Pete Vander Poel On the Issues
WHY I AM RUNNING FOR TULARE COUNTY SUPERVISOR
I am running for Supervisor to make Tulare County a better, safer place. I was born and raised here. I went through the
public school system, graduating from Tulare Union as a valedictorian. I also graduated cum laude from UCLA's
College of Honors, with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a minor in Accounting. I grew up on a dairy farm. I know
the value of hard work and how to stretch a dollar. I have the energy, education and experience to effectively represent
you on the Board. I will focus on making our community safer by working closely with law enforcement; improving our
roads through the efficient use of Measure 'R' funds; securing a reliable water supply; and ensuring that our tax dollars
are well spent. My door is always open. My phone number is in the book. I've met with hundreds of people since this
campaign began and I'll continue to do so after the election. I'm proud to have the endorsements of Congressman
Devin Nunes, Sheriff Bill Wittman, District Attorney Phil Cline, Tulare City Councilmembers Dave Macedo and Carlton
Jones, the Tulare County Deputy Sheriff's Association, the Latino Peace Officer's Association and hundreds more.
Please join me in making Tulare County a better place.
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PETE’S TOP PRIORITIES
If elected, my highest priorities will be making our community safer by working closely with law enforcement, making
Tulare County government more efficient to get more bang from the taxpayers' dollars, securing a safe and reliable
water supply and improving our roads through the efficient use of Measure 'R' funds.
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THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN OUR LIVES
The number one goal of government should be serving the people. We pay taxes to government so that it will deliver
services needed by the community. As a Supervisor, I will use my business experience to make sure your tax dollars are
spent as efficiently as possible and not wasted on unnecessary programs or other sinkholes. We also need to make sure
that customer service is the number one priority of county government, whether dealing with lines at county offices,
requests of governmental branches or public safety.
Government has the ability to be effective; yet, so often, government is inefficient, thus, ineffective. The responsibility
of government is to serve the people. The individuals that we elect to governmental offices to represent us should be in
it to represent the interests of their constituents and not their own. Especially in the current budget year, funds are
severely limited in many areas, and in some, altogether eliminated. Instead of cutting programs, inefficiencies within
programs need to be cut. We need government to function like a private business and make every dollar count. I will
use my business background to streamline Tulare County government.
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CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY
We must deal with all aspects of crime in our community in a serious manner and give our full attention to the twin tasks
of prevention and intervention. Gangs are certainly a serious problem in Tulare County. I strongly support the current
effort by the District Attorney, the Sheriff and local police forces to prevent known gang members from associating.
This sends a zero tolerance message to gang members. We also need to work closely with our schools to give our youth
alternatives to gang membership. Vocational education is a tool that could be very useful in those efforts. Drugs and the
proliferation of meth labs in the County are another serious problem. We have a joint local, state and federal task force
devoted to the eradication of meth labs and marijuana fields in our rural areas and I will make sure we continue and step
up those efforts. Ag crime is also a serious problem in Tulare County as it strikes at the foundation of our economy. I
will be a strong advocate for tougher laws against trafficking in stolen agricultural supplies, equipment and crops. I
have pledged to make Tulare County a safer place to live and raise our children and I am proud to have the endorsements
of the top law enforcement officials in the County-Sheriff Bill Wittman, District Attorney Phil Cline, the Tulare
County Deputy Sheriffs Association and the Latino Peace Officers Association.
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AIR QUALITY
With respect to air quality, I plan to work closely with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to combat
our air pollution problems. For too long we've tiptoed around the most flagrant contributor to dirty air, cars and trucks.
Research indicates that removing and replacing the 10% of vehicles that are considered gross polluters will dramatically
improve our air quality in a very short time. Instead of spending millions of dollars trying to control relatively
insignificant sources of air pollution, we need to use that money in the form of incentives to replace gross polluting
vehicles. Too often bureaucrats only look for solutions where they can regulate and control and they completely miss
opportunities where incentives can solve problems that regulations only worsen. That's where my business experience
will be a valuable tool on behalf of Tulare County residents. I will also work diligently with Sacramento to be sure that
when plans for high-speed rail transportation in California move forward, Tulare County is not excluded. I will work
closely with our agricultural and business communities to make sure their voices and concerns are part of any solutions
or measures taken to reduce air pollution.
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PETE'S VISION FOR THE FUTURE
My vision for the future of the Central Valley is a positive one. I want to work with all stakeholders to secure a reliable source of water for our residents, farmers and businesses. I want to work closely with our public safety officials to
provide a safe, stable, and enjoyable life for our residents and their children. I want to work towards creating the
necessary planning tools and build the infrastructure to ensure intelligent and thoughtful growth in our Valley. I want the
Central Valley to be a place people choose to live, do business, raise a family, live healthy and spend their lives in.
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EDUCATION
I believe in education. I was a valedictorian at Tulare Union High School and I graduated cum laude from UCLA's
College of Honors. America is the "Land of Opportunity", and education coupled with hard work, are the keys towards
endless opportunity. Tulare County needs to continue to attract the best teachers to educate our children. We also need
to create an infrastructure that is attractive for an educated workforce. Education can also be used as a tool to combat
gangs, drugs and violence. After-school programs to keep kids off of the streets, to tutor students so that they can be
successful in school and guest speaker programs to present opportunities to the students can all contribute towards a
stronger education system and a safer Tulare County.
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FORECLOSURE CRISIS
The growing number of foreclosures in many of our communities needs to be addressed. There isn't much we can do on
a local level, most of the hard work has to be done at the state and federal levels. One of the best ways we can address
the issue locally is through homeowner education. Bringing together realtors, mortgage companies, homeowners,
community leaders, etc., is of the utmost importance in order to educate homeowners about options available to them.
Helping homeowners plan, budget and communicate can really go a long ways in limiting the number of homes that are
lost to foreclosure. I glad to see that homeowner education is a prominent feature in the bills currently moving through
Congress.
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JOBS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Tulare County is the #1 Dairy County and the #2 Agricultural County in the United States, which means that we need to
focus on strengthening our agricultural base and develop more industries that complement and complete agriculture.
There are good opportunities for expanding exports as well as in food processing. Tulare County also needs to consider
developing a 500 to 1,000 acre turn-key industrial park to attract new businesses to the County. Government needs to
work with existing businesses as well and the permit process needs to be streamlined. We need to take a long and hard
look at the planning process to make sure we are not sending jobs out of the county by being too restrictive. Growth is
a good thing, it simply needs to be well planned to mitigate and address legitimate concerns. Talking to people throughout
the campaign, I have heard many complaints that too many policies at the state level make California a difficult
place to do business and many businesses have moved out-of-state as a result. That trend must be reversed.
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