| In 2020, LandWatch solicited input from candidates for Supervisorial Race (District 4). While LandWatch does not support or oppose any particular candidate, this information is helpful to our members in understanding how their votes at the ballot box have the potential to influence land use policy locally. All candidates for the Monterey County Board of Supervisor were asked to complete the LandWatch Questionnaire. The February 2020 election narrowed the race down to two candidates: Wendy Root Askew and Steve McShane. Their responses to the primary election have been reposted for your information for the November 2020 general election. |
| All candidates are in alphabetical order |
Land Use Policy - Affordable Housing |
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| Steve McShane | Wendy Root Askew | |
| What is your position on affordable housing? Please be specific with regards to policies you support or oppose. | Monterey County desperately needs more affordable housing. Housing needs to be made available to several income levels. I spearheaded the development of over 1,000 affordable homes in Salinas over the past several years. We need more housing and more diversity in our housing stock. I support transit-oriented, city-centered growth, building in and up. The County must spur development of inventory for housing especially very low, low- and moderate-income housing. I propose a rollback of fees or fee waivers for units built in each of these categories. Again - I support transit-oriented, city-centered growth, building in and up. |
Our workforce must be able to live where they work; long commutes only increase the pressure to expand and create roads on open space as well as contribute to global warming. As a founding member of the Monterey Peninsula Housing Coalition, I'm hard at work addressing these needs – regionally, collaboratively, and with the community to reduce traffic, support our economy, and maintain our diversity. As Legislative Analyst I've worked to support the build out of affordable housing at East Garrison. I've also coordinated County Housing staff to support the Lightfighter Village veterans housing project with $4.7 mil in grant funds applied for by the County. |
| Do you support modifying county policies to make it easier and cheaper to build housing? If so, what specific policy changes do you support? | Yes. Incentives for building up, infill and workforce housing linked to major employers. I have been an outspoken proponent of infill and development of our downtown housing district. The County has direct and indirect influence over fees that can impact whether a project can pencil out or not. I support creative incentives. Even better if the incentives can be structured with state or federal support. | Yes, I support modifying County policies to make it easier and cheaper to build housing that supports our workforce needs and helps us meet our Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) goals. Specifically, I support policies outlined in the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) Housing Initiative white paper policy recommendations, including a clear path to permit Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU's). There is an ongoing need to hold all County departments and staff accountable. We've made tremendous progress increasing transparency and accountability in County operations, however County building and planning departments remain an area of persistent concern and frustration. I am fully committed to a department-wide effectiveness assessment for the Resource Management Agency (RMA) and, if elected, I will support improved quality of service and necessary regulatory oversight. We also need to recruit and retain experienced County planners who can expertly assist clients in navigating our process. |
| Do you support requiring developers to actually build inclusionary units instead of paying an “in lieu” fee? | Homebuilders should definitely be encouraged to build inclusionary housing units. Units should be incentivized over in lieu fees. | Inclusionary housing ordinances are not adequate to meet our affordable housing needs. Review and update of the County 'in lieu' fee is long overdue. Historically the payment of in-lieu fees has not resulted in the number of units intended. I support a comprehensive review of the County in lieu ordinance and revisions that support maximizing opportunities for the development of affordable housing units. |
| Do you support requiring that “inclusionary housing” units be made permanently affordable, even upon resale? If not, please explain. | Yes. Given that "permanently affordable" is defined in the policy and addresses the various market factors that impact housing. | I understand concerns about historical discrimination preventing minorities from benefiting from the opportunity to build generational wealth via home ownership. Yet deed-restricted affordable housing provides housing stability and chance to earn equity. With limited resources available to increase our supply of affordable housing, we must maximize the amount of housing that is available for our low-income workforce by protecting permanently affordable deed-restrictions. In addition to advocating policies that support increased supply of affordable housing, I am a firm advocate for addressing systemic disparities that are rooted in racial and social equity. This awareness and commitment to equity must be embedded at every level of County Government with leadership from the Board. I worked to build public and political will necessary to have the County join the Government Alliance for Race and Equity and participated in the initial training cohort. On the School Board I championed the formal adoption of our Equity Pillar as a guiding principle for all School District action. I voted to work with Pacific Educational Group to engage our staff and students in the Courageous Conversations program about recognizing and dismantling systems of oppression. |
| Do you support requiring developers of hospitality, commercial and industrial projects that significantly increase demand for already scarce housing resources to also build workforce housing? | Developers must do their fair share in meeting our affordable housing demands. The County has an inclusionary housing ordinance in place. Anything the County can do to get developers to exceed that is great. |
