Candidates running for Morro Bay City Council weigh in on key issues 

In Morro Bay, five candidates are vying for two seats on the City Council.

With no incumbents in the running, Casey Cordes, Cyndee Edwards, Sarah Robinson, David Duringer, and Robin "Zara" Landrum are all looking to make an impact in Morro Bay.

Cordes, 36, hopes that he can use his young age as an advantage to help shape Morro Bay for decades to come.

"Looking at the representation that the future has on our City Council, you know, they're making a lot of big moves, starting and finishing a lot of large projects for the city that will help us in the future," Cordes said. "And yet, the council kind of looks at the future in two-year increments. I am interested in more than that."

One of these big projects is the Vistra battery storage plant, a project that's enveloped in controversy. Neither Cordes nor Robinson are in favor of the location of the proposed battery plant.

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• File Photo Courtesy Of Morro Bay Chamber Of Commerce
• VOTES FOR THE FUTURE On Nov. 8, Morro Bay residents will choose two of five candidates who want a seat on the City Council.

"I'm against the [storage facility] in Morro Bay at its current proposed site. My main concern is the safety of not only the children in the high school half a mile away but the safety of our [potential marine] sanctuary and all the animals and the safety of our public, which surrounds the Embarcadero and Rock," Robinson said. "It would be better served in a safer area away from people and animals."

After a fire that erupted at a lithium-ion battery storage facility in Moss Landing in September, residents' concerns about Vistra's proposed battery facility heightened. Edwards, a former Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce chairperson, wants to bridge what she called the misinformation gap between the city and residents about this project.

"I want to make sure in the leadership positions that I get out in the community, that I continue the type of work that I did in the business community and I really get into the neighborhoods and what their big concerns are," Edwards said. "It doesn't matter if it's the battery storage facility or a development housing project up on the hill. It really comes down to the same basic needs of human beings, and that is the need to feel safe."

While this is Edwards' first time running for City Council, she has been involved with policymaking primarily with the business community. Her work with the Chamber of Commerce has made revitalizing harbor infrastructure and the Embarcadero her top priority if elected.

She said the city needs to get a handle on harbor maintenance "right away." If Measure B-22, a tax measure to support harbor infrastructure projects, doesn't pass, she said the city is going have to scramble to figure out another way to take care of the harbor's issues.

"In my mind, that becomes issue No. 1," Edwards said.

The proposed lithium-ion battery plant isn't the only renewable energy project that has been the talk of Morro Bay. Many feel like the proposed offshore wind farm would be an optimal alternative to Diablo Canyon, but concerns have been raised about how it would impact the fishing industry, something that Cordes wants to address if elected.

"There's a lot of discussion about this project. It's really influential to the way we view our coastline, but it's not something that the city of Morro Bay has a ton of control over," Cordes said. "How do we potentially give our fishing boats something to do while their fishing area gets cut down? So that that's what should be important to us as a city."

Duringer and Landrum couldn't be reached for comment before press time. Δ