Concord City Council candidate questions: Paul R. Wood
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.
Paul R. Wood
Age: 41.
Current occupation: executive retail manager.
How long have you lived in Concord? 3 years.
Personal information: I’m married. My spouse and I purchased a home in Holbrook Heights last year. We have three dogs and love to hike and travel. Our favorite vacation spots are island locations like Greece and Hawaii.
Why do you want to serve on the Concord City Council? I’d like to represent my neighbors in District 2 and be their voice to help move Concord forward. My vision is for Concord to become the most desirable place to live and work.
What experience or training do you have that qualifies you to make decisions for the city? I’ve led and developed people in the retail industry for more than 20 years. I’ve served on multiple decision-making committees for large companies and always make decisions with people first in mind.
What engagement have you had in civic affairs? Do you regularly attend City Council meetings? I’ve donated to local charities in Concord. I’ve raised money for the United Way, Boys and Girls clubs and St. Jude charities. I now regularly attend City Council meetings and am ready to serve.
What do you see as the three most important issues immediately facing Concord and how do you plan to address those issues? First, safely overcoming COVID-19 and getting our community back to work and school while supporting local businesses. Second, ensuring our Black and Latino families feel safe, comfortable and supported. Third, we need to find a new master developer for our Naval Weapons Reuse site and redevelop the land in a way that is environmentally friendly and provides parks, hiking trails, affordable housing solutions, luxury housing, a college, senior community center, local offices, dining and retail space. This land could be reused in a way to draw diverse citizens to our city.
What are your priorities in making public policy? My priorities in making public policy are that all voices are heard, all voices are represented and that respecting diversity in our community is paramount. My spouse is from El Salvador. I feel a deep connection to our Latino community and people of color in Concord.
How much would you say the city’s budget deficit is? How would you close the gap? The city has close to a $15 million deficit for fiscal year 2020-’21. I would close the gap by voting to eliminate any open positions that are currently not filled. I’d also vote to scale back city spending where it seems excessive. I would vote to right size city spending to match the city intake of funds.
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? I am for Measure Q and think it’s a critical piece of funding our city’s budget.
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? I think the Concord police are doing an excellent job keeping our community safe, but I do feel funding the police over 50 percent of our city’s budget is excessive. I’d like to see police spending capped in three years time to 50 percent of our city budget. We should implement initiatives that will entice diverse groups to move to Concord, entice home ownership and the establishment of small businesses. More citizens living here could actually increase police spending by increasing the overall city budget. I would not lay off any officers at this time, instead I’d work to increase the city budget by increasing home ownership.
Should the city dedicate land for homeless encampments? If so, how much land and where? No. We should create affordable housing with land made available by the Naval Weapons Reuse project. We should help the homeless get into housing.
Do you support just cause clauses to prevent evictions? Do you support a rent freeze? If so, for how long? If not, why? I support just cause clauses to prevent evictions. I don’t support a rent freeze. I would support rent caps to create affordable housing. For example, a studio renting for no more than $1,200 a month.
What role should the city play in closing the housing gap? The city should ensure that affordable housing is made available to ensure our community is diverse and that homeless are helped to rehabilitate and be housed.
What is your vision for the Concord Naval Weapons Station? The northern waterfront? My vision for the Concord Naval Weapons Station and northern waterfront are that they are environmentally friendly complexes that create affordable housing, places of commerce, retail, and college campuses that draw people to Concord to live and learn in the most beautiful place. I would also like to see senior centers that are the most beautiful and draw seniors together from our city and surrounding cities.
What would you do to differentiate Concord from surrounding communities in attracting new business and retaining current businesses? I think there is a lack of diversity in businesses downtown. Downtown is lacking retail. Every establishment is either food or a bank. I would support adding retail shopping to our downtown areas to create a better a better mix. We can attract new business by adding a retail district and drive traffic toward existing businesses at the same time. I would protect the look and Spanish feel of Todos Santos Plaza in the process.