Daily Journal Staff

Being more fiscally conservative could come in the form of a line-by-line budget review to full consolidation with a neighboring city, according to candidates running to serve on the South San Francisco City Council.

Community volunteer Kamala Silva Wolfe is challenging incumbents Mark Addiego, Pedro Gonzalez and Karyl Matsumoto for one of the three seats on the South San Francisco City Council. On Wednesday and Thursday, the candidates came into the Daily Journal office to discuss issues facing the city. Regardless of where solutions fall on that spectrum, all candidates were interested in creating jobs and ensuring educational offerings can ready locals to be the workforce for the growing biotech industry.

Addiego and Gonzalez were open to being lenient, in the short-term, to allow non-biotech businesses to be located within the area the city is trying to promote as biotech to create more jobs.

“It’s time to let the jobs happen,” Addiego said.

Gonzalez agreed but noted it needed to be only for a short period of time to allow new industry to grow once the economy turns around.

Job creation should boost the budget by bringing people into the city. But it’s not the only budget solution in which candidates were interested.

Addiego was willing to look at absorbing a neighboring community, but was also open to researching consolidating services on a smaller scale. Matsumoto welcomed researching partnerships if it would save costs, but noted the city has many services not available in other cities like its own ambulances.

Gonzalez was uncomfortable with consolidation of trash services noting problems that arise would be harder to handle with a large number of cities.

Matsumoto and Silva Wolfe were both interested in continuing to diversify revenue but also to be conservative with the use of reserves.

The budget was the top issue for three of the candidates.

Silva Wolfe was interested in accountability with a line-by-line review, not to micromanage, but in hopes of ensuring programs already in place are working and necessary. In addition, she has an interest in sustainability meaning offering a living wage and not keeping independent contractors for years.

Gonzalez hoped to focus on getting the money back that the state had taken.

Addiego’s top issue was to boost civic involvement. He and Gonzalez engaged in a debate about offering the citizens academy to younger people in hopes of generating a life-long interest in local politics.

Development within the town has been a focus of the current council, specifically the downtown area and the purchase of property around the BART station.

Purchasing the property near the BART station and along El Camino Real allows the city a say in how the area is developed, said Matsumoto, who had a grand vision for the area that included housing, city administrative space, library, retail, housing and should be a walkable environment.

Gonzalez agreed, the living units should work in conjunction with public transportation to lessen the use of cars but create a notable entrance  to the city.

Addiego noted there will be a need for housing, but that need will not come right away. He was particularly interested in seeing businesses that drive people to the area, creating an environment in which people want to spend time. Silva Wolfe agreed.

“South San Francisco needs a place to go,” she said, noting a need for new businesses but also green open space.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.