Curtzwiler: Meyers needs better representation

Publisher’s note: Profiles for the four El Dorado County District 5 supervisorial candidates will be running on May 6 and May 7. The election is June 5.

Kenny Curtzwiler

Name: Kenny Curtzwiler

Age: 62 on May 11

Occupation: Retired military/contractor

Education: Two years college

What elected, civic, nonprofit boards or groups are or have you been affiliated with and in what capacity?: None

Why do you want to be supervisor?: I have always been active in the community and feel that I can direct a positive change in the forefront rather than behind my articles.

This is a nonpartisan position. How will you conduct your duties in a nonpartisan manner?: I am a registered non-partisan. I will listen to all sides of an issue without party influences or party loyalty.

Why should people vote for you over one of the other candidates?: I have been a 41 year residents and already am involved with community issues.

How are you going to resolve the CalPERS issue?: Solving CalPERS can only be done at the state level.

Should the government be responsible for solving the affordable housing issue as well as homelessness? Why or why not to both? If yes, how would you solve those issues?: Affordable housing a city issue and not the responsibility of the county. That said the county should be interacting with the city and private groups to not only address the issues behind affordable housing but take an active role in public/private responsibilities. The TRPA must remove the barriers in place that are preventing residents from building an affordable home. As it stands now only out of town investors can afford to overbuild a house in Tahoe and turn it into a VHR. We need to build homes and not investment houses.

To date the county has not been able to fix the traffic issue in Meyers with tourists clogging up residential streets. What is your solution?: I have already come up with one solution to the overuse of the algorithems guiding the shortcuts beyond the “nudge” solution currently being used. This solution will affect all eight points of entry to our side streets at a cost of zero.

What are your thoughts of making Lake Tahoe its own county?: It will be far easier to form our own city of Meyers then combine with the city of South Lake Tahoe to form a separate county.

What entities would you not take money from?: I did not accept any money in the last election from Red Hawk Casino, Local One, West Slope developers or the local chambers and I don’t see myself changing.

What is the No. 1 issue facing District 5 and how do you propose to resolve it?: Lack of proper representation from our current supervisor on every major issue in the Myers area. We cannot solve or move forward on the issues of the Meyers Plan without the community’s input.

Do you believe supervisors should meet in Tahoe more often? Why or why not?: Yes. We are one-fifth of the county and we should meet here one-fifth of the time.

Would you support having more tax dollars from the county coming to the South Shore? Currently, more dollars leave the basin than come back.: Yes.

What is your vision for the 56-acres in South Lake Tahoe?: The county needs to step up and either work with the city of South Lake Tahoe to create a viable and productive recreational area or sell it to the city for $1 as they did with the airport.

Do you support having vacation home rentals? Why or why not?: Yes. We are a tourist community and everyone is affected by them. The problems we are now experiencing at an unprecedented level are caused by out of area investors without a state in the community. An owner can have a VHR but they must have a local brick and mortar property manager to address any violations. We must also have a limit to the VHRs as well as addressing occupancy levels, noise, bear boxes and multi-family overbuilt residences being built in a neighborhood that is zone for single family residences. TRPA must either enforce the current zoning or the city and county must change the zoning laws.

You lost last time you ran. What makes you think there will be a different outcome this time?: The current supervisor will now have to acknowledge the fact that she must recuse herself from the important issues and explain to the public why she did not say anything until after she was sworn in. The residents need representation which has been lacking these past 3.5 years. We cannot continue to pay someone for a full time job that they are only at part time.

Tell us something about yourself that people might not know: Pam and I have been married 37 years and we actually held the wedding ceremony on the beach at Vikingholmes castle in Emerald Bay.