Pastor, ex-councilwoman, promoter offer Modesto District 3 voters clear-cut choice
The voters in City Council District 3 — which encompasses central Modesto — will have a clear-cut choice among the three candidates seeking to replace Councilwoman Kristi Ah You in the November election.
Jim Applegate, 48, is pastor of vision and preaching at Redeemer Modesto. He wants to bring civility to City Hall and said his strengths include bringing the relationships he has developed throughout Modesto to City Hall. He said the city can tap into those relationships to find solutions to its problems.
He believes City Manager Joe Lopez has developed a strong leadership team, and Applegate wants to help that team better serve Modesto. He describes himself as a compassionate conservative.
Janice Keating, 54, served on the City Council from 2002 to 2009, is a lifetime member of the Stanislaus County Taxpayers Association, and a former executive director of the Republican Central Committee of Stanislaus County. She is skeptical of City Hall and said she knows how to work around the bureaucracy to get things done. She is a bookkeeper and tax preparer.
Her primary focus would be to find more money in the city budget to hire police officers. She knows the statistics say crime is down but said that is not what District 3 residents tell her. She said they don’t feel safe and are concerned about petty crime and an explosion in homelessness.
Chris Ricci, 48, is a promoter, co-founded the Modesto Area Music Association Awards, and founded the now defunct X-Fest. The annual street party brought thousands of revelers to downtown Modesto for the city’s version of Mardi Gras. Ricci also is a former board president of the Modesto Progressive Democrats. He said he stepped down about a month ago.
He wants the city to be creative in how it responds to the new coronavirus pandemic. That includes allowing housing in vacant commercial buildings along McHenry Avenue and letting restaurants and other businesses struggling to pay their bills work out of city parks and other city property to help them survive.
District 3’s boundaries are roughly Briggsmore Avenue to the north, Rose Avenue to the east, Morse Road to the west and along Scenic Drive, Needham Street and Kansas Avenue to the south.
Ah You is finishing her first council term and is not running for re-election. Instead, she is one of the six candidates challenging Mayor Ted Brandvold as he seeks a second term in November.
The differences among the three candidates were highlighted during a Sept. 10 Modesto Bee candidate forum held by the news organization’s editorial board.
Police oversight board
When asked by the editorial board whether the City Council should establish a civilian oversight board for the Police Department, Applegate said he would want to get the thoughts of Police Chief Galen Carroll first.
Applegate praised Carroll for his leadership and the Modesto Police Clergy Council. He said the council represents churches from throughout the city, and Carroll and other police officials work with council members to respond to community concerns.
Keating said she did not know a lot about the proposal and someone would need to do a better job explaining its purpose. She questioned whether civilians could sit in judgment of trained officers who make split-second decisions in difficult circumstances. She said officers are held accountable through the department’s internal affairs and the district attorney’s office.
Ricci supports an oversight board and said the Police Department needs additional reform. He said that includes the department doing more outreach with those in community who have issues with it, increasing the diversity in the department, and organizing it better to respond to crime.
COVID-19 precautions
Ricci said the city should do more to enforce the restrictions and encourage people to follow them to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. He said Modesto finds itself in a bad situation because not enough of us have done what scientists say we should do.
California has ranked Stanislaus among the counties where the virus is widespread, the worst ranking and with the most restrictions.
Applegate said he is thankful for what the city has done and thankful for the people he sees wearing masks in grocery stores and other public spaces. He said he agrees with Ricci that we need to listen to the scientists, including the county’s public health officer, Dr. Julie Vaishampayan.
But he said this has been a difficult, confusing time because the information keeps changing on what we need to do to stay safe. “I think we’ve done pretty well as a community together in a really hard season,” Applegate said.
Keating said there is no question the virus is a big deal, but we are now in our seventh month of restrictions and our economy is being destroyed. She does not believe the city should be fining businesses for violating the restrictions when they are just trying to survive.
Modesto has imposed fines of $1,000 per day against three businesses — the two Velvet Grill & Creamery restaurants and Tru-Fitness — out of the more than 120 cases its code enforcement officers have opened against businesses since late April. The restaurants, which are appealing the fines, are offering indoor dining, and the gym is suspected of operating indoors, all in violation of the state’s public health order.
Keating said businesses need to open, and residents need to take common-sense measures, such as washing their hands and practicing social distancing.
When asked about wearing a mask, Keating said she follows the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. She said she understands stores felt pressured to mandate that customers wear masks to avoid lawsuits and said she is fine with wearing a mask when she shops. But she said the focus should be on protecting our vulnerable residents from getting sick.
Ricci said he wears a mask in part because he has elderly parents and in-laws. “It’s the right decision for me and my family,” he said. Applegate said he tries to wear a mask when he goes out and is respectful of those who do.
This story was originally published September 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
