All right,
you guys ready? I feel like I have the voice of god
from heaven over here, . So, good evening,
ladies and gentlemen. It's six o'clock, so we'll start my name.
let me see if I can do this and look at you, or maybe I shouldn't, I don't know. My name is christina fau.
I am with the league of women voters. I'll be the moderator for this evening. The best part
about me and why you like me a lot is because I don't live here. So
, I have no stake in this at all. I don't have any opinions whatsoever, and
you can absolutely 100% count on me to be non-partisan, um,
league of women voters. We specialize in voter services because we're the league of women voters.
so we do our pros and cons, nonpartisan ballot proposition
presentations, and then we do candidate forums. I'm a candidate forum nerd,
so this is right at my alley, and I just love it. Um, so we're here to have fun.
we're here to learn, we're here to be educated about who, who's running for office.
um, audience, you have the opportunity to write questions on
cards, and we have people who will come by and collect the cards.
who's that over here? Sherline and the greeters too.
so if you have questions, write it on the cards. Just, you know, they'll
collect it. It will come to the question, sorters the question, sorters, bring it to me
and mean nasty questions don't get presented. So don't bother.
and I'm sure nobody in here looks mean or nasty. So it's gonna be great. And just have
fun. Just relax, you know, I'm trying to keep it low key, friendly, interesting. And,
um, as informative as possible. Um, all
of the candidates were invited. So rose espinoza, michelle
beier, carrie zurich, uh, dale lampkin, darren
nian, and susan pritchard. The candidates who've chosen to be here this evening are
darren nian, carrie zurich, and rose espinoza.
so we'll start with opening statements. Each candidate will have
two minutes to give an opening statement, and then we will have
questions and each candidate will have one minute to answer the same questions,
and then we'll have closing statements at the end. Um,
I think that about covers it. Oh, and they're sitting in order, and I didn't choose that order. They did. We
had cards. So this is, this is the lot we joked. 'cause darren said,
ladies first, and I'm like, really? 'cause you're first. So that was fun. .
you guys great. Yep. Um, I have to read the statement as well.
all it's really important, and you'll understand why that when
an event is being recorded, for example, all of the recording is shown
in context, so nobody has authorization to cut and paste and show
what they like, because context is very important. So, I
have a media statement. I need to read you, the
league of women voters. Tonight's sponsors have not authorized any video
or audio recordings of this forum other than repeat television broadcast
provided by the local government education and public access channel. If any recordings
are made by any members of the audience, we strongly urge that the forum be
recorded in its entirety and not be edited in any way. The fcc
requires that videotape of the debate or forum not be edited and must be broadcast
in its entirety, either live or reasonably soon after it takes place. Both
the fcc and the league want to ensure that information is not manipulated to create
false or misleading impressions. Therefore, no candidate is allowed to use or edit
footage for campaign purposes. Okay,
so on that note, we are ready. Um, the candidates have decided to go by
their first names. So everybody, everybody goes by their first name tonight.
so, darren, will you please start with your opening statement? You have two minutes. I will. Thank you very
much. It's great to be here again. I'm the current mayor of the city of la habra mayor darren. And
when I talk about how I got started in public service, I like to say I ran for president of,
uh, cleveland elementary school in the fourth grade, and I
came in second. And I like to say that's only because jim gomez didn't endorse me.
but I actually began my journey on my own street, which is always the best way to begin my own
street, my own neighborhood. I wanted a sign at the front of my neighborhood. I got that done. They
put me on the hoa board of directors, then they drafted me into being president, and
I served in that role for 20 years. That's how I learned about neighborhood issues. Uh, after that,
I became vice chair of the la haber fiscal review committee. I joined the lions club at
that time. In 2006, I was appointed to the la haber planning commission, where I served for
11 years, three times as chairman of the planning commission. I learned land
use, zoning, environmental impacts. I wrote a column in the orange county star
progress called lahabra. Now I served on the police reward fund committee.
I served, uh, as a, I still serve as a boys and girls club board member.
I've been doing that for 15 years, including two years as president of boys and girls club.
I was also appointed to the lahabra city school district personnel commission, and I served as chairman
there. And of course, I spent 30 years as an la county sheriff's deputy.
I retired in 2014 and was awarded the distinguished service medal.
and, uh, finally I got appointed to council. My colleagues, uh, appointed me as mayor pro tem. Shortly
after that, I got appointed. I ran, eight months later, I won mayor pro
tem. And then my colleagues were gracious enough to appoint me, mayor of the city in december
of last year. So, la haber now is a city with outstanding
public safety, good roads, uh, a great, uh, great
community resources. Uh, we have fantastic programs and events. We
are fiscally prudent by always balancing our budget. That gave us a double a rating from standard and
poors. And I wanna say I'm proud to contribute to a well run, vibrant and
thriving caring community. And, uh, oh, I meant to add that in my spare time.
I'll, oh, I forgot. I don't have any spare time . But
anyway, I wish, uh, those who are making certain allegations about the way the city's being
run. Now we're here, but they're not. And I'm done. Thank you. Thank you, darren. Okay, carrie, you're
up. Two minutes please. Good evening, everyone. And thank
you to the league of women voters for putting, uh, providing this forum for us
tonight. Um, it's my first time being on the forum,
and I really appreciate being here. Well, I am a proud
daughter of a world war ii veteran. My dad was a coastie
go coast guide, um, and a very proud mother of
a 27 year army veteran.
my son joseph, was in the army, and, uh, living in tennessee. Now
I am married to my husband fred, sitting in the audience. Thank you, honey, for being
here. Um, two children, six grandchildren,
one great-granddaughter. We have four generations living
here in lahabra. We love it and thrive here in lahabra
for 35 years. Um, we've made
this our home, like I said, with four generations living
under one roof, which is an amazing thing in itself.
um, I believe in giving back to the community, and that is why I volunteer
when and wherever I can. For the past 20 years,
I have been involved with our seniors, with our veterans, our youth committee,
and many organizations. Meals on wheels,
veterans committee, youth committee, the american legion, post
2 6 7, the women's club, and a member of the chamber of
commerce. I've helped bring the vietnam wall,
um, that heals to our city, um, as the chair.
and that's really got me all started in volunteering.
and I believe it's one way to get a project started and ended with
volunteers. Served on community services for six years,
planning commission for two years, and applied for city council and
was appointed this april, 2024, which
I'm proud to be part of a winning team. Thank you.
thank you. Carrie rose, your turn. Two minutes please. Thank you very much. Uh, again, I'd like to
thank, like carrie, the league of women voters for hosting this forum, and I'd like to thank those out
in the audience for being here, and I'll look forward to answering any of your questions.
