South Lake Tahoe City Council candidates list their top priorities

There are eleven people vying for a spot on the city council in South Lake Tahoe. With only three open spots, it is not easy to narrow down the choices.

South Tahoe Now reached out to all 11 candidates and received replies from just eight of them. Each day this week their answers will be posted. It will be different this election because of the crowded field and all answers to question number one will be posted on Monday, question two answers on Tuesday, and so on. The order will rotate each day. (View answers to question #1 here, and question #2 here)

Question# 3: In your opinion, what are the City's top five priorities, and why?

Scott Robbins: Affordable housing, fire protection, roads paving and transit, over-taxation, and environmental sustainability.

1. Affordable Housing: We are deep into the worst housing crisis in the history of Lake Tahoe. This crisis cuts across all aspects of our community as small businesses, local non-profits, and even our emergency fire services have been unable to hire and retain critical staff as locals are pushed out of the basin in search of affordable housing and lower costs of living. In the last twenty years, our community has actually increased the total number of housing units by 20%, but in that same time we’ve lost 10% of our local population and a staggering 36% of our school enrollment. We’ve built vacation houses, but lost locals and families. If we continue on our current path of timidity and inaction, we face an unsustainable future in which Tahoe becomes a Disneyland-in-the-mountains, a place where people visit, but nobody lives.

2. Fire Protection: But for the efforts of our firefighters and a last-minute change in the winds, the Caldor fire would have destroyed our community. Fire is an existential risk to our community, and this problem is exacerbated by the housing crisis. Members of our fire department live as far away as Chico, because housing here is simply unaffordable relative to what we pay. The result is difficulty in recruiting new firefighters and excessive turnover as the firefighters we train leave for better pay and more affordable housing in other communities. This also has safety consequences as the long commutes prevent calling in staff quickly during an emergency. Our local government needs the will to attack the housing crisis, cut wasteful spending, and increase firefighter pay to ensure that we can defend our community during the next fire emergency.

3. Roads. Pave the roads. The abysmal condition of our roads has been the top issue for locals for years, and for years it’s been ignored by the city. Today, the city collects and allocates more money on tourism advertising ($3M/yr) than we do on road paving ($2.5M/yr). Just this past month, the city spent $450,000 of local general funds tax money to repave, not our roads, but the private plane hangars at the airport. Actual spending has not reflected our publicly stated priorities to provide adequate road and transit infrastructure. This can, and must change.

4. Over-Taxation. Twice in the last two years, the city has pushed sales taxes that hurt locals, a 1% general sales tax, and now (Measure G), a new, permanent 6% tax on cannabis. These taxes are compounded on top of skyrocketing inflation that has eaten into the paycheck of our workforce. Tourism should work for locals, not demand their sacrifices. We need to shift the tax burden away from our locals by raising the tourism taxes (TOT) and with vacancy fees on empty second homes (which would also incentivise their rental or sale as local housing). Both options would successfully generate revenue from tourists, and allow us to cut taxes on locals.

5. Sustainable Tourism and the Environment. The exploitation of our local environment from over-tourism has become visible everywhere from the trash on our beaches and trails, to the miles of traffic choking our air and roads. In the short term,we should consider policies and programs that increase per-tourist revenue while reducing total numbers, and especially the total number of cars entering the basin, and their accompanying environmental impacts.

In the longer term, we must demonstrate substantive leadership on climate change. We already face summers so hot and dry that Caldor-level wildfires have become the norm, not the exception, and we will soon begin to see winters too warm for consistent snow. We face a future in which the children learning to ski in Tahoe today will likely be the parents of the last generation to ski in Tahoe, and our jewel in the Sierras will be lost for future generations of locals.

David Jinkens:
Regularly repair and maintain the City road system: The City needs a regular road maintenance program to repair and maintain roads by filling holes, crack sealing and doing road sealing so that the road life is extended. Rebuilding roads only is not a road maintenance system. Roads cannot be allowed to deteriorate for lack of maintenance all over the city. All city roads need regular maintenance. Having quality roads means as well that the city needs a workable and reliable drainage system.

No New Taxes – Set Budget Priorities: The City Council must live within its means and not ask voters to pay more taxes or support actions by other agencies imposing new taxes or taxes masked as fee on residents or our businesses. They need to determine the highest priorities and then fund these priorities. If everything is important, nothing is important. People are taxed enough.

