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 4, Tod Kimmelshue is being challenged by Joanna Warrens. He spoke with NSPR’s Ken Devol 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's your background and experience?
I've lived in Butte County since 1966. I grew up on a small family farm in Durham. My brother's the farmer but I have four siblings and we all own a piece of the farmland he farms for us. I still get out there and farm now that I'm retired from agricultural lending or agricultural banking for 35 years.
Butte County has a lot of issues. What do you think is the most pressing?
I think for any government authority, the most important issue is public safety. And that is my top priority. And I believe, and I would like to see, Butte County be known as the safest county in the state of California to live. So that’s a challenge right now because of funding. So we take what’s left over after what we have to fund through the state government. And that leaves us about 20 to 25% of our budget for public safety. So that’s what’s left over and we have to figure out a way to make that work.
If you're elected, how will you address that issue?
The way we're going to address that is we are looking for different alternatives or different ways of increasing our revenue to pay for those very important services of public safety. And so we're looking at everything from a 1% sales tax to other ways of possibly digging up more money or downsizing other departments if we possibly can to make sure that public safety works.
In your district specifically, what do you see as the most important issues?
The most important issue, I think, in the district that I represent is obviously it's the largest agricultural area in terms of gross farm income because we have a lot of the high-dollar crops grown in the fourth district. And we just need to make sure that we have enough water to make sure that the crops continue to grow. And that includes small farms, large farms, the rural residents that live in those areas that are on domestic wells, and I'm sure most of your listeners and you have heard about SGMA, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. We've been working through that issue since it was put in place or passed as a law and signed by Governor Brown back in 2014. So that is a challenge. However, we are working to make sure that we have sustainable groundwater for everyone, not just farmers, but for everyone in the basin, we call it.
What sets you apart from the other candidate running in your district? Why should voters vote for you?
The big thing that sets us apart is my longevity. I've lived in this county like I said since 1966. And I think I have a real strong understanding of Butte County and the needs of Butte County. My opponent is a fine lady and she has a lot of good ideas. But because of my experience in understanding of the issues in Butte County, that might give me a slight edge.
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: Tod Kimmelshue – Chico Enterprise-Record
- Meet the candidates: Joanna Warrens – Chico Enterprise-Record
- Meet the candidates: Julia Threet– Chico Enterprise-Record
- Meet the candidates: Doug Teeter – 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.