I've served on the city council now 23 years. November will be 24
years. I've served as mayor pro tem six times. I've been mayor
five times, and I am presently on different agencies.
some I sought appointment by the orange county mayors of
orange county, because I believe la harbor should be at the table and have a
voice there representing our community. So presently I am on scag,
southern california association of government, oog orange council of government.
I am the fourth district league of california city's representative, the league of
california cities. Recently appointed me as the orange county representative
for advancing equity advisory committee. I am on hsec hills open
space education coalition. I am on the bridges of kramers, which
deals with the homeless. I am also on the orange county sanitation district
board. And on my own time, I am on, on a board of neighborworks
orange county, which helps the first time homeowners. And, um, I'm
also with the providence of st. Jude, which deals with north orange county health issues.
we were the ones that approved the budget to have all these outdoor exercise
machines outside in north orange county. And of course, I am founder
of rosie's garage, which I have been helping low income kids for the last 33
years, of which by one is volunteering with the league of women voters. Today,
I, I graduated from fullerton college with an aa degree, and
I am a recent graduate of cal state fullerton. I graduated in 2020, so
this brain is still working, uh, with a bachelor's degree in poli sci. That
would be it. Thank you, rose. Okay, so now we go to the
questions part. And the first question goes
to darren. What type of fiscal transparency measures
are currently in place to reassure residents how money is spent? If there
are no measures, what do you intend to implement?
thank you. Yeah, there was this idea there. Somebody said at some meet and greet, uh, one of our
opponents, uh, running against us said, well, we, we, we demand an audit. We need
to know where the money's going. There's no transparency, there's no accountability, this kind of
thing. And this is the way you kind of create issues where
none exists. If you're dealing with a situation where you wanna be on city council, but you can't
find anything to hang your hat on, there's simply nothing wrong. So how do
we ensure, uh, fiscal responsibility and transparency?
this ladies and gentlemen, is 192 pages. It's called the annual comprehensive
financial report. This is for the fiscal year ended in 2023. The fiscal
year for this year just ended in june. There'll be another audit conducted immediately after that. And
if anybody wants any of this information, it's available to the public. Anytime you can see that
every penny is accounted for. And every year we've had a balanced budget. We've also
done a full audit. And this is also, by the way, not by the city. This
is done by a third party vendor. This is done by clifton larson, allen, llp.
so the city has no dog in this fight. We simply show them all the books,
and they tell us that there are absolutely no erroneous figures
and everything fully account. Thank you very much. Thank you, carrie. Your turn.
do you need me to repeat the question? No. Okay.
well, I believe that the city of lahabra
has transparency and accountability to all of our 63,000
residents here in la habra. And by doing that, we do
provide an outside third party, um,
very fiscal, um, I mean, they, they
do these, um, audits for many cities, not just
for the city of la habra, which gives us accountability.
it's not our word. It's a, um, a company
that has done this audit and shows that we are keeping within,
um, all of the regulations and rules that we need to, to provide to our
residents on how our money is spent. Thank you. Thank you.
carrie rose, do you need me to repeat the question? No, no, no. I will just add
on that this is, the audit is done in accordance with the, uh, government
audit standards, and it's issued by the comptroller general of the united states.
so it's not anything that we take responsibility of. It's an audit that is an
outside auditor. And our 20 22, 20 23 20 24
audit will be done by the end of 2004. That would be it.
okay, thank you, rose. Next question goes to carrie.
how do you feel about building more homes and apartments and redevelopment in la habra?
that's a good question. Um, as a
resident of la habra for 35 years, um, I believe
that we need to maintain as much open space as possible.
um, given that it's not always
the local control. I mean, the state tells us what we can and cannot
build, and when we can do that, so with everything
that we have in our power to say yes or no to a developer
on redevelopment, that is what we follow. We have
to stay within our boundaries. And unfortunately, we don't always get
this the last word on, on how that's going to go. So we
will do everything that we can to keep as much open space for all
of our residents. And, you know, we have to,
we have to comply. Um, our arena numbers are out there,
the eight oh hundred and four that we had to make due
for, um, whether it's, um, thank you, carrie.
your time is up. Thank you, rose. As
I mentioned, I am on neighbor work orange county. I've been helping with that organization.
I've been on that board for 35 years. As a matter of fact, I bought
my home from a nonprofit housing organization, and I'm an advocate for
affordable housing. We have built the, the housing right across washington
school. We had habitat for humanity, has built affordable housing. We
have, uh, neighbor works. Orange county has built housing and duplexes on
grace avenue. High density, low income neighborhoods is where I want them build.
but it's a choice of the community itself. It's not like we have to be forced by
anyone to build these homes. It's more ideal for me to have affordable
housing and have it respectively where it should be placed instead of, uh, where
the developers or anyone wants to be placed in placing it at.
thank you rose, darren. We have 63,000 people and seven square miles.
we're completely built out. It's a big challenge. The fact is, local
control is everything, meaning cities need to be able to assess
a development for its merits or for whatever issues it might present. If you can't
mitigate traffic impacts, if you can't mitigate all the environmental impacts proposed by any development,
then the city needs to have the ability to say no. For example, we said no
to the 400 houses at the westridge golf course. As soon as we did, we were sued
for $110 million by the developer. We're still fighting that lawsuit right now.
we keep winning in court one by one. We keep winning the judge's decisions, but nonetheless,
we spent $700,000 of taxpayer money defending the quality
of life in this city, because we wanna be able to pick and choose where, when, and how
we satisfy arena numbers. We've zoned for 804 houses, we're not gonna
build them, but when a project comes up, we have to be able to ha
look at that project and see if it's appropriate. We're certified by the state of california.
now, if they get built, we want to be able to control that development. That's all. But little
by little sacramento is taking that control away. Thank you. Thank you, darren.
carrie, do you need me to repeat the question? Should
you answered I'm ahead. I, we are gonna just go in circles. You see what I said? We're gonna have fun tonight, and
it's on me . Um, that's, that's why I'm like, we're
the rest of my exes. Um, okay, so now it's rose's turn.
okay. Have you taken any campaign contributions from special interests?
I have taken a mind. You all these years have been 23 years.