Employer-sponsored housing has become an innovative way for employers to recruit and retain workforce. Farmworker housing, voluntarily built by local businesses, has proven to be a necessary and successful strategy to ensure a qualified seasonal agricultural workforce in Monterey County. In District 4 we also benefit from 600 units of affordable rental housing on the former Ft Ord that is dedicated to our local workforce. With a growing jobs-housing imbalance, there is a growing need for increased workforce housing. We must invite and welcome business into the conversation about solutions - and work in partnership with those employers who are committed to providing housing for their workers. As we continue to navigate a statewide housing crisis, there may be situations where workforce housing is required for certain development projects. As Trustee on MPUSD Board of Education I am leading the effort to identify surplus District property that can be made available for infill affordable housing for teachers and school employees. As we explore workforce and employer-sponsored housing projects, tenant rights must be considered and safeguarded. |
| What is your position on short-term rentals? Do you consider them in competition with long-term rentals? If not, why not? If so, what do you propose to do about it? | I believe that each individual community should decide upon the use of Short-Term rentals. Every community is different, and their policies should reflect their values. I support the County's current policy on short term rentals. |
I support well-regulated short-term rentals that meet the unique needs of each community they operate in. I also believe that we must prioritize our housing supply to meet the critical needs of local residents and workforce and as such, limiting the number and location of short-term rentals is a sensible restriction. Housing vacancy / second home fees are a related issues that needs to be considered in partnership with short-term rental impacts on long-term rental housing. I believe that Monterey County would be best served by a short-term rental ordinance that has specific conditions for our different unincorporated communities, developed in partnership and with advice from local residents, public safety, and transportation advisors. |
| What other housing policies do you support or oppose? | No response from candidate. | I support: - Scale All Fees by Square Foot, Not Per Unit - Defer Development Impact Fees Until The Certificate of Occupancy - Enhanced Bonus Density Provisions - to motivate the creation of smaller, less expensive rental housing units and more inclusionary affordable housing - Reducing Commercial Space Requirements - Creation of Local Funding Sources for Affordable Housing - Comprehensive Pro-ADU Production Policies - and centralized ADU support center. - Update Traffic Analysis - moving toward analyzing traffic impacts in the "vehicle miles traveled" framework rather than the "level of service" framework. - Zoning for Density, Including Optimizing Height Limits & Density Calculations - The Monterey Bay Housing Trust revolving loan fund managed by MBEP offering loans to finance acquisition, pre-development or construction of affordable housing in the Monterey Bay region. |
Water Supplies |
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| Steve McShane | Wendy Root Askew | |
| What specific proposals do you support to ensure our community can meet its water demands without over-drafting groundwater aquifers? | I support the expansion of Pure Water Monterey. | I value the efforts of the Salinas Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency, but have concerns that the Basin Management Plan proposed does not include enough solutions. Allowing the state to take over would be detrimental to our agricultural industry that relies on this water so I would like to see the Agency revisit and revise their plans to bring the basin into balance within the required timeframe. The Groundwater Sustainability Agencies are working on plans to eliminate overdrafting as required by state law; there are potential new water projects, but reducing water use through conservation must be part of the solution. Also, managing this watershed in a way that maintains the health of our rivers will likely also maximize the replenishment of the Salinas Valley Basin. I am optimistic about the Salinas Valley Stream Maintenance Program and Arundo Control Program. Additional options for storage of excess winter flow or aquifer recovery need further exploration. At this time, the Interlake Tunnel Project may be an option but has not been fully assessed for yield potential in view of climate change, which is anticipated to lead to reduced annual rainfall. |
| Do you support expansion of Pure Water Monterey as an alternative to building a desalination plant? If you support a new desalination plan, what size (in acre-feet/year) do you support, and how should costs be allocated on a percentage basis between residents and businesses? | I strongly support the expansion of Pure Water Monterey. Finding a long-term solution to Monterey County's water problem will be my top priority as a Monterey County Supervisor. Long term we will need to develop more sources of water in a fiscally responsible way – with minimal impact on our communities and environment. Depending on the source, reports show between 4,000 and 14,000 acre feet of water per year needed. | The Pure Water Monterey Expansion project appears to have the ability to meet the water supply needs of the Monterey Peninsula, while desalination remains a possible option for the future. I attended and spoke at the Coastal Commission urging them to consider Pure Water Monterey as an alternative to the Cal Am desal. I believe that publicly owned desal will be a necessary part of our future water supply, and support a collaborative approach to including all affected stakeholders and a comprehensive review of data in determining the size and cost allocation. |
| Do you support the public purchase of CalAm by the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District? | The voters of the Monterey Peninsula have spoken and want to explore the viability and ramifications of having Cal Am become a public water agency. I will continue to support a fair study and efforts to put in place a public water system that prioritizes safe drinking water that is cost effective and sustainable. | I support the mandate of Measure J to assess the feasibility of buying-out Cal Am and to pursue the public purchase of CalAm by the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District. I am proud to have earned the endorsement of 'Public Water Now'. |
