compete with the primary winner in the November 5 general election.
The candidates’ responses to questions posed by moderator Dave Lumia, a retired journalist and resident of Sonoita, revealed the candidates’ differing perspectives on a range of issues facing the county as a whole, and eastern Santa Cruz County in particular.
When asked what they felt was the most pressing issue facing the county, each candidate gave a different answer. Bracker felt that the development of the Hermosa mining project is the most important issue. Fanning’s response was the lack of trust in local government, and Jerez cited the health and safety of the community.
Bracker defended his record as supervisor by citing financial support of the Sonoita Fairgrounds, the remodeling of the County building and expansion of the library in Sonoita, road improvements, and the county wine and tourism initiative. He also stressed the importance of the Community Protection and Benefits Agreement being negotiated with South32 and referred to an upcoming study session focused on local aquifers. When asked if he preferred the proposed gas line route to SR82 south of Patagonia, or a route through Lochiel for mining trucks, he answered, “I’ve never been a fan of using any roads before the airport. I don’t think the gas line is a good option for the community.”
Fanning criticized the Board of Supervisors for what he described as a lack of transparency. “Let’s not go into executive session unless you truly need to,” he said. “We need to have transparency, ethics training, I think there are too many conflicts of interest in county government.”
Fanning stressed the importance of adequate water resources for the region, citing the Hermosa Project’s estimated discharge into Harshaw Creek. “We need real time water monitoring,” he said. “As far as the five or six million gallons that are going to be in Harshaw Creek on a daily basis, that’s something that’s very alarming to me.” Fanning felt that the gas line route to SR82 was preferable to going further south through Lochiel.
Jerez called out the Supervisors for the recent alleged misappropriation of funds from the treasurer’s office. “The Board of Supervisors has to take responsibility. Something was wrong with the oversight,” he said. “We need to look at how we enforce supervision of that office.”
When asked about the lack of affordable housing, Jerez responded, “There’s a solution for short term affordable housing… A lot of the miners use their trailers to get around to do certain jobs… Why not open up local properties to facilitate their being able to park their RVs?” Jerez also expressed his support for small businesses by proposing the loosening of zoning regulations. He agreed with Fanning that the preferred route for mining trucks would be along the gas line, saying, “Coming down Duquesne Rd. [through Lochiel] I don’t see that as a viable option.”
59 people attended the forum at the theater. It was recorded by the PRT and shared via Facebook, You Tube and on the PRT website. The event was also streamed by We Love Nogales.