I have paid and put my own money into each campaign. I don't know
if I'm ever gonna run again. So this time I thought I'm gonna do what other candidates do.
and yes, I received some money from the fire, uh, the fire, the
la fire company, or a, a local number. But
I am no different from other candidates who have taken money, say from the,
uh, builders association. Other candidates have taken from that, that
are not here. So, um, I'm, I, and they are a, an
entity, the firefighters that we support, and they have supported our community.
so yes, I did take from them. Thank you, rose.
darren, same thing. Uh, I'm supported by the la county fire association.
I'm supported by our police officers. These are public safety organizations
within the city of la habra. What I didn't do and will never do, is take money
like candidate pritchard from the building industry and from apartment owners, associations
and this sort of thing. She was bankrolled entirely two years ago by these outside special
interests. Whereas none of us here, the three of us have done that. And that goes
to show there's an agenda there and, and that's an inappropriate agenda. So special
interest money for me. No public safety. Yes. Thank
you. Thank you, carrie.
well, I have taken, um, our, the money from
our la county fire local and from the, uh, police
association, well, actually I haven't got that. So, um, I have been
endorsed by them. Checks in the mail. Checks in the mail. Um, but, um,
I have not taken outside, uh, interest money. I believe
that, um, working in the city of lahabra,
and we are, um, our public safety is first and
foremost, and those of the, um, organizations that I have, uh,
received donations from, from my campaign. Thank you. Thank you, carrie.
okay, now we're back to darren. Uh, if the city has
had a balanced budget for the last 20 years, why did we have to borrow $72 million
in january of 2022? That is a fantastic question, and it's
a great opportunity for me to finally clear up what is disinformation or misinformation,
or even worse, an outright lie, there is no $72 million,
$75 million loan. This, the $75 million that this person
is talking about is money that we have as a liability to
calpers the retirement association up in sacramento. Every city in california has
a liability. They owe calpers, right? So there was no money received by the city of
la haber for that. It wasn't a loan, it's a debt. And when we issued the
pension obligation bond program, what we did is we refinanced that debt from
7% that we were paying down to 4%, saving 1 million
taxpayer dollars a year, a total of $22 million over 20 years.
that's what the pension obligation bond thing did. No, we didn't receive $75 million.
that's ridiculous. I mean, that, that was our debt to calpers. So if we can clear
that up once and for all, that'd be great. Thank you. Thank
you, darren. Kerry. Okay, so the 72,
uh, million dollar, uh, loan, so to speak, was not
a loan. It is a pension obligation bond.
um, the bond proceeds were to pay off a higher interest rate.
uh, let's just say you're a homeowner and you've got an interest
rate of 10%, and somebody comes, the lenders say, hey, rates
are down, let's refinance. That is what the city did. We
refinanced to get a better rate
from 7% down to three 4% savings.
I would do that all day long. Thank you. Thank you, carrie rose.
and, uh, just to give a little bit of history behind that pension reform, it was adopted,
uh, with a variety of pension reform measures. In 2010, they negotiated
with the employers group to lower the pension cost and liabilities. In
2018, the council approved a pension rate stabilization fund
to help offset future, uh, pension cost increase, and
then the 72 point million, uh, pension obligation bond
that was refinanced, as they said by unfunded, accrued liability
to lower the interest rate. And that's what happened. It went from 7% to 3%,
which is, like you said, you know, re re your refinancing your
home property. It just made sense to be able to do that. And actually
now we've, uh, we've had what over decrease the cost, as darren said, $22 million
over 20 year period. So this is, this is a positive
thing, and there is really no money there. So that would be it.
thank you, rose. Okay, this next question goes to carrie.
this past weekend at korn festival events, there was decreased
attendance and an increase of rowdy behavior. How can you help make
city events safer and more family friendly and better?
okay, so making it safer, that would be our
public safety. And we need
to keep our police officers
in, in our in-house. We need to have them trained. We have, we
need to have them ready to go. We have to be able to provide
for our police department who protects 63,000
people here in la habra as a mother, grandmother, a great-grandmother
and a wife. When I am out and about,
I wanna know that I'm safe. So if we have to put money into our
police department to be able to provide that safety,
I would do it all day long. I would also check with, um, all
the events that are happening in the city and find out what could we do differently to
help them in their quest to make more money for
their events. Thank you. Thank you, carrie. Rose, the
question, please. This past weekend at the korn festival event,
there was decreased attendance and an increase of rowdy behavior. How
can you help make city events safer, more family friendly and
better? I, you know, I I, we, I spoke to a young man that
was with me on the, on the parade, and I said, we, he
thought there was a bigger turnout of people in the parade. And I said, well, you know,
it could be, if there is a decrease, it could be because of the,
the, the, the period of time that hey, they had, initially it was in august,
now it's moved to october, and there's still some that believe it may be, you
know, in august that still haven't gotten to the message to them that it's in october.
but it, it's a parade. It's an activity that is going to grow and it's
going to continue to grow. So I don't really believe that it was, it
was a matter of, of things, the negative things. I think it's just
that it has changed from a period of the year to another part of the year,
and it's going to continue to grow. Thank you rose. Darren?
well, I question the accuracy of the question. What it's, what it's predicated on, uh,
the idea that there was rowdy behavior and the idea that, uh, the attendances figures were down.
I don't know how anybody would know that at this point in time. Uh, carol and I spent a lot of time at the
corn festival. The crowds were huge. The parade was fantastic. There were people everywhere.
I talked to the police who were working that event. They said, it's been very quiet, with the exception of a couple
du wells, which any city event in any city is gonna have on occasion.
but by all, all my observations were that it was an extremely well run,
safe and well attended event. Now going forward, if you start to notice trends of this
sort, then what you do is you bolster the security presence, the number of police
officers there. Can we do that? Sure. Let's hope our sales tax measure is renewed
because that is the source from which public safety is funded. So assuming that
happens, then if we need to fill the ranks, bolster the security, of course we'll
do that. But I question again, the veracity of the
questioner, because I think it was a great event this year and a complete success. Thank you.
thank you, darren. Okay, so now we're to rose, this question's
for you. Why are so many tobacco shops allowed to be at
teens and underage people's availability?
why are what, why are so many tobacco shops allowed
to be at teen and underage people's availability? I think
that's been, if it is an issue, I think it's been an issue for, for
forever. Because when, when I, I had the kids, I had them go
out to liquor stores and I had them view what was at
your eye level, and we would talk to the business owners and tell 'em, you know, this is not
appropriate that you display this kind of product at the level of the kids.
