𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐨, and that we are in the midst of a new public safety crisis. In most cases that is categorically untrue, per the data provided by Chico PD, and the trends (see graph) actually show crime has been dropping for many years, even as the population grew.

Curtis Pahlka is the only Chico City Council Candidate with Law Enforcement Experience

We had a chance to meet with several of the city council candidates this weekend, and while we are still working on getting the videos ready to go, we wanted to share a little preview of some of Curtis’ comments with you.

We were so appreciative of his nuanced approach - as someone who has worked in law enforcement as well as has relatives who are POC, he has a lot of insight into some of the issues we are facing. His comments were compelling and poignant:

The conservative PAC has been claiming that Deepika Tandon is non-partisan for a month or so now.

Unfortunately, that simply is not true.

Deepika, who has been a registered Republican for many years, as well as an avid Trump supporter, changed her party registration from Republican to no preference early this summer, in preparation for her city council run.

Deepika has not been shy about sharing her beliefs online either. See pics for some of her pro-trump, anti-progressive posts…

Wacky conspiracy theories, near total lack of job experience, a poor grasp of financial principles, a recent bankruptcy, and creationism make for an alarming candidate. Particularly now, as Chico is faced with climate-change caused fires, a pandemic, and reduced revenues, we need someone who follows the science and can balance a budget…

It’s time for us to talk directly about some of the candidates.

Before we do, we want to take a moment to offer some perspective.

We feel very strongly that some candidates are ill-equipped to do the jobs they are running for.

Nonetheless, running for a local office takes courage, especially in the ugly environment Chico has presented this past year. Running, and frankly doing the jobs themselves, is mostly thankless and we have a lot of respect for the people who put themselves out there….

The city has created a survey to garner input from the public regarding the Homeless Opportunities Plan. Please take a moment to weigh in, and help prioritize the creation of sanctioned camping, additional shelter beds, and tiny homes, all of which are desperately needed.

We’ve heard a lot about crime in Chico. The conservative PAC’s stated raison d’etre is the supposed rise in crime in Chico, and they contend we are not “safe,” because of the inaction of the current council.

Per the latest stats available from Chico Police Department, this is wildly exaggerated.

Why doesn’t the city council tell police to step up enforcement? They aren’t letting them do their jobs and they told them to let people camp anywhere.

The reality is, the current council has made very few changes to the ordinances from the previous council. But even if they pushed Chico PD to start enforcing more heavily, the results under the previous enforcement push were less than desirable too; as people were moved along from downtown and the parks, they moved into the streets and avenues, camping in alleys, behind dumpsters, behind YOUR back fence…

A special city council meeting is scheduled Tuesday, during which city staff and service providers will be presenting the Homeless Solutions Plan. It includes locating appropriate sites for short-term camping and low-barrier shelter, long-term locations that will add shelter beds and incorporate ongoing services, and partnerships with local service providers to get the job done.

We came across a post in a local forum a few days ago that gave us pause; it perfectly elucidates one of the main issues we see a lot locally, so we thought we’d share it with you.

Someone posted pictures from an unhoused person’s camp. This man is seriously and visibly mentally ill; law enforcement has been called about him on multiple occasions.