Public safety: Both police and fire agencies are essential to the safety of our community. They must be a high priority. In addition, the City Council must be an active advocate to see that the hundreds of USFS and CTC parcels within the City limits are made fire safe so we do not become the next catastrophic fire casualty in California. Our people, lake, water supply, forest, and local economy depend on preventing massive fire in the City limits. South Lake Tahoe must become a model “fire safe community”. This matter needs urgent action.

Housing: City government can and must address our share of the affordable housing shortage in the South Shore. County government and our friends in Nevada must do the same. We can’t solve all of their affordable housing problems. They need to help. In the city, we need to take a hard look at vacant and non-environmentally sensitive lands to see if they can support quality work force housing. Large employers must also contribute to the solution by either providing housing for employees or helping their employees afford housing. Existing workforce housing in old motels should be preserved and upgraded using Federal and State funds, grants, loans and remain available to our workforce. The City must continue to seek funds from the Federal and State government to assist the private development of quality housing. City government must also ensure that TRPA is working with and supporting our efforts to see that affordable housing is provided.

Protect our lake and the environment: City government should never consent to or agree to allow any proposal that endangers the health, safety and welfare of the people of the community or damages our environment, lake or habitat. City government can do better than saying, “there is nothing we can do.” There is always something local government can and should do to protect the community.

Nicole Ramirez Thomas:
Maintaining a good quality of life. The job of a City Council person is to address a broad set of community issues. How those decision impact peoples’ quality of life should be at the heart of every decision. The best interest of everyone in the community needs to be kept in mind. Quality of life is the direct result from decisions made about topics ranging from housing policy and economic development to environmental protection.

Addressing equity in policy and City supported ventures. Equity is an important component to bettering quality of life in a community. Equity offers everyone the same opportunities. This means opportunities for dignified housing they can afford, opportunities to obtain an education, a chance to establish a business or pursue a career and create economic stability. It doesn’t mean that you get something because I or someone else gets something. It means that you have the same opportunity to attain the same things as I do, or your neighbor or coworker does. Imbuing equity in policy makes for better communities. It means that everyone has the opportunity to participate in community decisions and benefit from community investment.

Fostering cultural and environmental stewardship. The pandemic highlighted the need to help people visiting South Lake Tahoe understand the culture of our community and how to respect it. Conveying this message effectively requires a clear sense of community identity. We must work to create behaviors and policies that demonstrate how we want our city to be treated. This includes respectful behavior toward both the people that live here and the environment. Educating people on how special and fragile the Basin environment is includes messaging on fire safety, waste management, and pollution of the Lake to name a few items.

Exploring additional economic and housing strategies that help bring stability to the community. Housing is a complex national and even global issue. Local housing policy operates within this context and is part of the economic ecosystem. It is not just a standalone issue with easy solutions. As such, economic decisions are central to continue the work underway to meet the housing need. We can work to diversify our economic base by leveraging our existing tourist-based economy. Economic strategies adopted via the City Council should marry policy decision and community experience in a way that fosters equity and diversity and promotes quality of life. The decision about the actual strategies to employ need to be evaluated. More housing construction is needed and must continue to be backed by the appropriate investment. Another possibility is fostering more well-paid positions within the hospitality industry.

Important options include helping existing businesses, anchor employers, and government to retain qualified staff. Particularly in regard to police and fire, retention of existing, trained staff is critical to maintain community safety and is a sound economic policy. Cost of living, housing, and competitive pay are intertwined economic issues.

The confluence of policy and community economic strategies should address why people choose to live here and how they are able to live here. Taking into consideration these two things together can help create good economic strategies and policies that create a stable and sustainable economic base. Understanding that creating a sustainable community and economy takes time and money is important to keep in focus.

Maintaining fiscal responsibility. The City Council must take great care in considering the costs and benefits of their decisions on the City budget. Cities take monies from various sources including taxes, fees, and grants. Understanding how the money is allocated is essential to wise spending. For example, pursuing unsound ideas, such as a different tax base for locals versus tourists, are a waste of city time and money and demonstrate a lack of understanding of how a city budget operates. Maintaining a healthy tourist economy is essential to local economic health and the local workforce. It’s irresponsible to discount the importance of the tourist economy and its benefit to the City budget and services. City Councilors need to be responsible and respect all aspects of the economy.

Chantelle Schenning: Based on what I've heard from engaging with the community, the top priorities are:
1. Housing & Cost of living-- We have an affordable housing shortage and our cost of living is too high which makes it too challenging for lower and middle-income individuals and families to afford a home in our city.