um, so it, I think it's gonna be advocating for that would be
the high school students. If they're the ones that are the ones that are being, um, you
know, uh, attracted by this stuff. I think the high school and the,
and the students there should take the initiative to, uh, do a study on it and
go out there and, you know, because when you hear it from the, the, the youth themselves,
it makes a difference for these business owners. So I would say let the high schools do a study
and go out there to the, to these businesses and tell 'em if they approve or not
approve and why. Okay, thank you rose,
darren. A lot of folks say, why are you even allowing bait stores or
tobacco stores or any of that in la habra? And we have to remind folks again that it
is a free market economy, and we can't pick and choose what types of businesses locate here.
certainly our preference is for high quality retail, not necessarily a store that
sells vapes and tobacco, but nonetheless, if they fulfill all the requirements, uh,
imposed by city codes, they're allowed to do business here. In terms of selling to underage kids,
that's illegal. Our police department will make occasional spot checks going in there to see if they can witness
somebody underage trying to buy these products. Also, I think it's a state board of equalization that
also goes in and does checks. If we receive a report that a, a business owner is
routinely selling to kids, uh, we will definitely pounce on that owner
and cite and prosecute as need be. But again, it goes back to this idea why
are they even here? Well, we ask ourselves that question too. Sometimes. It's not our, our
our, our premier type of retail we wanna encourage in la habra. But again, you
know, this is a market based economy and you know, that's why you'll sometimes see
one donut shop pretty close to another. We can't say, no, we don't want you competing with that
donut shop. You've got a right to do business. Thank you. Thank you darren. Carrie,
well, it would be nice if we can say who can and cannot go here or there,
but that is not the way the world is. We have to be
able to say they submit their application,
the type of business that they are, and as long as they fit
all the necessary requirements, we cannot say
how many donut shops or, or smoke shops are gonna be in
a certain location. Um, what we can do is we
can, I know that there's a group, uh, a coalition out there in la habra
that goes around and tries to discourage young
kids from smoking. They go to the schools, they're at all the events.
so more events like that to let
everyone know that this is not right. Um, darren did say that, you
know, if, uh, if we get noticed that there are,
uh, shops that are selling to underage children, then they'll, that's
where we, we call in our police department to say, look, we've had
disturbance. Thank you. Sorry. Thank you, carrie.
okay, so new question. We're back to darren. What
is your opinion on what the relationship between
city council city and the chamber of commerce should be? Well, that's
a hot button topic, and uh, I think a lot of folks understand
that it's a dysfunctional relationship right now between the city of lahabra
and the lahabra chamber of commerce. And folks say, well, why did this happen? I think part of it
is emotional, uh, and it's based upon hurt feelings. Uh,
you know, historically the city always provided a, uh, a fairly large
subsidy to the chamber of commerce. And it was a subsidy of, of general intent,
general purpose. They could do whatever they wanted to with the money. But when
we started asking for accountability and transparency from the chamber board of directors, we
were stonewalled. We really didn't get information about the, the budget was never put on their website.
we never really understood exactly where this money was going, just as one person's
salary or, you know, what rabbit hole might it fall into. Then there
is the anaheim chamber's problem with, uh, the city of anaheim where, you know, it was criminal
activity there, collusion, and it was a gift of public money is what took place
there. And we were aware the fact that without that level of transparency, this could
be a gift of public money too. So we stopped providing that subsidy. I think the chamber was very upset
about that. And there's the answer, sorry. Thank you. Thank you darren. Carrie,
chamber versus city. Of course, there,
there should be, um, good relationships between both the city
and the chamber of commerce, um, and not have
personal conflicts. Uh, rather be based on economic development,
which is what the chamber's all about, and what the city's all about, bringing
businesses into our city for our residents.
um, I represent all of our 63,000
residents here in la habra. And, um, that's where my focus is keeping
all the needs of our communities in hand. Thank you. Thank
you, carrie. Rose, transparency is a big, a big, uh, issue
right there. You need as much transparency as the, the city, uh, city
hall does. Everything is posted. Most everything is posted on our city
website and they can see our salaries, anyone's salaries, what's
going on the budget. Um, that's not to at, when
I last looked at the website, there wasn't that transparency of where is
the money that the city is giving to the chamber going,
how is it being used? I mean, this is taxpayer's money. This is not
ours. This is taxpayers money, and the taxpayers need to know where this money is
going. And another thing is, um, I,
I want all businesses supported. I mean, it just seems like those that
pay, um, the fee that they are required will get the ribbon
cutting, but how about the business owner that it's just opening and doesn't
have the budget to be able to pay that 1300 or
whatever it is, but still wants a ribbon cutting. You know, I mean, I think they should support
all businesses, not just those that are, thank you, rose, are signed up with a chamber.
okay, thank you very much. The next question goes to carrie,
how do you plan to ensure that budget money is properly spent?
well, that is a question, um, where you could find all the answers
on our city website. Our budget spells out line item by
line item on what all the money is, um,
used for the money that comes in, the money that is paid out, the money that
stays in, um, different types of accounts, your public safety.
uh, in that budget, we've got 70% going to public safety,
and the other 30% goes to pay everything else.
so if someone really wants to know where all this money is going,
that comes into the city of la habra, our budget, uh, is
always in plain sight and everyone is
able to see, find it. Thank you. Thank you carrie
rose. I know that when I had my mayor's round table or a mayor's
community hour, I would go out in front of a stater brothers or a
the post office or any business, and I would put out my table mayor's
community hour, and I would have these laminated, uh, uh, uh,
uh, figures of a dollar bill and I would show the community how it was
broken down, how much is coming to the city, which was 6 cents
from measure t. And the bradley one was 12 cents, which was 18 cents
for us, and the rest of the 82 cents was going to any other
state entities. So it was just bringing it down to the residents and
explaining to them that we're not getting all this money that you think we're getting. And again,
I mean, this is where they should be looking. And it's online. I even have
a little free library in my neighborhood and I have put this a book like this
in the little free library for anyone to get whenever they choose.
that's how transparent, I'm trying to encourage residents to see that we are being
transparent. Alright, thank you rose. Darren,
a lot of folks know I've been walking doors in la haber since january. I've knocked on thousands of
doors, and one thing I never really get hit with is, well, we give you all this money,
where's it going? And I don't get hit with that question because all I have to do is spread
out my arms and say, look around you, look at your road. That gets repaid every three years. Look
at the quality of our public safety, look at our infrastructure,
look at the programs and events that we're providing the community. Look at public works and
all the stuff they do. Folks feel generally that they know what they're paying for.
