Concord City Council candidate questions: Carlyn Obringer

The Concord Clayton Pioneer newspaper presented a list of questions to the candidates running for Concord City Council in the 2020 election for District 2. To read other candidate answers, click here. For our story on all the candidates running in this race, click here.

Carlyn Obringer

Age: 40.

Current occupation: Health-care educator/City Council member.

How long have you lived in Concord? Nearly 14 years.

Personal information: I live with my husband, Justin, and dog, Coco, near downtown Concord. I enjoy playing the piano and organ at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church and taking Coco for walks and play dates at Hillcrest and Baldwin parks. I love to travel and explore new places, a pastime which often is a source of inspiration for great ideas to bring home to Concord – such as the painted utility boxes at Todos Santos Plaza. An amateur linguist, I speak Japanese, which came in handy when as mayor I led the city of Concord delegation to Japan to celebrate the 45th anniversary of our sister city relationship with Kitakami in October 2019.

Why do you want to serve on the Concord City Council? A key reason is to provide leadership through the pandemic. I want to continue serving the residents of District 2 on the City Council because as a former mayor, vice mayor and Planning Commission chair, and someone who has been helping Concordians find solutions to their challenges for more than a decade, I have the experience Concord needs to overcome the pandemic and economic downturn and emerge even stronger on the other side.

During the pandemic, I have voted to protect tenants and small businesses from evictions and rent increases, provided housing to 37 unsheltered individuals in Concord hotels, promoted and supported Concord small businesses and ensured that homebound seniors receive daily hot meals. I have made two-dozen videos that I have promoted via social media, highlighting Concord small businesses and encouraging Concordians to support them.

Recently, I worked to create a Small Business Grant Program, using Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act funding to support our local economy. The fund will provide financial support for up to 130 Concord small businesses that have been impacted by the pandemic. In addition, nearly $400,000 of the CARES Act funding will be used to help 45 families and seniors stay in their homes, and $50,000 will be used to support our local students by improving access to technology in underserved neighborhoods. Furthermore, I want to continue my work in building partnerships among our schools, businesses and community so more opportunities are created for our residents, families and students.

I am also running to continue my proven track record of problem solving with and for the community. During my 10+ years of community and city service, I have served as a bridge helping hundreds of Concord residents and businesses find solutions to their challenges. As a council member, I have taken my problem-solving abilities to the next level and have overseen the planning and building of more housing for Concordians at all income levels; helped to create good-paying Concord jobs; protected the community’s vision for a world-class project that supports working men and women at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station; facilitated the transfer of 2,000 acres of open space to the East Bay Regional Park District for the new Concord Hills Regional Park; launched the “September of Service” initiative to beautify our parks; organized new community cleanup events downtown and North Concord; improved the condition of our roads; maintained essential services for seniors and public safety; and balanced the budget. Much remains to be done in the areas of infrastructure repair, economic revitalization, affordable housing development and the redevelopment of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station, and I want to serve on the Concord City Council for another four years to continue the important work I have begun.

What experience or training do you have that qualifies you to make decisions for the city? As a council member for the past four years, and a former mayor, vice mayor and Planning Commission chair, I have a proven track record of helping hundreds of Concordians find solutions to their challenges. I have the experience Concord needs to overcome the current pandemic and economic downturn and emerge even stronger on the other side. Now more than ever, Concord needs steady, proven leadership on the council.

What engagement have you had in civic affairs? Do you regularly attend city council meetings?

