Stephen R. Babb
Candidate
Endorsements
- North Bay Association of Realtors
- Sonoma County Alliance
- Healdsburg Mayor Jim Wood
- Councilmember Eric Zeidrich
Click Here to list all endorsements.
Candidate
Click Here to list all endorsements.
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Candidate's Name
Stephen Babb
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Office Sought
Healdsburg City Council - Two Year seat
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Campaign Website
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Email Address
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How strongly do you believe there is a close relationship between the economic vitality of a community and a healthy, fiscally sound government?
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How important is job creation and retention on your priority list if elected to office?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Based on a scale from 1 to 10 |
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Should job creation and economic development be one of the top priorities for Sonoma County City Councils and Board of Supervisors in 2010 – 2011?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Based on a scale from 1 to 10 |
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Are you committed to diversifying and strengthening your jurisdiction’s economy?
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Do you believe that your jurisdiction is doing enough to attract businesses that provide jobs?
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Do you support attracting new business and expanding existing businesses in your jurisdiction?
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Do you support the coordination of and participation in an economic development effort that promotes Sonoma County on a regional basis?
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Should local government offer incentives, financial or otherwise, to attract new business to our area?
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Should your jurisdiction provide funding to local Convention & Visitor Bureaus to promote tourism?
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Do you view using the Redevelopment Agency as a tool to be utilized for economic sustainability in your jurisdiction?
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Do you support the expansion of the Sonoma County Airport to allow more commercial air service?:
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Do you support allocating funds for deferred maintenance and infrastructure improvements including roads, airports, telecommunications, water, sewer and power?
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Do you support reducing development and impact fees to spur job creation?
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Do you believe that there are too many local regulations preventing or discouraging businesses from starting up or expanding in our area?
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Will you consider job creation as a top priority in your decision making?
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Will you put your jurisdiction’s jobs and the economy ahead of political agendas and special interests?
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Do you support the deferral of local government impact fees on a construction project until that project is completed?
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Do you support a Living Wage Ordinance that would mandate what private businesses contracting with your jurisdiction would have to pay their employees?
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Do you support local production and distribution of construction materials (i.e. sand, gravel, asphalt, lumber, etc.)?
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Should local government set a policy requiring open and fair competition in bidding on all public works projects?
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Would you support efforts to position the North Bay to maintain a leadership role or become a leader in key job-producing industries?
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Do you believe that it is important for your jurisdiction to provide flexible land use policies?
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Do you believe that a cost-benefit analysis should be a required step in the process of formulating new regulations and reviewing existing regulations?
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Will you support land-use and zoning regulations that deter excessive regulatory control?
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Do you support having local regulations that are no more stringent than federal or state requirements?
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Do you support fast tracking new projects that will create new jobs?
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Will you support a streamlined licensing and permitting process if it doesn’t sacrifice environmental protection?
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Will you support setting aside money to adequately fund the liability for current and future public employee pensions and medical benefits?
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Do you believe that salaries and benefits for public employees should align with the private sector?
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Do you believe that privatizing or outsourcing government services should be considered?
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Do you support consolidation of government services as a means of providing more efficient government?
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Will you vote to cut your jurisdiction’s expenditures before raising fees or taxes?
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What ideas do you have for creating new jobs?
I believe Economic Development and promoting job creation is one of the most crucial responsibilities for local government, especially in this time of recession. The Healdsburg city council has done a great job of supporting economic development over the years, but I think that we may need a refresh of our programs and a new focus on supporting our current business base.
I strongly support the concept of deferring impact fees on local construction projects to stimulate development and want to explore more partnerships like the ones we have with our auto dealers and our hospitality industry. These programs have had great success in promoting increased sales and visits, and I think there are opportunities to expand this to other industries.
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