and as rose and carrie said, of course, when it does come to actual accountability, yeah, the answers are
all here. And this city is spectacular in the way that it constantly transmits
this information. People don't even mind paying taxes so long as they feel their
money's not being wasted. That's the number one criteria. I don't think there's hardly
anybody in the harbor who thinks that what they get out of this city
there is, is not, is not worth it, is what I'm saying. I mean, we have
property tax increment, we've got sales tax. That's the lifeblood of this community, and it's put
to good use and to good work and people know it. Thank you. Thank you, darren.
okay, so next question. Thank goodness I'm keeping track. I'm like, huh? Okay, next
question goes to rose. What is your plan for
maintaining quality police and fire service in la habra if we don't pass measure
v? Well, it's simply said, I mean, if we're going to have to
do something, we're gonna have to cut across all departments in some way or another.
if this measure, um, doesn't pass, I mean, it's up to the voters,
whether they decide what kind of quality of life do they want in the city of la harbor,
they've gotten so used to the quality of life, of having a top la fire department
to their service. And, uh, the police department as well. Um, the community,
uh, the, the police department especially has a relationship with the
hispanic community that had never had before. It's a stronger one because they have a
citizens emergency or a citizens academy, police academy, all these
things, if it depends on, on what kind of budget we have, if we're
going to have to cut and where we're going to cut. So I'm hoping that this measure
will pass and we can keep that quality, if not better.
thank you rose. Darren, I think everybody does need to ask
themselves what kind of city they want to live in. It's really that simple when it comes
to that sales tax measure with the updated rate. Oh, well, why is it being updated a
half a penny? Well, three and a half million dollars folks is what the la county
fire department did to us this year. That's how much they increased our contract. We had to cut all
departments by 6% right there. Plus the fire department can continue
to increase that price by up to $600,000 a year.
so like any household budget, like any of you out there watching or listening, the
city is one big household. And so when things like that happen, we have a choice.
we either try to keep up with revenue generation or we cut, make
no mistake, we put this before the voters to let them decide whether they want their city to
look basically like it does now or to see an altered version of that city.
and if we have to cut 13% of our budget, if v fails, $8 million
a year, we're gonna do it because we're elected representatives. That's our job. We will cut to
fit. We will not do this. We will not dip into reserves. We will not use our credit card,
we won't play any games with that. We'll simply cut to fit. Thank you. Thank you darren.
carrie,
measure vi do support measure vi believe it is
a necessary, um, avenue
that we, this the city council is taking to put
it out to the voters, let them decide on, on what kind of city
that they they would like. What kind of events do they wanna keep?
what kind of services would they like to, to continue with
our police, our fire, our paramedics. Um,
when we make a 9 1 1 call, we wanna know that that
response time is immediate.
we don't wanna have to rely on wondering, you know,
how many fire, um, personnel do
we have on file that's gonna be able to get to us when we need to.
so, um, I hope the voters see that measure
v is gonna be a way that's gonna continue with all the
services that we all deserve. Thank you, carrie. Thank you.
okay, we're back to darren. In light of recent budget cuts,
some have expressed a desire for further cuts. What specific jobs
and or services do you support? Cutting?
let's look at la haber's job number one. That would be public safety.
that's the first and foremost responsibility of any city entity.
so that would be the very last to suffer from the effects of massive budget cuts.
would it eventually come down to changes with our public safety budget? Yes, of
course it would. Some people would consider fluff to be things like community services.
oh, the senior dances, the tamali festival, uh, programs that,
that help people who are in need. Now if you consider that fluff, then
you can look at it that way. Is that more likely to be cut than police officers and firefighting
services? Yes, of course. So do we wanna change the inherent character
of this city to that extent? We've got candidates running like candidate pritchard and even candidate
lakin's, not sure about this, but who say we don't need it. Let it go. All
we have to do is be more resilient, more efficient, which is utter complete nonsense.
it takes money to run a city, and ultimately if we have to make 13%
cuts in our general budget, we're gonna do it. And we'll cut the stuff that is not as important
as public safety. Thank you. Thank you darren. Carrie,
cutting the budget, cutting out services that all of our
residents have come to know and, um, appreciate and
expect. Um, we've already cut 6 million across the
board with all of our different staff, uh, police,
finances, all those other departments. Everyone had to look at
what we were paying out and figure out
how much 6% out of their department is
gonna be cut. Now, la habra, with all the events
that we put on the seniors, I mean the
lions club providing all these senior dances for our seniors
and all the events, the tamale festival, the, you know, corn festivals,
all those things that the city does on a annual basis.
we don't want those to go away, but we have to stay within a budget as well.
and if that means having to cut the services, our uh, public
safety is one of the thank you carrie
. Well, um,
rose? Yes? Do you wanna turn yours off? Oh, okay.
well, well, I mean, let's look at that because we already had budget cuts.
uh, the city manager had asked every department, you have to cut a certain percentage
in each of your departments. That was tough. I mean, even the council, we
cut our conferences or any kind of trips that we're gonna take, we just cut it
down to nil. But let's look at, I mean, let's look at the homeless issue.
and over the last five years, the city has spent 4.6 million
addressing homelessness in lahabra. We have a community outreach
person that is helping, uh, to, uh, help the homeless
and find them the agencies that they need to go to, to assist them. Is
that where we're going to cut? Is that going to create more homelessness here in our community?
I mean, we, we, we have to make sure that we can help them as
well, as well as the other, other resident members in our community, especially the seniors.
I mean, my god, if you've ever gone to the senior dances, you know, they're having
a time of their life. I mean, you would think that they were 28 instead
of 78 or 88, you know, but it's just not something that
I would like to see. Thank you, rose.
okay, so before I go on to the next question by carrie, here's where I tell you, we
just have two more questions and we have three candidates. So if you want to
ask a question, now's your chance. Submit them to the question sorters. And if
I don't have more questions when these two are done, well closing statements.
so, okay. Um, carrie, if you are
elected, what will be your priority while on the council
and clearly define the role of city council and can you stay focused on
your role?