• I currently serve on the Concord City Council. Here is a partial list of my civic affairs engagement:
• Concord City Council member, November 2016-present.
• Chair, Concord 4th of July Parade, March 2016-present.
• Chair, TRANSPAC, regional transportation planning committee for Central Contra Costa County.
• Vice chair, East Bay Regional Parks District Parks Advisory Committee, overseeing the naming and development of the new Concord Hills Regional Park.
• Contra Costa Mayor’s Conference Representative, East Bay Economic Development Alliance Executive Committee.
• Concord Planning Commission, 2012-’16.
• Concord Design Review Board, 2011-’12.
• Soroptimist International of Diablo Vista, December 2010-present. Club president, 2014-’15.
• American Association of University Women (AAUW), Concord Branch Member, October 2010-present. Founder and chair of the annual AAUW-Concord Art and Wine (and Beer!) Walk. Branch vice president, 2011-’14.
• Member, Concord Historical Society, May 2010-present.
• Member, Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, 2007-present. Served on both the Business-Education and Government Affairs committees.

What do you see as the three most important issues immediately facing Concord? How do you plan to address those issues? The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest issue facing our world, nation, state, county and city in a century. Until there is a vaccine and the virus is under control, my focus must be to keep Concordians housed and fed, and to do everything in my power to keep small businesses afloat.

During the pandemic, I have taken the following actions along those lines:

Food: Provided funding to supplement the Meals on Wheels Program to accommodate an additional number of Concord seniors who are sheltering in place due to COVID-19. I have also actively promoted food distributions happening across the city on social media for the past five months.

Housing: Passed a rent increase and eviction moratorium in March, well before the state took action. My colleagues and I have repeatedly extended this ordinance over the past five months. We have included a provision granting up to 21 months after the end of the pandemic for individuals to pay back rent if they have experienced financial hardship due to COVID-19 – one of the longest payback periods in the state.

Allocated funding to house 37 unsheltered individuals in Concord hotels through the end of May, at which point they transitioned to permanent supportive housing.

Allocated CARES Act funding for rent relief to help 45 families and seniors pay rent.

Supporting small business: Led the effort to create a Small Business Grant Program to help businesses impacted by COVID-19. This program is expected to provide financial support for up to 130 Concord small businesses. Since that time, I have personally visited small businesses in every shopping center in District 2 to provide them with a flier, in English and Spanish, about the grant program with information on how to apply.

Recorded two-dozen videos I have promoted via social media, highlighting Concord small businesses and encouraging Concordians to support them.

Much remains to be done in the areas of infrastructure repair, economic revitalization, affordable housing development and the redevelopment of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station, however, the impacts of COVID-19 must be addressed first.

What are your priorities in making public policy? My public policy priorities are to ensure that the city overcomes the challenge of COVID-19 with a stronger local economy, stronger partnerships with our local schools, and a strong support network for our seniors and at-risk residents. I will continue to ensure that the city maintains a balanced budget while maintaining an open dialogue with all residents. I believe that transparency, accountability and public input are critical to healthy governance, which is why in 2019, as mayor, I initiated community outreach efforts for the city of Concord to consistently engage with the public in a variety of ways to explain why we still faced budget challenges in the midst of an economic expansion and, more importantly, to solicit feedback as to how the community wants the council to address these issues.

How much would you say the city’s budget deficit is? How would you close the gap? As a council member and mayor, I have worked with my colleagues to try to solve the budget challenges facing the city. We have begun to improve our local roads and streets after years of deferring maintenance by previous City Councils. In addition, we are working to ensure we meet our pension obligations in a fair, balanced manner that will not saddle our community with long-term debt. To address this ongoing challenge, the city needs to expand its economic development pie by growing existing businesses and attracting new companies to our community – efforts I have been working on during my time on the council.

The city faces a projected budget gap of $47 million, which includes unfunded maintenance needs including roads, buildings and parks, as well as approved Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with bargaining units. Much work has been accomplished to erase the budget gap and more work will need to be done to ensure a strong, vibrant Concord for generations to come.

