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Six of the seven candidates for the three open seats on the Cypress City Council this November faced some tough questions during the candidates forum hosted by the Cypress Chamber of Commerce at Cypress College on the evening Wednesday, September 28.
The forum was broadcast live on Facebook. A recorded video of the forum is available for viewing at the Cypress Chamber website, cypresschamber.org (scroll down).
Present for the event were David Burke, Carrie Hayashida, Helen Le, Terry Miller, Bonnie Peat, and Rachel Strong. Scott Minikus, who is running to retain the seat to which he was appointed (filling that vacated by Stacy Berry in 2021), was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.
The other two City Council seats are currently occupied by the termed-out Mayor Paulo Morales and Councilmember Jon Peat.
Fifty members of the public registered to attend the event in person, each with the opportunity to submit questions for the candidates. The event was also broadcast on the Chamber’s Facebook page.
A brief look at the candidates:
- David Burke – Lawyer and community activist for government transparency
- Carrie Hayashida – Non-profit CEO; previously ran for City Council in 2020
- Helen Le – HOA Board of Directors President, former banking and wealth management administrator
- Terry Miller – Small business owner
- Scott Minkus (did not attend) – City Council incumbent, retired police officer
- Bonnie Peat – President of the Cypress School District Board of Trustees, President of the Woman’s Club of Cypress
- Rachel Strong – Small business owner
Summarized candidate responses to select questions
Before anything else, it must be stated that this particular slate of candidates is particularly strong in their responses. Although many indicated that they were nervous beforehand, all the candidates ably answered each question. Each abided by the time limits set, and there were no personal attacks.
Bravo!
Each candidate who attended the forum had an opportunity to respond to each question asked.
Not all the questions are included below, and the answers from the candidates are summarized. To get all the questions and answers, watch the video embedded at the bottom of this article.
Q: How long have you lived in Cypress and how have you been involved in the Cypress community or where else have you volunteered your time?
Helen Le: 22 year resident; school volunteer, HOA board of directors
Carrie Hayashida: Life-long resident; school volunteer, grant facilitator, Cypress Citizens Acadamy, California Policy Center
Bonnie Peat: 50 years in Cypress; Cypress School Board, Cypress School Board, minister at Seacoast Grace Church
Rachel Strong: Lifelong resident in Cypress except for 15 years in Long Beach; school volunteer, Senior Council volunteer, Boys & Girls Club
Terry Miller: 10 years in Cypress; coach with Youth Pony Baseball and on their executive board, Cypress Community Festival board, school volunteer
David Burke: Over one year; Cypress Community Festival board, Cypress Senior Center Meals on Wheels delivery, neighborhood council (outside Cypress), pro bono legal services (outside Cypress)
Q: What is your opinion of changing voting from at-large to voting by districts?
Carrie Hayashida: against changing to voting by districts; as a resident, likes being able to vote for more than one Council member
Bonnie Peat: Against changing to voting by district; supports residents being able to vote for all their Council members
Rachel Strong: Change is difficult especially when imposed by external force; other cities faced large legal fees for contesting the change; community is ethnically blended but different areas have different concerns; perhaps we could go to an elected Mayor
Terry Miller: District-based voting should have been on the November ballot; by-district elections work in larger cities but not so well in smaller cities
David Burke: District-based elections are less expensive for candidates; however, as an attorney: no city has prevailed against a lawsuit for district-based elections; California Supreme Court currently considering a lawsuit about criteria for drawing districts; given the legal history, we should consider some sort of move from a pure at-large voting system
Helen Le: Some areas of Cypress feel unrepresented; winning the lawsuit is unlikely, therefore we should move to district-based elections
Q: What would you do to attract new businesses to Cypress?
Rachel Strong: The large industrial corridor along Katella is outdated; perhaps we need to look at how to carve up those industrial properties; we need to investigate whether Cypress landlords are expensive and unwilling to compromise; solutions should be found through negotiation and compromise
Terry Miller: Look at an overlay for the business park; look at the changing business climate; we are losing people because of what’s going on in Sacramento, people are leaving California
David Burke: Proactive approach to recruiting businesses that will do well and that residents want; also proactive approach to retaining businesses
Helen Le: We need anchor businesses like Costco but we also have to pay attention to the impact of traffic, air pollution; we need a holistic approach; perhaps the City needs a Planning Commission
Carrie Hayashida: Reasons for large business departure vary, including needed technical upgrades and the impact of COVID on needed facilities; maybe encourage employee housing
Bonnie Peat: Cypress hasn’t been attractive for young employees, so what can we do to improve that?
Q: How are you funding your campaign? Are groups or individuals helping your campaign through in-kind (non-monetary) help?