I'm sorry, can you repeat the beginning of that one? Yep. If you are elected, what
will be your priority while on city council and clearly
define the role of city council, and can you stay focused on your role?
okay. So the priorities of
being a city council member, uh, you know what it, it's, it's a
big responsibility. It's one that I took, um,
not lightly when I decided to run for city
council, um, to get interviewed, first of all, before the
appointment. Um, I did that two years ago, and
when I did not get appointed,
it was on the, um, advice of all of the council members at that time
to have more, um, more experience.
so what did I do? I applied for the planning commission. I received
more, um, training and, and understanding
of how the city works. So yes, I can stay focused.
um, I've been a realtor for 35 years. Um,
and I gotta tell you, the ups, the downs, you have to put it all in perspective.
and with that in mind, that is what I will do on city council.
thank you. Carrie rose. My focus
has always been on the community of lower income. It has
always been to try to raise them up, uh, to get them involved in the community.
that's why, um, we started the spanish citizens, uh, police academy
because I wanted a stronger relationship with the police department. These resident
members know these police officers on a first name basis, and it elates me to
know that they are, there's a, there's less crime in the, in the, in the community
for me. It is, if I can make them succeed, then we all succeed.
and that has been what I've been involved in in the centennial committee. I've
involved them in other activities. I mean, it, they, once you
involve a person into your, your circle of activities,
they feel like they have ownership. And that's what I want for the lower income
communities, addressing what we can possibly do to make them rise up
and well as well and be part of our city. That's what I would do.
thank you rose. Darren, I'll answer by saying, what are the priorities of all five of
us on city council now and what would I like to work on in the future? One big thing
that's a priority for all of our city council members is an expansion of
open space, which is unheard of in a built out city like lahabra of only seven
square miles. We are building actively a brand new 16 acre
park called the scully centennial park, which is gonna have magnificent resources
and, and amenities, and we're so looking forward to that. The old women's club now is
actually gonna be a new pocket park called los rains women's club park. How many
cities get the opportunity to actually build two new parks? We'll do more of that if we can. I made
a motion before to explore revising conditional use permits, which charge
existing businesses and new businesses. A lot of money to locate in la habra. Sometimes
these businesses can't afford that. I want to cut some of those fees in half. I wanna remove the
requirement for cs entirely for some of these categories. We're also working
on synchronizing traffic lights and we're expanding our, uh, our, uh,
our traffic calming program. We got, that's something so critically important. Everybody
complains about speeding cars and bad traffic. And now I have to stop. There's so much more I wanna talk
about though. Okay, thank you. Darren .
okay, so this one goes to rose. What are your thoughts regarding
diversity, equity, and inclusion? Oh, well, this is what I'm excited about
because as I said, orange county, uh, league of california cities, that
appointed me to a specific group committee like that. And I wanna learn how to be able
to do more. I can see what I have done as far as including the community that
I have. I've worked with resident members addressing their issues in their neighborhoods.
one particular neighborhood wanted lighting, and I, I got the former city manager
out there. It was drizzling. He had a department out there and we were able to get
lighting for that neighborhood on st. Jude. I was able to budget and approve the
budget to get these outdoor exercise, uh, equipment for them so they don't
have to pay for a gym to have to go into and get exercise. For me, it's
like, what can I do to help you? What can I do to raise your level
of quality of life? Because once you do that, then they have an
investment in the community. So for me, it's like all inclusive,
bring you in, teach you that you're a part of our community.
you we are investing in you, and we will become successful
neighbor by neighbor. Thank you, darren.
you know, subsidies in southern california or the state itself send messages of
intolerance with some of their actions and policy decisions. That is so the act
absolute opposite of our caring community. You can tell the importance of inclusiveness
just by looking at our governing body, so to speak, the makeup of our city council,
the, the, the makeup of our, uh, commissions, which are very broad
based and representative entirely of this community, which is one reason why la
haba remains an at large city and not a city broken into districts because
there's disenfranchised chunks of voters in the city that aren't represented on
city council. It's our ethos and our core belief that everybody
is welcome included, encouraged to participate, and we like the representation
we see at all levels of local government that reflect the diversity of
our entire community. Thank you. Thank you darren. Carrie,
I believe in keeping all of us
included, not excluded. If someone
wants to join a group, I think they should. Um,
it's what we teach our kids to be able to
share, to be able to involve other kids, not
just a one-on-one, unless they were raised in a home with just
one person, but to be able to share, to be able
to include everyone in every situation.
and by doing that, we're we're saying that we are,
we are open, we are caring, we want everyone involved. If
you wanna be involved, great. If you don't wanna be involved,
there's that too. So we're not gonna tell you you have to join
or you have to be, but if you want to, we are all here together.
thank you. Thank you carrie. Okay, so the next question goes
to darren, by the way, are we so proud of our audience? They came up with more questions for us,
so, okay, darius. Thanks guys. , this one's for you. The la
county fire increase should have been anticipated. The city knew
that the contract was temporary. Why did you not plan for the price
increase years ago? That is another great, great question posed by the
one person who didn't show up to actually speak to that candidate lampkin, who made
that accusation that we should have known somehow, that at the end of this 10
year contract with la county fire, which was the inception was back in 2008, we
should have been well aware of the fact read the la county board of supervisors
minds that there's gonna be a new fire chief with an entirely different approach to servicing
contract cities like us. It was chief moroney who said that the sweetheart deal we had
with la county fire was over after 20 years. Now you have to bear a hundred percent of your costs,
your price is going up 3.5 million. Oh, and by the way, if you want that fire station 1 93,
that's another $5 million. Now, his attitude was,
we need to know really soon because we have the right to terminate this contract now. So
make up your minds and if you want us to go, we'll go right now. What's the council gonna do?
we negotiated as hard as we could. We got the best deal we could in the future. Do we
look at options? Yes, of course we do. There's no way we could have anticipated what la county fire did.
that's a ridiculous assertion. I reject it completely. Thank
you. Thank you darren. Carrie. Okay,
so the la county fire, um, agreement that we had
in 2005 and 2014 for those, um,
10 year increments was a shared agreement with
county fire with 50%, or actually it was 49 51,
but whose county and with the city with the other share.
um, in 2023, the contract negotiations
began and the city had budgeted the 10, 10,000,
um, $10,000 per year that it would cost
10 million. Sorry, uh, per year. That would be pretty, pretty sweet deal, right?
um, for all four fire stations,
however, um, la county fire having their own fiscal,
uh, budget challenges, um, they were no longer to be able
to support that cost sharing, um, arrangement.
so what did we do? We had to figure out how we're gonna make this happen
by, you know, having to close one of our fire stations.
thank you carrie rose, closing one of our fire stations, but still costing
us the same, you know, or more, you know, I mean, we're paying 50% more per year
for 25 or less service. Uh, but nonetheless, as carrie said,
with a fiscal budget challenge for la as well. I mean, so they had to pass
the buck down. And of course, you know, if you want the quality of service that you have,
which we now had with the la fire department, I,
it wasn't, it wasn't anything that we expected to be coming up the pipeline.
