During the recent Oakdale City Council Candidate Forum, candidates shared their priorities for the future of The Cowboy Capital of the World. Four candidates were present to answer questions including: how to attract new businesses, their top priorities for the community and their understanding of The General Plan for the City of Oakdale. Incumbent Kayleigh Gilbert, Fred Smith, Chris Chavez and Mary Buchanan shared their views along with their concerns and their visions for the future during the forum. Candidates Sal Hernandez and Ben Amaral were unable to attend.

“I live, eat and breathe Oakdale,” said Gilbert, a fifth-generation resident of Oakdale, who has served on the City Council for the past four years and is currently the Mayor Pro Tem.

She prides herself on being accessible to those that she serves and is very proud of the fact that Oakdale has been able to allocate some funds to the reserves to fund future projects at a time when fiscal management and budgetary considerations are often strained for many small communities.

Smith, a former councilmember, highlighted his dedication to Oakdale, the town in which he raised his family and built his business, Fred’s Firearms, as key aspects that influenced his decision to run for a seat on the City Council.

“Building relationships through open, honest and kind communication, whether we agree or disagree is important and I will continue to do that if elected,” said Smith.

Chavez, who has owned multiple businesses within the town, including Gamers Garage, spoke about accountability and ensuring that residents are provided with clear information about upcoming developments, water and energy rates and other decisions that affect them.

“We don’t want rubber stamp voting, we don’t want our growth to outrun our infrastructure,” said Chavez.

Buchanan, a volunteer in many local non-profits including the ASTRO Foundation, Love Oakdale and the Oakdale Enrichment Society, shared that through her extensive experience within the community and her work experience as a sales executive, she understands what fiscal management and good organizational structure looks like and she can share her expertise while also serving her fellow residents if elected.

“I love this town and I am qualified, having more than 25 years of leadership experience in the technology industry and having served more than 20 years on the Board of Directors for a worldwide non-profit,” said Buchanan.

When the topic of attracting and retaining new businesses came up, Smith said that “government needs to step out of the way,” and the town needs to “make it inviting,” for businesses to come to Oakdale.

Gilbert added that she would like to make the process to obtain permits for businesses more streamlined. Chavez noted that he wanted the city to offer more timely notifications when it comes to things like street closures so that businesses can be prepared and plan accordingly to ensure that their customers can reach their businesses as safely and easily as possible.

Buchanan agreed with her fellow candidates and said that ensuring that Oakdale makes it as simple and efficient for businesses to come in is very important.

Each candidate was asked what their top three priorities would be if elected to the City Council and all of the candidates agreed that responsible spending was paramount to ensuring that Oakdale continues to thrive.

For Buchanan, public safety and a strong focus on local policies continue to be priorities with Buchanan emphasizing the importance of maintaining Emergency Services Personnel to support the community as it grows.

Both Chavez and Smith agreed that honesty and transparency within government are priorities for them with Smith reminding folks that fostering relationships will always be a priority for him and Chavez sharing that keeping water and power rates under control will remain a top priority for him. Supporting small businesses, promoting public safety and offering accessible and open communication to her fellow community members were the top priorities for Gilbert.

There are two council positions available in the Tuesday, Nov. 3 election in Oakdale and, with at-large elections for the city, the top two vote getters will win the four-year terms.