Audio:
By Miriam Raftery
Hear full audio of the one-hour candidate forum by clicking the link above.
September 29,2016 (Lemon Grove)—At a candidate forum hosted by East County Magazine and the Lemon Grove Library on September 21st , three mayoral hopefuls shared their visions for the future of Lemon Grove.
Council members George Gastil and Racquel Vasquez, along with former Chamber of Commerce President Teresa Rosiak, fielded questions from moderator Miriam Raftery, editor of ECM, ,as well as audience questions.
Issues included plans for revitalizing downtown Lemon Grove, homelessness, housing, recreational opportunies, sidewalks,planing issues and much more.
Councilman George Gastil, a history professor at SDSU and Grossmont College, emphasized his experience handling government budgets as a Councilmember and previously, Lemon Grove School Board Member. “We need to focus on building up our reserves, paying off our pension liability and when we do have the money, we need to focus on one time projects as opposed to ongoing costs.”
Councilmember Racquel Vasquez, a Community Relations Officer for the City of San Diego said that her “priorities for the people here in Lemon Grove revolve around public safety, neighborhood improvements, and economic development for the City.”
According to Teresa Rosiak, a medical credentialing specialist for a major San Diego healthcare provider, and former Chamber of Commerce President, “responsible leadership, fiscal responsibility and transparency will be the trademarks of my service as Mayor.”