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| City Council candidates face off in last gathering By Clay Lambert [ clay@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Thursday, October 29, 2009 8:41 PM PDT The eight candidates for three seats on the Half Moon Bay City Council squared off Thursday night, answering questions from an often-neglected quarter of the constituency –- young professionals. The candidates met at Sam's Chowder House for the discussion of the issues before Tuesday’s election. The Coastside Young Professionals, a social and business arm of the local chamber of commerce, organized the panel discussion. The CYP posed six questions of all candidates, who each had the chance to give opening and closing statements. The questions ignored the Beachwood land debacle, which sometimes seems to loom over the city like a cloud. Instead, the questions focused on infrastructure, business, improvements for children and teens, and accountability issues. The hour-and-a-half affair was congenial. The most contentious moments may have been when challengers George Muteff, Allan Alifano and Rick Kowalczyk each made references to the fact that fellow challengers Sofia Freer, Deborah Ruddock and Dan Handler all took considerable campaign contributions from out-of-town donors. Handler highlighted his business experience – he is the proprietor of Outland Java in Princeton -- and promised to be open to constituents and work toward consensus. Alifano said the election pitted two competing outlooks for Half Moon Bay. He said his work with the Downtown Business Association, among other things, proved his commitment. Patridge noted her long experience on the council and said the city was at a critical juncture that required continuity among elected officials. Freer said Half Moon Bay was as jewel in the Bay Area and should leverage that status to gain help from over-the-hill friends. She said she would work for parks and bike trails. Hoelzel acknowledged that he didn’t have all the answers at 25 years of age, but promised to work for a new Boys and Girls Club and a senior center. Muteff said he would work tirelessly to improve the business climate and inject accountability into city process. He said he was the most aggressive and knowledgeable of the candidates. Kowalczyk said he had unique business qualifications – he holds an MBA and works as a consultant – that would serve residents well. He said he would cut red tape at city hall. Ruddock told those in attendance she co-authored the city’s existing growth controls and said supporting business was necessary if Half Moon Bay is to hold the line on residential development. About 50 people attended the function, the last of a handful of face-to-face gatherings of the candidates. |