Sprawl Reduction |
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| Steve McShane | Wendy Root Askew | |
| Do you support a moratorium on further annexations of county land in the Salinas Valley to discourage sprawl and encourage urban infill? | I support smart growth in Monterey County. I will support policies that encourage city centered growth. We must discourage urban sprawl and encourage infill. | I believe that we can and must support growth within the boundaries of existing development areas in the City of Salinas and elsewhere throughout the County, prioritizing in District 4 the redevelopment of blighted land on Fort Ord. We must limit further sprawl development in our County and protect our agricultural land. I will continue to support infill development as a best practice, and recognize that it requires different planning practices than many of our communities have employed in the past. My goal as a policy maker is to make decisions about our future so that my family can remain here with the same quality of life five generations from now. Working together, balancing our natural resources that are critical to our local economy with smart growth policies, we can continue to protect our County for future generations. I am proud to have earned the endorsement of the Sierra Club - Ventana Chapter. |
Transportation |
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| Steve McShane | Wendy Root Askew | |
| New commercial developments and hotels create more trips and additional vehicle miles travelled on already overcrowded roads and highways. Both residents and visitors pay the price of delay and increased pollution. What specific traffic congestion relief solutions do you support? | Agreed. I am a huge proponent of alternative transportation. I have served on our Air District Board for 11 Years and am a founding board member / Vice Chair of Monterey Bay Community Power. I have brought round-abouts to our City and am working hard to establish rail service connecting us to San Jose and San Francisco. I brought the "road diet" to Alisal Street in South Salinas and will continue to work towards a cycle / walker friendly City. I serve on the California Vanpool Authority Board. I believe more can be done to encourage both public and private carpooling. | A major area of concern for many of my constituents is the increasing gridlock on Highway 1 between Marina and Carmel. The transportation sector is of particular importance in climate action, since it is now the source of 70% or more of our greenhouse gas emissions. I support a variety of strategies currently being pursued to reduce traffic congestion on Highway 1, including: Increasing affordable workforce housing in the communities where jobs are concentrated; establishment of the Surf Line bus rapid transit corridor and planning for light rail; delaying school start times; and Go831 Carpools. For the past 10 years I've championed the Monterey Bay Electric Vehicle Alliance which has successfully installed over 100 charging stations in the tri-county area. Safe Routes to Schools planning in every District 4 city is underway with a goal to make our streets safer for walking and biking by all residents. The FORTAG is underway with Measure X funding and promises to offer a new paradigm for active transportation on the larger Monterey Peninsula. |
| Do you support roundabouts on Highway 68 and other roads? What other transportation policies or practices have you seen that local governments should incorporate? | Yes. I support round-abouts on Hwy. 68. As an active member of our air resources district I have been engaged in a number of projects that reduce congestion and aid the environment. Some examples include traffic signal synchronization, electrification of our transportation systems and change out of aging and polluting machinery, pumps and equipment. | I supported the current proposal for round-a-bouts on Highway 68 however recognize that with increasing vehicles on this corridor this solution only serves to maintain the current travel time. The roundabout that was installed near my home in Marina has significantly improved the safety of our intersections for drivers and pedestrians alike. I serve as an alternate on the TAMC Board and regularly attend the TAMC Rail Policy committee. I supported Measure X that has allowed TAMC to pursue many needed transportation projects. I generally support the comprehensive planning and vision that TAMC has led. I drive between Salinas and Seaside almost daily and support improvements to the existing roadway (possibly with minor changes to the route), however I do not support a new roadway that bypasses through Fort Ord and East Garrison. The solutions and funding options currently proposed for expanding Hwy 156 are complex and in need of significant additional funding. I do support the Measure X funded improvements at the interchange at Castroville Blvd on Hwy 156, improving safety at one of the most dangerous sections of the highway. |
Leadership |
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| Steve McShane | Wendy Root Askew | |
| If you are elected, what will be your top three priorities? | ● Finding a long-term solution for a source of water for Monterey County ● Housing & Homelessness ● Protecting the natural beauty of Monterey County |
- Housing for All & a Compassionate Response to Homeless Crisis - We need additional affordable housing to meet our RHNA goals. I advocate for city-centered infill development near jobs and mass transit corridors. In District 4, we need to focus housing development within the existing city boundaries, prioritizing redevelopment of previously blighted lands. - Public Safety: Public safety includes safe streets, strong public health systems, and communities that are well connected. As MPUSD Trustee, I've kept our kids safe by reducing real risks faced by our youth, by providing mental health support and accident prevention. As a County legislative aide, I've helped secure millions of dollars to District 4 to reduce and prevent gang and youth violence. I started a Monterey County Moms Demand Action group for common sense gun violence prevention. - Good Jobs & Economic Development: We must prioritize the creation of local, living-wage jobs that allow families to live in the community where they work. At the same time we must support the growth of local businesses that enhance our quality of life, protect our valuable natural resources, maintain thriving tourism and agriculture industries, and create good-paying local jobs. |
