Public safety, marijuana are top issues for Paso Robles 

Paso Robles City Council candidates Chris Bausch and John Hamon are running unopposed in their respective districts, but incumbent Mayor Steve Martin faces competition from Michael Rivera, who ran for City Council in 2018 and lost.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Ken Figlioli
• SQUARING OFF Four candidates are running for city offices in Paso Robles this November.

Rivera, a longtime resident of the Central Coast, faced scrutiny during the last election for ties with the Santa Barbara-based organization Californians for Population Stabilization, otherwise known as CAPS. The organization was labeled as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for a variety of reasons, including members making comments on race and eugenics.

While Rivera didn't respond to emailed requests for comment, incumbent Mayor Steve Martin laid out his priorities for the upcoming election over the phone, telling New Times that he wants to "continue to make public safety the No. 1 priority in Paso Robles" by fixing the city's streets as well as increasing economic development, and turning the city's underused airport into a spaceport.

Bausch, who resigned from the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District board earlier this month, was appointed to finish out former Councilmember Maria Garcia's term. While Bausch runs unopposed for that 2nd District seat in November, he said that he applied at the last minute for the appointment.

Bausch touched upon several issues, including housing, allowing recreational cannabis dispensaries, and public safety funding. While Bausch was present at the city's public forum on allowing recreational cannabis dispensaries in the downtown area, he's hesitant about the idea.

"I agree with having a limited number of medical delivery services. I'm not sure if I'm quite on board, having been a school board member for 10 years. I'm not sure if having a dispensary in Paso Robles is a good idea," Bausch said, adding that a hybrid model might be best. "I would be willing to discuss how it might work. For example, allowing existing medical delivery services to expand to adult cannabis delivery service. I don't think I want to see a dispensary in Paso Robles, certainly not in the downtown area."

He said that he also wants the city to increase public safety funding. While Paso has already allocated funds for hiring bonuses in the fire and police departments, Bausch wants to go further.

"We need to pay law enforcement and the fire department. I think being in the top five of our region in terms of pay is a reasonable goal," Bausch said. "And I would add to that a housing assistance bonus to help police and fire afford to buy a home whether that's in the form of a loan for down payment assistance."

Current Councilmember Hamon, running unopposed for the 1st District seat, couldn't be reached for comment before press time, but Mayor Martin echoed Bausch's sentiments.

"We want to increase the size of our police force, get that new police substation at least on the construction boards and ready to open soon, our new fire station is already under construction and should be opening soon," Martin said. "We want to make sure that we maintain that public safety in the city of Paso Robles is our No. 1 priority." Δ

Editor's note: This story was edited to correct the spelling of the names John Hamon and Michael Rivera.