With the November election drawing near, three of the four candidates in the running for available seats on the Oakdale City Council race came together recently to share their backgrounds and their stances on some of the most pressing issues within the city. Tech entrepreneur Justin Biedinger, Civil Engineer Jarod Pitassi, and Criminal Justice professor Jeff Kettering introduced themselves to a crowd of more than 30 people with Allison Schwartz, Chamber President, moderating the forum. Caitlyn Barreda, who is also running for City Council, was unable to attend the forum.
Two seats are available on the council in the Nov. 5 election, with incumbents Bob Amaral and Fred Smith not seeking reelection. The four-year terms will go to those two candidates polling the most voters in the election.
All three of the candidates attending the Chamber-sponsored forum noted that the best thing about Oakdale is its people.
“This community has really raised me. We own our unique diversity,” Pitassi said.
Although Biedinger is a transplant from up the hill in Angels Camp, he echoed those sentiments, noting that, the small town feel along with events like Homecoming and Oakdale Mustang football made it feel like home as soon as he and his family relocated to Oakdale.
“I love this community. I wasn’t born and raised here but I know I’m in my forever home,” shared Kettering when explaining why he and his family moved to Oakdale once he retired from his former position in the Merced County Probation Department.
While noting their experience and qualifications, Kettering emphasized his years spent in leadership when he served as the Chief of the Merced County Probation Department and stated that he “thrives on building relationships.” Biedinger has also spent a number of years in leadership and believes that his entrepreneurial spirit is something that he could utilize to help build and provide structure within the community. Pitassi shared that he has worked as a crew member and also as a leader and feels that his connection to Oakdale, being a fourth generation Oakdale resident, would be a valuable asset to the city council.
While all three candidates assured that fiscal responsibility would be a top priority along with public safety, Biedinger focused on bringing more businesses to the community while also addressing that ever-present ‘elephant in the room’ – what to do with the old Kmart building. Biedinger also believes that less is more when it comes to government involvement, saying, “let free enterprise reign with little to no government.” Pitassi and Kettering also agreed that growth is good while Pitassi emphasized responsible growth and Kettering echoed that statement while also noting that part of the appeal of Oakdale is its small-town charm and that sometimes too much growth can take away from that.
One of the most pressing questions involved development near the Oakdale Sportsmen’s Club with all three candidates agreeing that they would honor the current Memorandum of Understanding that the club has with the City of Oakdale, stating that the city will not allow development to infringe upon the boundaries of the club. Pitassi and Biedinger added that they were raised in clubs such as these and that is where they learned how to properly and safely use firearms. Kettering agreed that the club provides excellent opportunities for proper gun training and recreation and is an asset to the community.
Affordable housing was another hot topic with some citizens expressing concern that additional home construction is set to begin in Oakdale but they are worried that the homes might be unaffordable to first time homebuyers or smaller families that don’t need such expansive spaces. Biedinger offered the idea of negotiating and incentivizing home builders to build more affordable housing such as they have done in Modesto. Kettering noted that it is such a multi-faceted issue that questions such as bringing in smaller homes like townhomes or condominiums might help but that this issue was something that would have to be addressed with city and county governments to ensure that all of the various needs and concerns of the community were addressed before they could move forward.
When asked which leadership role they enjoyed the most, Kettering answered, “Being a first line supervisor” and working closely and cooperatively with colleagues and subordinates. Biedinger noted that he is big on collaboration and some of his favorite leadership roles involved talking to other CEOs and collaborating with them. Pitassi noted that “being a dad has been my favorite role with the kids climbing all over me when I come in the house” – much to the crowd’s delight.
Through the roughly hour-long event, the citizens were able to glean a better understanding of what each of these candidates has to offer the community. With Kettering emphasizing relationship building, fiscal responsibility and transparency, he also reiterated how important it is to focus on our youth and promote their well-being. Pitassi is focused on responsible growth and ensuring that our current infrastructure is sustained while also maintaining and reinforcing our schools. Biedinger is putting his energies toward increasing our business footprint while also supporting law enforcement through the possible creation of new positions while being fiscally responsible.