| What land use policies are you willing to champion for the community? | I am committed to working with the County of Monterey to address our homeless population with the right resources and attention. We must increase housing inventory for our local population with support for all levels of income. We should build up and in before out. | - MBEP Housing Initiative - "Realistic Policy Changes to Improve Housing Affordability" white paper - No subdivisions outside of unincorporated community centers, as defined in the 2010 General Plan - Preserve and enhance wildlife corridors - Protect funding for Williamson Act to protect productive agricultural lands - Vulnerability assessments for climate change and policies that require stronger prioritization of development alternatives with the least climate impact. - Rezone the County-owned area of Parker Flats in Fort Ord to Open Space/Recreation and work with the regional park district or other entities to enhance recreation opportunities in Fort Ord. - Require that proposed developments demonstrate availability of a long-term, sustainable water supply. - Stronger restrictions on developments in high-risk wildfire zones in view of expanding requirements for fuel mitigation which can negatively impact biological resources. |
| What accomplishments in your career or public service are you most proud of? | I have made huge strides at redeveloping Downtown Salinas. This includes an adaptive re-use ordinance and both public and private housing. I played a key role in the City of Salinas Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. I put in place a blight ordinance for the City of Salinas. I have been a champion for addressing homelessness with support for our City shelter, partnerships with the County of Monterey and various non-profits. I established the City's Neighborhood Services Department. The Department includes neighborhood grant funding. I introduced the City Public Arts Ordinance and established an Arts Commission for the City. I established and have hosted the City's Holiday Home Lighting Competition and Annual City Holiday Tree for Peace Program. I established the City's Adopt – A – Tree program and have lead public-private efforts to grow our urban canopy (Rotary, Los Olivos Riker Neighborhood Association and Communities for Sustainable Monterey County). I have organized and hosted (3) Electric Vehicle Test Drives for the Region. | Please visit my website at www.VoteWendy2020.com for a detailed list of accomplishments and priorities. As a fourth-generation Monterey County resident who is raising my family in Marina, I have been committed to working on behalf of our community for decades. I am a mother to a young child, wife to an architect, and daughter to both a parent educator and retired Army Colonel. I benefit every day by decisions made by my great grandparents to protect our environment so many years ago. Today when I drive along Highway 1 and see the pristine coastline or drive past the fertile agriculture fields in Salinas, I think about the future I will leave to my son and his grandchildren. We are blessed with incredible natural resources here on the Central Coast of California and I will fight to ensure that all people, now and into the future, have the same opportunity to live, work, and play in this fresh air and fresh water as my son does. Protecting our valuable natural resources benefits everyone in Monterey County for today and for generations to come. Our economic drivers of agriculture and tourism depend on fresh air, clean water, protected coastline, open space for recreation, and strong environmental protections. |
Background |
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| Steve McShane | Wendy Root Askew | |
| Occupation | Salinas City Councilman & Businessman | Legislative Analyst for Supervisor Jane Parker, County of Monterey |
| Years Lived in Area | 20 | 35 |
| Education | B.A. in Soil Science at California Polytechnic State University | Pacific Grove High School - 1996 |
| Experience | Salinas City Councilmember District 3 2010- Present, Hartnell College Board Trustees 2003-2007 | I've worked closely with every District 4 community as legislative aide for Supervisor Jane Parker for the past decade and as an elected representative on the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District since 2015. I am uniquely qualified and ready to hit the ground running as your next supervisor to keep our communities safe, spur living-wage job creation, protect our rich ecosystems, and address the housing needs of current residents and future generations. Prior to working for the County, I built and sold an industrial food brokerage business and worked as a non-profit fundraiser. With experience in the non-profit, private, and government sectors, I am known as a highly motivated self-starter with a strong reputation for principled action: getting things done that make life better for regular hard-working people. I offer experienced County leadership on a wide range of issues, including responsible land use and water policy, climate change, compassionate responses to the homelessness and regional housing crises, and strong fiscal stewardship. My broad grassroots support is evidenced by the 800 unique contributions made in support of my campaign and a growing list of endorsements from in-district, County, and Regional leaders. |
| This questionnaire was compiled by LandWatch Monterey County. LandWatch is a non-partisan, non-profit educational organization that does not endorse, support or oppose individual candidates or political parties. Except for length, replies from candidates are printed as received. LandWatch is not responsible for the content. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order. No part of this questionnaire may be reproduced without permission of LandWatch, or used in any way that may be construed to be an endorsement of an individual's candidacy or views by LandWatch. |
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