A measure on the November ballot would extend Concord’s Measure Q until ended by voters – raising it to a one cent rate instead of the current half cent. What is your position? In 2019, as mayor, I honored my commitment to Concord residents by initiating community outreach efforts to discuss our budget challenges and, more importantly, to solicit feedback as to how the community wants the council to address these issues. In fall 2019, I hosted a series of community meetings, titled “Prioritizing Our Tomorrow,” to share information on Concord’s projected budget gap and to request community input. Results from those conversations indicated an interest in belt tightening as well as a revenue measure, as Measure Q expires in 2025 and Concord has relied on this funding to support vital city services. I voted with a unanimous City Council to place a measure on the Nov. 3 ballot for the voters to decide if they would like to extend and increase the Measure Q sales tax to generate much-needed revenue for core city services. I will continue to engage with Concord residents about our budget challenges and priorities to best serve our community.

What does “defunding the police” mean to you? The police budget is 57 percent of the city’s General Fund budget. Would you change this allocation? How? My City Council colleagues and I have started a community conversation around what this could look like via a Council Study Session on Policing on July 15 and a Community Town Hall on Mental Health and Homelessness on Aug. 12. Having a new police chief who is bilingual is a great opportunity to reset and rethink our Police Department’s community engagement and acknowledge that we all need to think about how we might reallocate public resources. I look forward to continuing the conversation with our community to explore how we can reimagine policing in Concord with an emphasis on deploying social workers and mental health professionals to calls for service that do not require a police presence.

Should the city dedicate land for homeless encampments? If so, how much land and where? The city of Concord is one of only two of Contra Costa County’s 19 cities that has a full-service homeless shelter. I am open to partnering with faith communities that have excess land on which they would like to locate tiny homes or build permanent affordable housing to house the unsheltered, working in partnership with local nonprofit organizations to provide wrap-around supports.

In addition, the city of Concord has a “Legally Binding Agreement” with homeless service providers, blessed by the Navy and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to do the following at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station: Provide four sites (with utilities/infrastructure) that combine for a total 16 acres for the building of 130-260 housing units for the homeless. The financing, construction and operation of those sites will be up to the selected homeless housing developer. The first phase of the Reuse Project must include one of the designated sites.

The city does not own much vacant land. There is the three-acre “white picket fence” property on Clayton Road and a five-acre parcel on Galindo Street. These two properties were held by former Redevelopment Agencies and have certain associated tax obligations, which limits the city’s flexibility with the parcels. Under state law, the goal is now to get such properties back on the market producing sales tax and to split the value of the properties with all taxing entities, which must be done through a sale. When these former redevelopment properties are sold, cities are required to share net sales proceeds (net of cost for selling the property such as legal fees, studies and closing costs) with affected taxing entities at the entities’ taxing rates based on fair market appraised values.

This means that when projects are someday developed on both the “white picket fence” and Galindo Street sites, the city will owe a specific percentage of the land sales to nearly two-dozen government agencies. The city of Concord must receive enough of a return for these parcels from their developers to pay the aforementioned taxing entities. In the event the city is not paid enough for the land to pay the other taxing entities, general fund dollars would have to be used to cover the difference.

Do you support just cause clauses to prevent evictions? Do you support a rent freeze? If so, for how long? If not, why? Yes, I fully support current state law that established “just cause” clauses to prevent evictions and also created a cap on rent increases.

I voted with my City Council colleagues to pass a moratorium on rent increase and evictions in March. We were one of the first City Councils in California to take such action. My colleagues and I have repeatedly extended this ordinance over the past five months, and I am committed to doing so until after the pandemic ends. In our eviction moratorium, my City Council colleagues and I have included a provision granting up to 21 months after the end of the pandemic for individuals to pay back rent if they have experienced financial hardship due to COVID-19 – one of the longest payback periods in the state. Individuals cannot be evicted during that 21-month period, as long as they are making some of the back rent payment.

What role should the city play in closing the housing gap? The city can and does work to plan, entitle and, when possible, invest in housing at all affordability levels, including through low-interest loans to finance first-time home ownership and home rehabilitation so seniors can age in place. That is what I have done during my time on the Concord City Council.

