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Tuesday November 6, 2018 — California General Election
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City of Morro BayCandidate for City Council

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Photo of Betty Winholtz

Betty Winholtz

Self-Employed Educator
2,163 votes (21.49%)
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My Top 3 Priorities

  • People before Projects. Currently, hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent on studies to "meet goals" rather than fulfilling the needs of the community, i.e. roads. Examine the need for many consultants.
  • Vacation Rental Ordinance. Define what a vacation rental is, identify requirements for parking, quantity of people, noise, etc. Limit the distance between these commercial ventures in residential areas.
  • Prepare for CalPers inflation payments. Look at cutting expenses not just increasing taxes. This includes examining the cost/benefit of paying for an LA firm to represent our small town, rather than a local.

Experience

Experience

Profession:Self-employed Educator
Educator, private tutor, Self (1992–current)
Highway One clean up crew, Morro Bay Beautiful — Appointed position (2016–current)
City Council Member, City of Morro Bay — Elected position (2002–2010)
council member, city council of the City of Morro Bay — Elected position (2002–2010)
council member, city council of the City of Morro Bay — Elected position (2002–2010)
music librarian, Morro Bay Community While Caps Band — Appointed position (1990–2000)

Education

Graceland College in Lamoni, IA. The University of Iowa at Iowa City, IA — B.A. Special Studies, M.A. Counselor Education, My undergraduate work was liberal arts. My M.A. specialty was in Student Development in Post-Secondary Education (1979)

Community Activities

Member and/or voluneer, MB White Caps Band, German Band, MB Historical Society, MB Beautiful, MB Seniors, Save the Park, 4th of July Committee, MBHS tutor, Methodist Church (1986–current)

Biography

I have been lucky to live in Morro Bay for 32 years. I have an MA in Counselor Education from The University of Iowa.

From 2002-2010 I served as a Morro Bay city council member. It was during that time that (1)the wastewater treatment project was initiated and (2)financial constraints were enacted due to the Great Recession. I have experience in successfully managing the:

  • City finances, including the financial downturn of 2008;
  • Planning process, including development and construction of the roundabout;
  • And, cooperatively working with other state and local agencies, including the Cayucos Sanitary District.

Other aspects of my community involvement include being a member of the MB White Caps Band, German Band, MB Historical Society, MB Beautiful, MB Seniors, 4th of July Committee, Save the Park, Methodist Church, and volunteering as a math tutor at MB High School.

For the last 25 years I have been successfully self-employed as a tutor for reading, reading comprehension, and math serving elementary school, high school, and Cuesta college students, as well as adults.

 

Who supports this candidate?

Organizations (1)

  • Citizens for Affordable Living

Individuals (2)

  • Jeff Heller
  • John Weiss

Political Beliefs

Political Philosophy

I grew up in President Harry Truman's hometown of Independence, MO, when it had a population of 10,000, the same as present day Morro Bay. Civic involvement and responsibility was the norm and not the exception. I strongly believe civic engagement is necessary in order to promote and maintain the kind of local government that serves the needs of all its members.

Elected officials serve at the pleasure of the public; are to listen to the public; are to make decisions which represent the public's wishes.

The mayor is one of five elected representatives. All five are equal in leadership and responsibility; it is not handed to the mayor to be a chief with 4 assistants. The mayor moderates the meetings and is the city's figure head at official gatherings.

City staff's purpose is to fulfill the direction of the city council; it should not give direction to the city council. Staff has a duty to provide complete information to the city council and thus the public, upon which they can make an informed decision.

Position Papers

Vacation Rental Ordinance

Summary

Morro Bay's current vacation rental ordinance:

  • states general guidelines for owners of vacation rental units,
  • sets the maximum number of vacation rental units permitted in the City.

Neighborhoods are communities not commodities.

I support owner-occupied, or hosted, vacation rentals without limit.

Non-hosted vacation rentals, where the owner is not on-site, shall follow strict, enforced steps including quantity of people, quantity of cars, a minimum distance between units, noise, posted up-to-date contact information and fines.

Let vacation rentals be a constructive part of the economy without being an intrusive burden to our neighborhoods.

proposed sewer plant

Summary

Why the proposed site at South Bay Blvd is detrimental to our local businesses, city taxes, and personal pocketbooks.

Realistic options the community can afford within the requirement timeframe.

I am familiar with all of the candidates' service to the city and county. They are good people with good intent.   That being said, being a good person is not sufficient this time.   What is at stake? 1. Raising your sewer/water rates unnecessarily. 2. Compromising the health of businesses along all of Quintana and the Roundabout. 3. Crippling the tax revenue stream from businesses along Quintana and the Roundabout. 4. Potentially eliminating jobs at those retail/service stores when business drops off. 5. Causing a ripple effect on other businesses along Morro Bay Blvd by limiting access. 6. A year's worth of traffic congestion for residents, workers, and tourists. 7. Loss of shoppers and tourists as they change their buying habits. 8. Limiting competitiveness of Morro Bay restaurants and motels. 9. Creating an opportunity for a sewage spill into our National Estuary.   These are real consequences of digging up the full length of Quintana Road over one year to put in the pipes for a sewer plant at South Bay Blvd   There are less expensive alternatives. Not piping to South Bay, alone, cuts construction and operating costs; this was the recommendation of county professionals.   The Regional Water Quality Control Board and Surfrider Foundation both supported approval in 2017 for the South SLO Sanitary District (Oceano) permit to have 30 years to move their sewer plant off their dunes and creek by the CA Coastal Commission "persuant to staff recommendation." If Morro Bay applied for a similar permit: 1. We can stay at the current operating site, or 2. We can go to the Hanson property since we own it, or 3. We can buy property next to Cayucos and recycle into Whale Rock Reservoir, or 4. We can use 5 of the 100+ acres on the old PG&E power plant site.   It takes 3 to do the right thing. Mayoral candidate Weiss and council candidates Heller and myself favor protecting our businesses, tax revenue, and your pocketbook on this matter.

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