Candidate profile: Stephanie McKenzie running for Marysville City Council

Oct. 7—Editor's note: One in a series.

Leading up to the Nov. 8 general election, the Appeal-Democrat will be running a series of candidate profiles that will allow each person running for a significant contested office in the Yuba-Sutter area the chance to either introduce themselves to the voting public or remind those who they are and where they stand.

The Appeal-Democrat sent five simple questions to candidates. Each candidate who is running has been given the opportunity to respond. Profiles will run in the Appeal in the order in which they are received.

The following are answers provided by Stephanie McKenzie, who is running for one of two seats up for grabs on the Marysville City Council. McKenzie is facing off against Bruce Buttacavoli and Brad Hudson.

The three also recently took part in a candidate forum hosted by the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Appeal-Democrat. The video of that forum is available on both the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce and Appeal-Democrat Facebook pages.

Q: What is your vision for the future of Marysville?

A: I envision a Marysville that is clean, well-maintained, safe, and friendly. I envision Marysville as a destination for tourism, recreation, entertainment, business, and family. I envision a delightful town to raise a family and do business, where we have traditions and celebrations that bring us together as a community and give us a unique identity that we are proud to be part of.

Q: How will you address the homelessness issue in Marysville?

A: We have many programs to assist the homeless who want help. What we are lacking in our area are mental health and addiction treatment centers, and even a cohesive process between existing services.

People fall through the cracks because they don't have someone to help them navigate the system when they are ready to accept help. This is where I think the church has an opportunity to engage and support people through the process. Adventist Health is working on solutions to fill these gaps in services and facilities.

For those who do not want to get off the streets, they will be encountered by law enforcement when violating the law. We need to prioritize protecting private property and businesses from damage caused by vagrants and vandalism.

Marysville has one Community Service Officer assigned to responding to vagrants, and is in the process of hiring another. We need to make sure these positions remain fully funded, and that there is sufficient shelter space to meet the demand so that our camping ordinance can be regularly enforced. There is also a need for a women's shelter.

Affordable housing is another need. Marysville has a project underway, and so does Linda, so hopefully those will be good options for many homeless and unhoused people.

We also need to ensure that the activity at the Life Building Center is not a nuisance to neighboring properties and that the center is kept looking nice.

Q: What can the city do to spur more economic development?

A: I think the primary thing we can do is to clean up our town, so that it looks welcoming for business. We need to pave streets, eliminate blighted properties, cut down dead trees, and overgrown bushes and weeds. We need to keep up on graffiti and trash events, and discourage vagrants from being a nuisance.

At the same time, continue to pursue property owners in the business district and push for action on long dormant buildings to get businesses and housing opportunities into motion. Completing the updates of our General Plan and Municipal Code will be advantageous as well as being aggressive in seeking grant funding and partnerships to help with economic development projects in the downtown and levee/river area.

Q: How will you address the lack of affordable housing and/or housing in general for Marysville?

A: There is currently a 70-unit affordable housing development under construction on Ramirez Street which will satisfy much of the immediate need. In addition to this project, there is opportunity for private property owners to create affordable housing solutions by adding accessory dwelling units, converting garages, and adding mother-in-law suites. Many downtown building owners and other investors are converting upper floors of businesses and vacant lots to housing. We have no development fees in Marysville, so building here is more affordable in general.

Q: Why should voters choose you for the city council?

A: I am a candidate with proven character, proven commitment, and proven results.

In my first term on the city council from 2016-2020 I was responsible for initiating the move to reduce our PERS Unfunded Liability and start building our reserves. As a result, we were able to reorganize our debt on PERS, the B Street property, and our sewer bonds, for a savings of $10+ million to the city.

That was the beginning of a positive financial shift for Marysville.

Our Public Works and fire departments had inadequate equipment for providing service to our citizens, so I pushed for supplying our workers with the equipment they needed to do their work without frustration and continual excess repair costs. I began establishing good working relationships and lines of communication between Marysville and other jurisdictions and the Yuba Water Agency so that we would be positioned for opportunities to partner on projects beyond our capacity to perform alone, and hopefully realize greater efficiency and cost savings for all. I was known as the most available and most responsive councilmember, and was happy to take calls and answer emails from residents.

Voters should choose me because I am fair, honest, and a thoughtful decision maker. I love our city, and I work hard even in my spare time facilitating collaboration between community stakeholders to bring transformation to our city and region. I have earned the trust and respect of leaders throughout Yuba Sutter who I partner with in community service.

I am a candidate who has proven results from my first term of service, and who is eager to continue to work toward a successful Marysville.