Personal information:
Name: Bruno Sabatier
Age: 33
Family: Married since Sept. 19, 2008, to Nicole M. Sabatier who was raised in Lake County and is currently a Konocti Unified School District teacher. We have two beautiful children: Sebastian, 5, and Sophie, 2.
Career/current job: Data maintenance programmer and full-time student.
Education: Associate of arts degree from Yuba Community College District and currently going to the University of California, Davis, to obtain my politic science bachelor’s degree.
Length of residence in Lake County and your particular city: I’ve lived in Clearlake since September 2008.
Web site or email address where community members can contact you: www.brunoforcitycouncil.com and
Questions:
1. Please outline your experience serving the local community. Include all community or volunteer service.
As a Yuba College student body president I became involved with inviting the community to our campus when we organized events. Most of our events had a multicultural emphasis. We did a wonderful Black History Month event, a Women’s History Month event and also organized a Day of the Dead celebration.
A group of talented students, who were also a part of the student body government, and I decided to venture outside of the college campus and create our own event for the community of Clearlake. Together we created the inaugural Power to the Youth. It involved many local community support agencies, a skatepark competition, a basketball tournament and an activities center for younger children such as a bouncy house and sand box. The event was very well received by the public. The Power to the Youth program eventually included an open door basketball program at Burns Valley school where anyone could come in and play basketball for free on Saturday nights.
Currently I am volunteering my time by helping renovate the youth center adjacent to Redbud Park. I’m excited to see the youth center open up so our youth have a safe and healthy environment to come to after school.
2. Why did you decide to run for public office?
I decided to run for office because I felt that the city of Clearlake is facing many issues. I am a problem solver. Throughout my work experience and throughout my life I’ve helped resolve problems in very creative ways. I also have an ability to connect with a variety of different people who have varying ethnic backgrounds, varying political views and varying ages. The ability to listen and speak to people of all walks of life allows me to deal with the problems we face by involving the community in what is needed to be done. Times are tough right now, but things are already moving in a positive direction in Clearlake. With my abilities and the forward progress we’re seeing, I hope that as a team we will increase our progress for positive change over my four year term that I will a council member.
3. What are the important qualities you would bring to public service?
Being a political science major, I’ve learned and understood what has brought us to the situation we currently face. I’ve also learned and understood what some of our choices are and what can bring us positive externalities based on our choices. I have a hard work ethic and I do not give NO as an answer, unless it is a matter of legal issues. I’m a team player and know that I will support the other council members to ensure we move forward and not be stagnated by our differences. As a city council member I will work my hardest to give the people what they need.
4. What are the primary functions of a city council member? What are the important skill sets a council member should possess?
One of the primary functions of the city council is to create a balanced budget and that the budget should fulfill the needs of the people as well as the needs of the city. City council’s job is also to be the voice of the people. We are representatives of the people and should be proactive in obtaining public views of what is needed in our city. It is important for city council members to educate themselves on the things that affect our city so that the knowledge can then be passed on to the people of Clearlake so they can understand why the city has acted or not acted on the issues we face.
What are the important skill sets a council member should possess? We should respect the people of our city and be proactive in obtaining the things that the people need. This means we must prioritize what will best meet the needs of the people while also meeting the needs of the city. I also believe that as the voice of the people we should be proactive in increasing the participation of the people in city council affairs. I hope to use the Internet and Channel 8 in order to achieve this goal. It’s time for the city of Clearlake to be part of the 21st century.
5. What is your city’s single greatest challenge? How would you address it?
The single greatest challenge is roads. Almost 50 miles of roads are unpaved and those that are paved need maintenance. It is becoming ever more expensive to fix our roads and that is why I support Measure G. Measure G will help us repair and maintain our paved streets by patching and grinding the streets while unpaved roads will be graded in order for them to be flat and not bumpy roller coaster rides. There is unfortunately too much confusion on how or why certain streets are paved while others are not. It is my goal to help educate the public in these matters so that we may work together to increase the safety of our roads and so property owners can understand how they can eventually obtain paved roads.
6. If you are elected, what will your top issue be? What other issues are of particular interest to you?
My top issue will be to help create jobs. It is difficult for the residents of Clearlake to have a positive outlook on our city when there is a lack of opportunity in our city. We need to expand these opportunities so those that graduate from Yuba College can obtain a good job that allows them to live comfortably. We need to provide the proper infrastructure for our businesses to feel some economic stability and prosperity. While city council can’t create jobs, we can create the platform where businesses can take advantage of a healthier environment to create more jobs for our city.
What other issues are of particular interest to you? Cleaning up Clear Lake is important to me since it is something that affects us all whether we drink the water from the lake, use the lake for recreation, or own a business near the lake’s shore. I would also like to see better transparency from city hall. We need a Web site that allows the residents of Clearlake to access information on city council meetings, new laws, and our fiscal budget. Transparency is key to giving people a positive outlook for the future of Clearlake. Trust is built in inches and destroyed in miles. Transparency is the path towards building that trust.
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?
I would like to have seen the city council handle the panhandler’s ordinance in a different approach. I do not believe that we spoke with the panhandlers, though we were told that they were mostly from out of town. I would have liked to know an exact figure of how many are from Clearlake and how many are truly from out of town rather than just anecdotal facts. Then I would like to have heard that the panhandlers who were from Clearlake were asked how they came to be in this position and how it is that the city may have failed them. The lack of opportunities have led many of our people to grow marijuana, apply for welfare, lose their homes due to foreclosures or panhandle. We need to address these issues and not just simply aid our businesses who feel harassed by these panhandlers.
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?
First I would start with a Web site. A Web site is the portal to which people can find information about Clearlake and its activities as well as its rules and regulations. Second, I’d create a chat room so that during city council meetings people who are watching the meeting live on Channel 8 (or potentially streaming on the Internet) can comment online and have their comments read aloud at city council meetings. We are in the 21st century and today we shop online, work online, go to school online and now our local government needs to be online in order to reach out to the people. We should not expect the people to come to us, we need to come to them.
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?
Currently we are doing the Lakeshore Drive Corridor Plan. I personally envision a place that is healthy to raise your family where you can comfortably live in peace and quiet. This is a rural town and that is one of my main reasons for loving to live here. One of the major ways that we can enhance our town, whether it be the beautification of Lakeshore Drive or the addition of a shopping center at the old airport property, my belief is that if we work together we can make all of these things happen. I hope to leave a legacy of increased participation in our democracy. By having a Web site, a two-way communication to city council meetings from home, and increased use of surveys and polls I believe that we can increase the participation of those who wish to ensure that our city is on the right track and that projects keep moving forward. We should all be excited about where we will be in the future.
Financial information: See Form 470 below.
Clearlake City Council Candidates - Bruno Sabatier - Form 470
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
