Meet the candidates: Barstow City Council District 1, Carmen Hernandez vs. Martha O’Brien

Two of the five seats on Barstow’s City Council are up for election on the Nov. 8 ballot, with early voting having already begun. The race for District 1 pits Barstow Community College trustee Carmen Hernandez, a former councilwoman who’s spent decades in local government and activism, against Martha O’Brien, a licensed marriage and family therapist who runs a local private practice called Barstow Psychotherapy.

Both candidates are vying for the seat held by Councilman Tim Silva, who plans to end his stint as an elected Barstow official at 16 years. Hernandez and O’Brien also ran on the 2020 ballot in a tight three-way race for District 4 that saw current Councilwoman Marilyn Dyer-Kruse win her first term with 37% of the vote, edging out then-incumbent Hernandez at 36% and O’Brien at 27%.

Hernandez is running on a pitch of transparency, accountability, and wisdom built by decades in which she and her husband, Mike Hernandez, have become known as the locals who never miss a City Council meeting.

O’Brien has focused largely on a pitch to meet demands for higher pay from the Barstow Fire union, which has endorsed her, and describes herself in Facebook posts as a “pro-business candidate” and “fiscal conservative,” recently featuring in a “California Tax Reduction Committee Newsletter” with Republican U.S. Rep. Jay Obernolte and State Assemblyman Smitty Smith.

The Daily Press asked each candidate for their perspective on a few points of interest to local parents, students and residents more broadly. The Daily Press previously published the responses of Hernandez, which can be read here. Below are O’Brien’s responses.

• Daily Press: Please explain your philosophy on the job of a Barstow City Council member and the relationship that should exist between the Council, city staff and the general public. Why are you the best candidate to fulfill this role?

O’Brien: As a businesswoman, I recognize the need to expand businesses in our region to bring higher-paying jobs and better wages.

As a licensed counselor and psychotherapist, I have dedicated my life and profession to Barstow families and our military to find solutions to problems we face. The families I counsel struggle financially, and I’m making a commitment to help our city grow and help our families improve their quality of life.

My late husband passed away in 2011. I raised four daughters as a single mother, and as a candidate for the 1st District, I will use the same level of commitment in using my professional skills to bring solutions to our city’s issues by working with my fellow Council members, our public safety units and members of our community.

• DP: Explain how you feel the city’s approach to legalizing commercial cannabis and vetting cannabis permit applications has and/or hasn't been fair for business owners and positive for Barstow as a whole.

O’Brien: If indeed the Federal Government after many decades of debating cannabis fully legalizes it at the Federal level, then I feel confident that we as Councilmembers, our City Manager, staff and input from our community, will forge ahead to make certain that the vetting process will be fair to those involved in this ever-changing industry.

As a Councilwoman, I will advocate for the additional tax dollars generated from cannabis to be directed towards expansion of our public safety units to help enforce the regulatory process.

• DP: Explain what your priorities for the Council would be in relation to BNSF’s Barstow International Gateway Project. With years of construction, land deals and economic change tied to the project, how should Barstow balance growth with the interests of its current residents?

O’Brien: Expanding economic development through attracting new businesses to our community means expanding our tax base for infrastructure improvements, increasing community programs, and meeting the needs of our residents.

As a Councilwoman, I pledge my support in working with my fellow Council members, city manager, public safety units and our wonderful city staff to help push our city forward. We must be in constant communication with our business community who are the lifeline to sustaining public services for our residents through tax dollars and job growth.

We must be known as a city that welcomes new economic investment such as the BNSF Barstow International Gateway Project; we must be pro-business and pro-growth, all done sensibly to ensure Barstow’s regional presence on the stage of an ever-changing economy.

• DP: Explain your stance on the city’s use of Measure Q funds in recent years and the degree to which it has and/or hasn’t been transparent about those uses, specifically about recent criticisms by some Barstow Fire personnel.

O’Brien: For too long, past Councils have ignored the deep-rooted issue in our fire department. When city leadership decided in 2010 that it wanted to maintain the identity of its own fire department, it was up to the elected officials and City managers of this past decade to help find the financial mechanism to ensure the legacy of the Barstow Fire Protection District ... the challenge was presented, and PAST LEADERSHIP FAILED.

HOW CAN PAST POLITICIANS WHO EITHER HELPED TO CREATE OR IGNORED THE ISSUES WE ARE CURRENTLY FACING, TELL US TODAY THAT THEY ARE RUNNING TO HELP CLEAN UP THE MESS AT CITY HALL, WHEN THEY WERE PART OF THE PROBLEM TO BEGIN WITH?

Past leadership told the community and us voters that Measure Q was the solution to an ongoing crisis. Past Measure Q budgets have shown a variety of expenditures that were not related to public safety, and in my opinion, represents a mis-prioritization of spending.

• DP: Some residents have accused city officials in the past two years of being opaque or even deceptive on issues such as hefty legal fees, the $2.4 million Marriott subsidy, and the mandatory rental inspections ordinance. Explain where you agree and/or disagree with these critiques.

O’Brien: The Marriott project credit is no different than subsidies or tax credits that past Council members have extended to prior development throughout the city to spur economic development. Past councils have extended credits in various forms, and this is just another one of those options that can be exercised.

If we are to compete in a micro-economy where we are truly in direct competition with other cities throughout the region, then we need to have a better understanding of what a city can and should be able to do to attract job growth to our region and the effects of those individual decisions.

The Marriott group most certainly had to pay their development impact fees and any other ancillary fees pertaining to this project; in the end, the city stands to make millions in TOT over the lifespan of this hotel, employing hundreds and providing a destination spot and a staple name for our city.

• DP: Barstow hasn’t joined state and county agencies responding to hundreds of complaints about the multi-month waste pit fire at the Synagro Technologies Inc. site near Hinkley, but many Barstow residents have joined lawsuits alleging harmful effects from the foul smoke. Do you feel the City Council has responded appropriately to this issue, or could it do more?

O’Brien: As Councilwoman, working with our County representatives at the Mojave Air Quality Management District is key; some residents have already joined the lawsuit in respect to this issue, so it will be vital for our elected officials to maintain ongoing communication with the various local agencies involved. In the end, we cannot afford to be asleep at the wheel regarding any issues that affect our residents and community.

Charlie McGee covers California’s High Desert for the Daily Press, focusing on the city of Barstow and its surrounding communities. He is also a Report for America corps member with The GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and worldwide. McGee may be reached at 760-955-5341 or cmcgee@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @bycharliemcgee.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Meet the candidates: Barstow City Council District 1, Martha O’Brien