Over the past four years, I have worked to ensure that Concord has allocated $7.8 million of our $14 million in affordable housing dollars to Resources for Community Development’s proposal to build Galindo Terrace, a 62-unit complex affordable to low-income households, serving a mix of seniors, veterans, small families and special needs households. Twelve of the units will be allocated for formerly homeless individuals. I voted to ensure that one-third of the units of a new market-rate townhome development will be sold at a price affordable to families of four with an annual household income of up to $110,000.

Multi-family housing developments totaling more than 400 additional units of affordable housing are currently making their way through the pipeline, and I look forward to seeing those come to fruition. I have also been a supporter of reducing costs for building Accessory Dwelling Units and Junior Accessory Dwelling units since my days chairing the Concord Planning Commission. Over the past five years, the city’s investment in affordable housing has totaled $10.6 million through new project investment, our first-time homebuyer program and our home rehabilitation program.

What is your vision for the Concord Naval Weapons Station? The northern waterfront? Over the past four years as a City Council member, vice mayor and mayor, I have been a strong supporter of the community-driven vision for a sustainable, world-class project at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station. The redevelopment of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not just for Concord but for our entire region. As a result, it is folded into the Northern Waterfront Initiative. It is critical that this redevelopment happens in the best interest of Concordians. When the developer, chosen by a previous City Council, refused to consider input from the residents of District 2 regarding traffic mitigation, green space and concentration of development, I led the Concord City Council in a 3-2 vote to terminate our contract with them. The City Council will be selecting a new master developer for the redevelopment of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station in 2021, and I want to be there at the decision-making table to ensure that whomever is selected has the best interests of Concord top of mind, will keep their commitments to working men and women and will invest in our community for the long-term.

During my time on the council, I have also pushed to establish a four-year public university at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station. I helped to ensure the inclusion of a 120-acre campus district within the draft CNW Specific Plan and create a Blue-Ribbon Committee comprising regional and state leaders. After meeting for nine months, the Blue-Ribbon Committee, which I chaired, produced a final report that envisioned a consortium concept – one that brings multiple academic institutions together, accommodating and embracing research and development – all co-located within the campus district. I also led a delegation to meet with the lieutenant governor to educate her and solicit her support for the city’s vision. I look forward to continuing to spearhead this campus visioning at the city level, with support from our existing education and industry partners and state representatives, and bring us another step closer toward our community’s goal of a public institution(s) of higher learning/research facility/innovation center at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station.

What would you do to differentiate Concord from surrounding communities in attracting new business and retaining current businesses? As a City Council member over the past four years, and as mayor in 2019, I have worked hard to help recruit and retain living-wage jobs so Concordians can both live and work in our city, just as the voters of Concord asked me to do when I was campaigned door-to-door in 2016. My efforts have involved multiple “goodwill” visits with top employers headquartered here, including AssetMark, Cerus Corp., Harris & Associates, Pulse Systems and Sunvalley Shopping Center. I traveled to San Jose to meet with the executive director of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group to get Concord and the redevelopment of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station on his radar. I convened a meeting with the Bay Area Council to discuss opportunities to highlight Concord throughout the region.

I am continuing to grow the membership and scope of work for the Diablo Valley Tech Initiative, a new group focused on fostering economic and social growth for start-ups, entrepreneurs, leaders, educators and students in the Diablo Valley. I have voted to rezone industrial land that has lain fallow in North Concord to accommodate a new industrial park that will create 100 new jobs. I am working to grow the cannabis industry in a responsible way that will create good jobs and a new revenue stream for the city of Concord.

As a member of the City Council’s Housing and Economic Development Committee, I oversaw an overhaul of the city’s Economic Development Marketing Implementation Plan. I also directed that staff develop an Economic Indicators Dashboard as a measurement tool to gauge the Economic Development program’s effectiveness by providing a snapshot in time of the current local economy, to be prepared on a quarterly basis and compare Concord to Contra Costa County where applicable.

It is my goal that through such efforts, we will be able to increase opportunity and prosperity for all Concordians.