Arroyo Grande’s mayor is running for reelection this November. She's not alone in the race.
KSBY News met up with both candidates this week to learn more about their platforms and the changes they hope to make if elected.
The choice is clear for residents: Mayor Caren Ray Russom, or her opponent Gaea Powell.
Mayor Russom says she has several other roles in the community.
“I have a service heart. And so that's not hard for me,” said Russom. “I've been teaching since 1993. I've been serving the city of Arroyo Grande since 2005. My children have grown up in the public eye. I now coach two sports and I just love being a part of the community and making the world around me a better place.”
Powell says this is her second time running for mayor and she served as chief of staff for former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign many years ago.
“The difference is, is that I know a lot more about local politics, which has been quite eye-opening,” said Powell. “I've been involved in politics in the past and one of the reasons I didn't continue down that path is because it is so corrupt.”
Both candidates shared the work they’ve done in the community.
“Some of the things that I've brought on my own include the banner project that I did for graduation, for our students in the class of 2020 and 2021 who had their years messed up from COVID,” said Russom. “That includes founding our now third year of celebration at Elm Street Park. These are the fun things that I get to do as mayor. But also I provided a balanced budget. I provided stability and calm and years that have been really turbulent in politics.”
“And so what I do is I raise money to make sure that Santa has a spectacular Santa’s Village over at the Historical Society here," said Powell. "And then help raise funds for the lighting of the village."
But they both have different visions for Arroyo Grande.
“I think for the next two years, the biggest thing is making sure that we ensure budget stability and we have pavement that is difficult to maintain at its current funding levels," said Russom. "So, we've got to find a way to do that and be able to keep our budget balanced and make sure that we can continue to provide the services that our residents expect."
“I envision the City of Arroyo Grande to maintain some beautiful historic charm and being instrumental in making sure that that happens and that we protect our assets and improve them," said Powell. "And that we create more opportunities for tourist attractions which can bring in more income."
The mayoral candidates told KSBY their thoughts on their opponent.
“I think the best thing to say about my opponent is that she just doesn't know or understand Arroyo Grande,” said Russom. “She has not offered how she's going to pay for the things we need to pay for. She's not offered policies that she wants to put forward, and she really just hasn't shown that she understands the community at large.”
“I don't think she's a leader,” said Powell. “I think she basically, as I said, bends a knee to Gavin Newsom instead of really defending Arroyo Grande’s interests and protecting its assets and never putting those assets in jeopardy as they did when they signed the contracts, even during the COVID relief effort by our government.”
Meanwhile, the county's elections office confirmed to KSBY that they are aware of an investigation into Powell for alleged voter fraud.
The county district attorney’s office is handling the investigation, KSBY has learned. A response to our request for additional information has not yet been received.
KSBY News asked Powell about the investigation and she says she has not committed a crime and looks forward to learning the results of the DA's investigation.