Terry Miller: Almost all my campaign funds are coming from family, friends, and my own bank account. Some from my political party.
David Burke: Received more donations from Cypress residents than any candidate in the last two election cycles; otherwise self-funding and some groups that have endorsed him. Changes should be made to ensure future elections are locally funded.
Helen Le: Received donations from Cypress and Orange County residents and groups that I share values with; no donations from corporations; labor unions.
Carrie Hayashida: No PAC money, no Party money, no business money; just resident, family, and friends — and my own money.
Bonnie Peat: Self-funded thus far; some from residents; some may come from endorsements that may bring funding.
Rachel Strong: Self-funded; some donations from longtime friends; no business donations.
Q: What is your position on state mandates for housing density and additional dwelling units (ADUs) in residential areas?
David Burke: Hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Mitigate negative impacts, spread high-density throughout City.
Helen Le: We need to be part of the solution. Create a planning commission, include relevant professionals (e.g., engineers, architects).
Carrie Hayashida: Work with other cities to resist mandates from Sacramento. I like mixed use, combining business and residential.
Bonnie Peat: I am a strong advocate for local control. Meantime we have to meet the State mandates. The City needs to continue to encourage community involvement.
Rachel Strong: We have to move from the planning phase to the execution and building phase. We need balance. We also need to consider park and green space.
Terry Miller: Also a proponent of local control. We need to think about how to use the race track property [eventually, once the track closes]. We need to plan ahead.
Q: The Cypress Police Department accounts for more than 50% of the total municipal budget. Would you advocate raising or lowering this figure?
Helen Le: We should invest what is necessary as needs change. They put their lives on the line. Smart budget planning is the way to go.
Carrie Hayashida: I want to find funding for the SRO officer at the junior high school and the high school. Currently funded by an outside grant, we need to take the time the grant money is available to find a way to continue that funding.
Bonnie Peat: My number one priority is public safety. We need to remain competitive with other cities in order to attract officers.
Rachel Strong: We need to make sure that we are attracting and retaining great officers and funding youth programs to stop crime before it starts.
Terry Miller: We really do have a good police force. We don’t want to lose talent.
David Burke: Public safety and schools are critically important. Retention and recruitmant are a challenge. Whatever a budget needs to be to support the retention and recruitment of an effective police force, that’s what I’m going to support.
Q: What do you feel needs improvement in our city?
Carrie Hayashida: It would be nice if the City Council could get along. More interaction between the City and the Cypress School District. Water reclamation: going to happen at Arnold Park. More and safer bike lanes for the kids.
Bonnie Peat: Number one is the City Council getting along.
Rachel Strong: The climate at City Hall. Better communication.
Terry Miller: Issues on the dais. Finances — we need to think about weathering the storm ahead. Businesses — attracting and retaining.
David Burke: We need to enact safeguards against special-interest money. More transparency of campaign finance. We need to stop courting lawsuits.
Helen Le: Special interests have taken priority over residents’ priorities. Cypress needs to move ahead with encouraging sustainable energy use. All the lawsuits were avoidable.
Q: School traffic is a mess. What would you do to change this?
Bonnie Peat: Work with the school districts, stagger times, alternative traffic patterns.
Rachel Strong: Leverage resources in school site councils. There’s nobody more aggressive than the volunteer PTA moms.
Terry Miller: Each school has its own problems. Work with each school district and PTA. Stagger times.
David Burke: We need to try harder. Focus on the problem until it’s solved.
Helen Le: Reorganizing the parking lots improved traffic. Get more experts for planning.
Carrie Hayashida: City and schools should work together. Students should walk! Perhaps parents could volunteer to keep order on the school buses.
Q: What is your plan to pay down the City’s pension debt of $50 million dollars?
Rachel Strong: With our budget surplus, we could pay down half or even all of the pension fund debt. Exactly how to pay it down needs to be addressed collaboratively.
Terry Miller: We need to get good finance people to come up with options, then present the options to residents.
David Burke: City staff assert that the City can get a better investment return than the pension fund gets. I would feel better if we paid down the debt even if that meant we didn’t get the maximum from our investment.
Helen Le: Debt needs to be minimized. Pensions need to be protected.
Carrie Hayashida: We should pay down the debt. Pensioners should have a say whether PERS handles the pension, or the City.
Bonnie Peat: I like having our City manage our liability. Reserves should not be used to pay down the liability.
More information
Keep an eye out here at Orange County Breeze for candidate statements from each of those running for City Council!
The generous sponsors who helped make the Candidates Forum possible include Forest Lawn of Cypress, Cypress College, OC-Breeze, Kinetic Mortgage and ECOS. For more information on upcoming events held by the Cypress Chamber of Commerce, visit their website at cypresschamber.org.
You can watch the full video of the event below.
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