it was a complete surprise to us. And now we know, I would say
in the coming years that we look at, uh, periodically look
at see what, uh, what the cost is for other services throughout orange county.
but, uh, for now, it was just a, a complete surprise to us that this would be coming up
the pipeline. Uh, we had no ex I, at least I did not have an expectation
of that, but I wouldn't blame him. I mean, we had
such a great deal that, uh, we were happy and of course
it is what it is. But I would ask that we look at the services, review it,
it's, see the contract that we have down the road. Thank you, rose.
okay, so carrie,
I'm a long time resident, so pleased with your work. What can you do for
rent control
as a realtor? For 35 years? I've seen rents
go up and up and up. And the only thing
you can do, I mean, you can't tell a landlord that they
can't charge. It's whatever the market will bear.
so if the market is, you know, let's just say
it's 2000, if you could find something for $2,000
a month, um, then that's what it'll be. So it's, it's, it's
a matter of, um,
two heads coming together to agree every time I
see that. Um, anyway, so on, on rent control, there's
not, there's not a lot that we can do to, to keep those, um, prices
down. Unfortunately, it's wherever that market is going to be.
so if we can, um, you know, talk to our
landlords, talk to the homeowners and see that we're having
a lot of homeowners that are building eight.
thank you carrie rose. Well, we have, we have in the
city of la harbor, two mobile parks that are very low income
for the resident members. We have as well a section eight housing
over here in la harbor. We have the senior citizens one. We have around four or five
locations where they can have a afford at least a decent, uh, living there in, in
those areas. Rent control. I'm not, I mean, I, I think as carrie
said, it's up to the individuals that are negotiating. I, I personally, and,
and I don't want anybody to stand in line in my house, but I, I only
charge $1,500 for a four bedroom house because all I need
is to cover the mortgage. That's it. I don't need to be rich, I don't need to get wealthy.
but I think it's just the persons that are renting these places that
they have to assess how much, how much is do I need for what the
quality of life that I have. I mean, I'm not looking to be rich, I just want
to help the community. And I think that's the way that it should go around to resident members
helping each other. Thank you rose, darren.
and that's an interesting point that rose brings up, is that there is not a huge
problem with the landlords gouging renters in lahabra. It's a very
city specific problem. There's certain areas of socal, well, these landlords are just
greedy as all get out and they're just gouging the renters like crazy. Lahabra
has not had that issue. Now we've got state rent control now, I believe it's capped at
10% a year, which is still a lot of money. Or I believe it's 5% plus the cost of living for
that giving year. So that's there, and there's a ballot measure that talks about rent control
on the november ballot. But do I think rent control is right for la
hara now? No. Do I think rent control is correct for some cities
where they have an issue with that and we've got folks who simply cannot find affordable
housing anywhere? Yes. But again, everything is very city specific. We
have a unique character here in la habra. We have a whole set of, of, of
factors at play and rent control and the gouging
sometimes it takes place is not happening in la harbor at this time. Thank you.
okay, thank you. So now we're to rose. I ask you
to take a look at the secondhand smoke in condos and apartments. Can
you do anything about the secondhand smoke in condos and apartments? Again, if
we talk to the managers, then we can meet up with the managers and find out what the issue is there
and how we can resolve it. Yes, I mean, uh, there's a, there's always an answer
in some way that we can do to limit that, but, uh, uh, it
has to be with the, the managers and the company, whoever owns these apartments, to be able
to talk with them about the secondhand smoke if there are units that are separately for
smokers. I don't know. I have been very fortunate not to have to live in
apartments, but I would, uh, investigate and find out by going to the, uh, developers
or the managers of these apartment complexes as well.
thank you rose, darren, no denying
that secondhand smoke is a chronic health issue for a lot of folks. And it is true
too, that cigarette smoke permeates these units to a great extent. You're looking at kids
there, uh, inhaling this secondhand smoke, which is a distinct public
health problem. Uh, by the same token, we also
don't want to be overly regulatory and overly restrictive in telling
owners and landlords how to run their businesses. I think there's ways of incentivizing
smoke-free apartment buildings and ways of encouraging landlords to
create non-smoking living accommodations. And
that's something the city can do without actually creating a law that forbids,
uh, a landlord from owning a property where some smoking is allowed in certain locations.
so again, and it's not, doesn't appear to be a huge issue in the harbor, but, uh, can
there be progress on that point? Absolutely. Do I acknowledge it as a major health concern?
I do. Thank you. Thank you, carrie.
secondhand smoke, um, our kids are the ones
that suffer for all the secondhand smoke, um, and our
seniors, our older population. Um,
and it is difficult to be able to impose
these restrictions on homeowners that own, um, apartments
or condo complexes. Um, the only thing that we can do, as
rose and darren did say, is to meet with them.
I know that we have a group in la habra, again, a coalition
that is, you know, seeking out to find out ways
to prevent secondhand smoke, um, going to the schools,
letting them, um, be aware of all these things that can
happen, um, with secondhand smoke. And so with
the knowledge and passing that on to the homeowners, you can't
impose someone to say you have to
restrict smoking, but we can alert them.
thank you carrie. Okay, so this next
question goes to darren and we have after this, just one
more question after this, so second time around last chance. Okay.
I think our city can do more to celebrate the diversity in our community.
what ideas do you have to celebrate cultures across our
city? I think you're gonna see some of that coming up next year. We've got a massive
birthday party that we're planning for right now, and that is for the city's centennial, 100
years of the caring community. We were incorporated in 1925.
you know, the thing is that question again is an odd question for lahabra
because that's all you see are these massive inclusive
events throughout the city where you've got this tremendous diversity. Because we're a
diverse community, we we're slightly majority hispanic. We've got every ethnic
and racial group represented in la habra, and they are there as
one large family at all these events and all. And you see them participating in all these programs.
so is there a group where we have to say, if you're afraid,
or do you feel out of place you shouldn't and come join? Nobody feels
that way. Everybody feels welcomed. Everybody feels included. That
again, is what is unique about la habra. That's my answer. Thank
you. Thank you. Carrie, can you just repeat
the the question for me please? Yes. I think our city can do more
to celebrate the diversity in our community. What ideas do you have to celebrate
cultures across our city is just letting them
know they're all welcome. Um, with our new centennial coming
up next year, 20 25, 100 years in existence for
the city of lahabra, there are going to be events
for every culture, for every type
of celebration. I mean, we're gonna have a whole year of celebrating.
so I mean, if we wanted to, we can take one , one different
group and and celebrate them and bring
them all into, um, togetherness. So that, that is really,
I I don't see this as a problem. I see this as of
working with our community and saying, what do you need? What would
you like to see for your culture? 'cause we can sure
take, uh, take on any new challenges that they have. Thank
you. Thank you carrie rose. Well, I, I've seen that happening
before my eyes now. Uh, we don't have to wait for the centennial.
