Juliette Beck and Lucas Frerichs — candidates for District 2 Yolo County Board Supervisor — participated in a Yolo County Candidate Forum to provide the public a chance to learn about candidates’ values and what they plan to do if elected.
The position has been represented for more than a decade by Supervisor Don Saylor, who announced last year that he would not be seeking reelection after serving over 25 years in three elected capacities.
Beck — a Davis-based resident who “specialized in bringing diverse groups of people together to solve difficult problems on a limited budget,” according to her biography — largely focused on her role in addressing the climate crisis and the need for the currently all-male board to have a woman present when discussing issues that concern everyone in the county, including women.
“I couldn’t possibly live in a county that doesn’t have any women on the board,” Beck said during one of her responses. “My daughters are growing up in a county where they have never seen or had a woman represent them on the board of supervisors, which is just unconscionable to me.”
Frerichs — who has served on the Davis City Council since 2012 and currently serves as vice mayor for the city — focused on his experience representing and working with community members on topics including housing, climate change and infrastructure.
The same questions were asked to each candidate and the order in which they responded changed with each question for fairness. The forum was hosted by the Yolo Realtors and Woodland and Davis Chambers of Commerce.
What are some of your most important priorities?
Frerichs noted that staff turnover, the threat of climate change, the issue of affordable housing and a need for continued investment in infrastructure will all be important priorities for him if elected.
“Major parts of Yolo County, especially District 2 in the western part of the county, are at threat of wildfire and it’s something that is on the folks in Winters’ minds,” he stressed.
In terms of infrastructure, Frerichs would want to focus on repaving county roads and creating a countywide bike trail network.
Beck also touched on climate change while adding that the county should focus on building up its local food system to address health issues such as obesity.
“We are here on the frontlines of the climate breakdown and…fire, drought, and flooding are all parts and aspects of a system that is destabilized and disintegrating right before our very eyes,” Beck stressed. “We need people and leaders that understand how to plan for resilience, plan for the future, and includes people in the decisions and in the solutions to make sure that no one is left out.”
Beck said she would deepen the work she started with the Climate Action Commission — an advisory board charged with engaging the community to ensure inclusivity in the development and implementation of the county’s climate action plan — which she noted is her “brainchild” and has been the intellectual architect for the project.
When speaking about addressing health concerns, she noted that 40% of children within the county are obese largely because the food system is broken.
“We can fix the food system to get healthy food into our schools and into our families by connecting people to local gardening, recreation and all the riches that this county has to offer,” she highlighted.
What role do regional levels of government play in incentivizing and facilitating the production of housing? What do you think our local government can do?
Beck said she was developing a new proposal for Yolo County to consider involving the implementation of tiny homes to address the county’s growing need for affordable housing.
Utilizing an agricultural cluster housing ordinance the county already has in place within its general plan, Beck hopes to create tiny home communities she argues are effective at utilizing the land with negligible carbon footprints.
“I talked to UC Davis students, people who are artists and cultural workers, people who work from home already that just need access to broadband, people who want to raise families with a healthy community that love this idea of living in an ecological tiny home community where the houses are small and the carbon footprint is small,” she emphasized. “I think we need to open up our options and be much more creative with the use of our land.”
Frerichs used his demonstrated track record of supporting new housing within his community while serving on the Davis City Council and noted that the county has been collaborating with its cities to address the issue.
“Yolo County and its four cities are doing a lot in collaboration on the issues of homelessness, funding the building of units, assisting in shelter construction and operations and providing wraparound services,” he explained. “But yet there’s a lot more to do in that regard.”
He added that the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) — of which he is a member — received $40 million for a pilot program “to build a team to use those dollars to invest in infrastructure to actually be able to do the infill projects that are needed to be done.”
The project would help upgrade the infrastructure — such as increasing the number of underground water pipes — in the region to allow for additional infill opportunities, according to Frerichs.
Both candidates largely agreed on the importance of addressing issues such as climate change and affordable housing.
Withing her closing statement, Beck stressed the importance of having representation for women within the board and again stressed the importance of addressing climate change issues.
“We need women on the Board of Supervisors because women are 51.5% of the population and they’re afraid to come forward,” Beck argued. “They don’t like having to come to a supervisor meeting where it’s all men, they don’t feel like they’re going to have representation and representation matters.”
Frerichs defended his campaign in his closing statement by highlighting the support he has from women within the community.
“I’m not a woman but I am somebody who is an ally and strong supporter of women and, frankly, is supported by many women in our community and throughout the county,” he stressed. “I remain committed to being a responsible and accessible supervisor and I respectfully ask for your support so I can continue to do work on behalf of all of the District 2 residents.”
The statewide primary election is slated for June 7.
