Voters have until Tuesday, March 5 to make their decisions for the California primary election. NSPR has been interviewing candidates vying for seats on the Butte County Board of Supervisors. In District 5, Doug Teeter is being challenged by Julie Threet. He spoke with NSPR’s Ava Norgrove about his background and how he would address some of the issues facing the county if elected.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
What do you see as the most pressing issues in Butte County?
This year, instead of making cuts, we looked at reserves. Butte County has always been strong on keeping a good reserve. One that helps our credit rating. But also, we knew at some point that we were going to need it. And so that's I think number one issue because then it comes down to like public safety, you know, your DA, your probation and your fire, your sheriff. Those are all paid out of what's called the general fund. It's not the state and federal mandated funds. And so you only have like 1/5 of our budget to allocate to a whole bunch of things.
How do you plan to address that and work on that issue?
It’s like the million dollar question. The board asked staff to bring on a consultant and look at some options. And the consultants were hired to look at, you know, two things. One was a standalone library funding. And then the other would be more like what Chico and Paradise and Oroville did, where it’s kind of a general tax increase. The consultants did a poll, and the poll for a standalone library [funding] didn’t get the numbers. But the general one, the way they phrased the questions to folks, just kind of made it: Is it the perfect solution? You know, my politics is like, ‘oh, I don’t want to pay more taxes.' But, there’s the other side of 'I also want safe streets.’
Specifically within your district, you mentioned Paradise? What are some of the most critical issues there? Do you still see the budget being the biggest hard hitting issue? Or is it something else?
After the fire, it’s been a lot more challenging with code enforcement. You had folks that had homes or rentals. And, you know, when those burned and went away, the codes didn’t allow for alternative ways of living. There’s a lot of challenges in trying to thread that needle of compassion, but also the expectation that we’ve all had with our current zoning and rules. That’s kind of the challenge in the burned area, or the areas in proximity to the burned area.
The folks in the woodland areas, they think they’re next. And rightfully so. And so advocating and getting the roads maintained to help facilitate evacuations, supporting the sheriff for better means of communicating, like Alert FM. That’s a priority.
And then, you know, the new folks in Chico and Oroville that are within the incorporated areas [are] like ‘What the heck, Doug? Why are you representing us?’ but then it comes to, you know, I think the homeless and the unhoused is a thing that’s near and dear to them. And with social services and mental health, you know, that’s where the county can hopefully help. But it’s such a pressing issue that I don’t know if we’ll ever truly succeed, succeed. But we definitely have tools in our toolbox that we can keep trying to get unhoused or homeless, off the streets. And so I think for my communities that are in incorporated areas. That’s part of the challenge. And that’s part of the reason I want to be the supervisor for another four years.
Read/ listen to NSPR’s other Butte County Board of Supervisor candidate interviews
Further media coverage of the candidates:
- Butte County supervisor candidate Q&A – Chico News & Review
- Meet the candidates: Julia Threet– Chico Enterprise-Record
- Meet the candidates: Doug Teeter – Chico Enterprise-Record
- Meet the candidates: Joanna Warrens – Chico Enterprise-Record
- Meet the candidates: Tod Kimmelshue – Chico Enterprise-Record
Editor’s note: Butte County District 1 Supervisor Bill Connelly did not respond to multiple requests from NSPR for an interview. He is running unopposed.