2. Wildfire safety and Firefighter Support-- After the Caldor Fire evacuation and the continuous summers of smoke, it is important that we work collaboratively with counties, state, and federal government to better protect against wildfires. Additionally, our own firefighters who protected our city from Caldor and serves all of us on a daily basis are struggling to afford housing and the city is struggling to retain them. We need to better support our first responders.

3. Environment Protections-- Our home, a national treasure, faces challenges from our necessary tourism economy, climate change, and environmental factors. Many residents express concern regarding trash, air pollution, and climate change. Additionally, we could do better to improve our city’s energy efficiencies and infrastructure as well as expand and better care for parks and recreation.

4. Tourism-- This is a divisive topic that I believe I can help bring people to common ground. Tourism is in the fabric of our city and is our main economy. We need to continue supporting sustainable tourism for the good of our city and its future while diversifying our economy as well. Small businesses that many local residents love and need in our community are suffering from the reduced customer volume since Measure T. We need to find a balance. Perhaps new regulations, fines, licensing/ certifications, and management requirements can address concerns of residents while balancing the need for increased customer volume for our local, small businesses.

5. Everyday living for locals & support for local businesses-- There are some easy ways to improve the experience of residents and as a collective community. Connection, social engagement, and a sense of belonging are important for our happiness and health. We need to ensure all people of all ethnicities and beliefs are engaged, included members of our community. I would work with the community to understand their needs and interest in cultivating a deeper sense of connection and social interaction throughout our city. It will be important to meet the community members where they are and be thoughtful about engaging under-represented populations. Some opportunities could be development of a locals-only access to the lake and other recreation, investment in other desired community-based infrastructure, and/or better care for our daily-traveled roads using tourist dollars. I would also explore ways to reduce burdens and hurdles for full-time homeowners such as easy permitting processes for common-sense home improvements. I would also champion spaces and arts in our community to bring people together.

Tamara Wallace: 1) Police, 2) fire, and 3) roads/snow removal were why our city was founded in 1965. The citizens wanted protection from crime and fire, with well-plowed roads. Citizens’ safety is the primary duty of elected officials. That’s why my campaign theme is “Keep Tahoe Safe.” I came to the Council with a desire to do those basic things. My two additional priorities are 4) HOUSING and 5) a tie between transit and a robust stormwater system.

Joby Cefalu: Affordable/work-force housing; transportation; sustainable funding for public works, including roads, plows, fire and law enforcement; small business, including embracing tourism and providing stewardship by using the lessons we have learned from the pandemic and through post-pandemic Lake Tahoe; and finally, climate change and reducing our footprint in a manner that utilizes current technology while at the same time allowing Lake Tahoe to lead the way as more technology becomes available. All of these priorities run parallel and it is imperative they are acted on in that manner. Housing is not only a South Lake Tahoe problem but a problem throughout our country. I consider affordable housing to be the foundation of the long list of needs, as we are at a time where we have an obligation to our multi-cultural and lower-income residents to bring solutions in a timely manner.

Kevin Brunner: Affordable Housing & Quality of Life, Sustainable Tourism, Fire and Emergency awareness/accountability, and Education Opportunities.



So many of these issues are intermingled. We need to have a better quality of life, like living wages to even sustain affordable housing. Sustainable tourism is also involved with the working class here in Tahoe and being able to educate the public better about stewardship creates a better tourist/local experience.

With Education, I would like to help local businesses by offering mentorship programs, to help students find real work in the real world. We have Federal and State level grants to help these businesses offer wages while giving life-changing training…for high schoolers and our local college students.

Here are the websites and contact information for each of the eight candidates who answered the questions above (in alphabetical order):

Kevin Brunner - mrbrunner1212.wixsite.com/kevinbrunner4sltcity, kevinbrunner1991@gmail.com
Joby Cefalu - voteforjoby.com, jobycef@gmail.com
David Jinkens - www.david4slt.com, djinkens4council2022@gmail.com
Nicole Ramirez Thomas - nicoleforcouncil.com, nicole@nicoleforcouncil.com
Scott Robbins - www.scottforslt.com, scott@scottforslt.com
Chantelle Schenning - chantelle4citycouncil.com, chantelle4citycouncil@gmail.com
Tamara Wallace - www.facebook.com/wallace4sltcitycouncil/, wallace4sltcitycouncil@gmail.com