Personal information:

Name: Bunnie Carter

Age: 62 years young

Family: Four lovely girls, now grown up, and eight grandchildren. No great-grandchildren yet.

Career/current job: My career has consisted of being a deli clerk, deli manager, deli merchandiser at Safeway for 15 years. I left Safeway and came up here to open $1.98 Store, nothing over $19.98, in the 1990s, grew to three stores and then I bought a mini mart in Soda Bay. I closed the $1.98 Stores to put my effort into the mini mart. I had this for six years and sold it. I then did odd jobs for awhile until I met Robert. From there we opened Tatonka Trading in a smaller location, and then one year later bought the property that was Jules Mini Golf. We then opened Tatonka Trading in the building and refurbished the golf course. It took us a year but we did it. Finally the miniature golf course was opened again and we changed the name to Tatonka Land.

Education: My education is Lower Lake High School and my various jobs.

Length of residence in Lake County and your particular city: My length of residence in Clearlake is high school years and then came back in 1989 when my mother passed away and left me her house and have been here since.

Web site or email address where community members can contact you: My email is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
 
Questions:

1. Please outline your experience serving the local community. Include all community or volunteer service.

My experience serving the local community has been donating to the schools. organizations, doing fundraisers for schools, organizations and working with the schools for children who need to have volunteer hours to graduate. We have a special now that if the school children of Lake County for every A on their report cards they will receive a free game of golf or riding the zippies at our Tatonka Land.  So this will be a very good incentive for the kids. They are excited about it and they tell me they are going to come in with all A's for each of their subjects.
 
2. Why did you decide to run for public office?

I decided to run for office because in the 20 years I have lived here I have not seen very many changes. I want to make changes and I feel the time is now. I am for the people of Clearlake, and I will listen to them and get them answers. I love this town and my whole heart is in this community. If I didn't care about making a difference I wouldn't of taken my retirement money and put it all into the golf course being renovated.
 
3. What are the important qualities you would bring to public service?

I have a lot of good ideas and because I am so truthful and to the point and care so much about getting this town back to the way it was. I know I have a lot to learn, but through the years I have learned everything to run businesses and feel I can learn some more.
 
4. What are the primary functions of a city council member? What are the important skill sets a council member should possess?

To listen to the community. Respect what they are asking of you and respect them. Good skills would be able to handle anything that arises.
 
5. What is your city’s single greatest challenge? How would you address it?

To bring businesses into our community and our lake is our greatest challenge to be able to work together and get this cleaned up so we can get the tourist back up here and the businesses to flourish.
 
6. If you are elected, what will your top issue be? What other issues are of particular interest to you?

My top priority is getting this lake cleaned up along with getting businesses down Lakeshore Drive and beautifying Lakeshore Drive. I would love to see festivals, parades, and functions going on down Lakeshore like what they do in Lakeport. I want to see full time jobs up here, manufacturing, warehousing, etc. like bottling plant for the wineries so they don't take their grapes out of county, Hemp Plant that will manufacture clothing, rope, insulation, fuel. This will give full time jobs and benefits to the community. I would love to see Austin Park on the lakeside be turned into a camp ground for vacation rentals, not monthly rentals or a boardwalk with other businesses that will go along with the town and the lake. A bowling alley, big enough to bring in tournaments from the Sheriff Association, the bowling association etc. A skating rink back in this town, a drive in theater maybe behind Safeway in the big lot. Some recreational things that people would love to go to while up here. But the Lake is the most important for me, because this will help our resorts, and businesses to make money and be able to stay alive.
 
7. Is there a matter that you’ve seen the council handle that you believe should have been approached differently? If so, how would you have handled it?

Yes, the Measure G and how it was written. I think that it will not pass, because of the fact that they didn't put in it that they would pave existing dirt roads. And that there is a sunset clause written in it. I think with it being a forever tax they should of written in the measure that they would pave existing dirt streets when funds were available. Not just maintaining the dirt roads by grading them, and the existing paved roads would be maintained and pot holes fixed. I wish they would of put Code Enforcement on another bill with the animal control not on the same measure.
 
8. What ways, if any, would you encourage public and media interaction with you and the city council should you be elected? How would you approach public interaction, especially on controversial issues?

I would be honest with everyone and what my views are after listening to them. I have told the community that they are welcome into my store and I have my cell number on my business cards. I would respect the person who was talking to me about the controversial problems or views.
 
9. When you think of your city in 20 years, what do you hope it will look like? When considering that future vision of your city, what would you want your legacy to be in improving your community?

I view the city being full with tourist, all the resorts full and people being able to have fun here and telling their friends that this is such a nice place to have fun, relax, and even live here if they so choose. My legacy is already happening for this community. I rebuilt the miniature golf which is in the heart of Clearlake and it has been around since the 1950s and everyone who has been to Clearlake when younger remembers the miniature golf. So I feel my legacy will go on. But I am hoping for more things to do so people and the community will be proud. We all have to do this together. One person can't do it alone. It has to have everyone working together. But the lake is most important and we need to fix that first.

Financial information: See Form 470 below.