I, I attend the bunco and there are so many women of different cultures
there that are participating. I, I've never, I had never played bunco, but with this group of
ladies, it's just been awesome to attend it. The lions parade,
I mean, you saw such a diverse culture there and it was so
enriching to be able to see that, that they are coming in and celebrating
together. And I am on the centennial, so we are having persons,
uh, bring in their photos so they can be scanned. And it's amazing to see the
photos of the past. Uh, I talked to them about when my
siblings were segregated, they were segregated and went to mexican schools. And my sister says,
why am I going to mexican school to learn english if I already speak english?
why is this black kid going to a mexican school if he's not mexican? You
know? And it was all these stories that are being shared in the centennial that
make you realize that we are all one population, we are all one community,
and it's enriching. Thank you, rose. Okay, so it seems to
me we have come to our last question. This one's for carrie.
have any of your colleagues endorsed your candidacy and have they donated
to your campaign?
not the candidates themselves. Um, I've had
a spouse that donated to my campaign. Um,
but other than that I have not. Okay.
thank you. Thank you rose. Question again.
have any of your colleagues endorsed your candidacy and have they donated to
your campaign? Well, I, I don't normally seek endorsements.
I am, uh, probably a lone horse out there that I just run my campaign.
I just raise my own money. I'll put my own money. Um,
and um, it's never been an issue with me before, you know, and,
and we, it's like there's no reason for for me to do that, you know, because
they're in the same bind I am. They're trying to raise money as well for their
campaigns. So I'm being respectful of that. So I usually end up raising my own, uh, putting
in my own money. This was, like I said, the first time I have ever done this, accept
endorsements and, uh, raise money. Okay. Thank you rose.
darren, carrie, do you endorse me? Yes. Rose, do you endorse
me? I will. Alright. So I've been endorsed by all my council member colleagues and in fact,
maybe carrie wasn't clear on this, but I gave her 250 bucks myself.
so, and I can do that too because I've raised a lot of money in this campaign. 'cause I've been working really
hard. I've been endorsed by every planning commission member, despite the fact that commissioner brene
was a planning commissioner. I've been endorsed by every community services commissioner and I've been endorsed
by everybody on the la haber city school district board of trustees except
for candidate pritchard. So riddle me that. Um, so I've
been roundly endorsed and supported by people in this community, and I've had numerous, uh,
contributions. I haven't given rose money, but I've been putting up a lot of her science. Is that good enough?
there we go. That's my answer. Thank you. Sweat equity. Sweat equity. Okay,
well that was fun. Um, we are now at closing
statements unless we have any last minute questions. Nope, we're
good. Okay, let's wrap it up. We have each candidate in the same order that
they started. They have a chance to have closing statements. Closing statements are one minute.
so, um, darren, you got one minute.
I'm on wrapping up. All right. Let me address the elephant in the room. Why are there only three of us here?
where's everybody else running for city council? That's a great question. What we've got right now are
five long-term stakeholders on city council with enormous experience,
knowledge and insight. I think that benet prichard and
what's his name, lampkin, didn't wanna sit here and have to deal with
that. And their answers are completely vague
and non-existent. Um, you know, we are
impacted by outside forces that challenge us in various ways, whether it's greedy developers,
whether it's the la county fire contract, whether it's disgruntled former council members.
but we always meet these challenges with wisdom and a commitment to the welfare
of lahabra. So I just wanna say that, uh, in short, protecting and defending
the safety quality of life and the very character of this wonderful, caring
community is first and foremost on my mind. I'm so proud
of this city that we have built together. And I wanna finally say that I would
not be sitting here, I would not be involved at all if not for carol serian sitting right back there and jose
too. Jose raise his hand. But is carol, she's why I'm here. So I'm
asking you to please, I'm willing to do it for another four years. Your time is up. Thank you very much.
okay, carrie. Well, again, I wanted to thank the
league of women voters for being, um, putting on our forum tonight.
um, and
to my re non-response to that last question, I just
wanted to say, I have been endorsed by all of my
colleagues on city council. I have been endorsed by
the, um, the school board, um, except for prichard
and then, um, with the la county fire and our
police association. And I just wanted to say thank you.
this being able to give back to la habra
is what it's all about. That's what I am about here. I wanna
continue this run. I'd like to be your city council
member for the next four years and
so much. Thank you. Carrie rose.
um, my family, my grandfather came to la harbor in 1919
before the city was incorporated. We have so many generations of
families living here. Uh, lived in a migrant camp. Um, I never
planned on running for city hou, uh, council until an organization maldif
mexican american legal defense and educational fund called me up and asked if
I would run because, uh, supposedly I was making a difference through rosie's garage.
no, no, no. I go, the only thing I know about city hall is that I pay my water bill there. That's
it. . Um, I passed her on to someone else and, and they, she
called the other person that I passed her on to called me and she said, you know, we can run together,
we can run on a slate. And I go, what the heck? Let's try it. I never knew there
was this world beyond my neighborhood and I thought,
holy cow, I wanna make a difference. And so I ran, lost four times
and finally won again. Finally won. And I love,
I love serving the community, I love connecting with the resident members.
and I hope to do it in, uh, 2024 again after the election. Thank
you. Okay, thank you rose.
so on behalf of the league of women voters of north orange
county, I want to thank all the candidates here this evening for running and
for participating. Um, participating in candidate forums is really
important for making our democracy work. And questions from
the audience are really important for making sure you have a chance to interact with them as well.
so thank you once again for our timekeepers and our questions sorters.
and I also, rumor has it that we have assemblywoman pacheco in the
audience. Yes.
so on that happy note, I will wrap it up. I'd like to remind you to vote,
vote, vote, vote. And you have, um, ballotpedia is
a great resource as well. And vote 4 1 1 are also great resources for finding
more information in your ballot. And thank you very much for coming and have a great evening.
christina. Thank you so much. And thank you ladies for the league so much, for all the hard work. Thank
you. Greatly appreciated. All right.
how are you? Was I embarrassed all night? No.