Oakdale council hopefuls discuss housing, police and the right to peaceably assemble
In a forum this week, candidates for the Oakdale City Council talked about affordable housing, mental health services and transportation.
And they discussed how the public should behave when protesting, whether at the council podium or at a march like the one in 2020 after the death of George Floyd.
Two seats are at stake in the Nov. 8 election. Kayleigh Gilbert and incumbent Christopher Smith took part in the Tuesday evening forum. A third candidate, Benjamin Amaral, did not attend and could not be reached for comment about his candidacy.
The forum took place in the council chambers and was organized by the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women.
Smith, elected in 2018, works for a commercial plumbing parts distributor. Gilbert is an insurance agent and fifth-generation member of the family that founded the A.L. Gilbert feed company in 1892. She ran unsuccessfully for a council vacancy in June.
The two candidates agreed that Oakdale needs housing more affordable than the single-family houses that make up most of the market.
Smith noted his support for Oak Leaf Meadows, a low-income apartment complex that opened last year on East J Street. Fears that it would reduce neighboring home values were unfounded, he said.
Gilbert said she would like to see more projects like Oak Leaf Meadows, and more housing in general for 20-somethings like herself.
The candidates also approved of how police officers work with Oakdale Rescue Mission to get services for homeless people they encounter. Smith said he would like to also have an Oakdale clinic for Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, so clients do not have to travel to Modesto.
Gilbert said she learned during a police ride-along that most homeless people “are actually third- or fourth-generation Oakdale,” some of them needing help with drug addiction.
BLM protest and more
One question from the forum audience concerned the sometimes hostile statements during the public-comment period required at every council meeting. Both candidates said they welcome free speech but ask for courtesy.
“There has been a thing going around that ‘loud is right,’ and loud does not necessarily mean you’re right,” Smith said.
This question also mentioned the June 2020 march in Oakdale in response to Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody, part of the national Black Lives Matter movement. Police reported a few arrests after counterprotesters confronted the group.
Both Gilbert and Smith said the march was a genuine expression of emotion by young Oakdale residents over Floyd’s death.
“I do believe in peaceful protesting,” Gilbert said. “It is their right.”
Retail and other business
Smith said he would like to see more retail on the west side of Oakdale, where most of the business is in or east of downtown.
Gilbert said she would support small businesses and noted her social-media posts as a volunteer with the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce. She said the city also should take advantage of its location on a tourist route to the Sierra Nevada.
The candidates also praised city leadership for maintaining police and other services while building a reserve that’s 43% of the annual budget.
“That’s almost unheard of in a town of our size,” Smith said.
Oakdale has a half-percent sales tax to help fund city services and a fire-management contract with Modesto that has reduced overhead.
Smith said he has worked with Caltrans to enhance crosswalks on Highways 108 and 120 through town. He also urged the new Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority to improve bus service near the Cost-Less shopping center.
Mayor Cherilyn Bairos is unopposed for re-election in November. Curtis Haney holds one of the council seats on the ballot but is not seeking another term. Oakdale does not have council districts.
This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
