6 Questions for Jake Fusari, Running for City Council

Patch: Where do you stand on the issue of a desalination plant, and do you think it should be left up to the people of Santa Cruz to decide as outlined in Measure P?

Fusari: At this time I am very concerned about the idea of a Desalination plant.  I have endorsed Measure P which will give the community the opportunity to vote on the project.  I believe that any project with such great financial and environmental impact deserves more scrutiny.

Patch: How do you plan to fight crime in the wake of the ongoing economic doldrums? Do you think gang violence is growing within the city? If so, what do you think should be done about it?

Fusari: I subscribe to the idea that crime should be fought from the bottom up. We need to offer more after school programs such as music, art, and sports that will keep kids out of trouble. If we can reach the youth of Santa Cruz and guide them in the right direction we will have less crime to fight in the future. Santa Cruz has a growing gang problem and offering kids an alternative to entering a life of crime is of critical importance.

Patch: How do you plan on supporting the Arts in Santa Cruz?

Fusari: Santa Cruz, having a beautiful abundance of artists, musicians, dancers and free thinkers deserves to have world class art programs available in schools, and to the community. I see WAY more art festivals being held in down town Santa Cruz in the future that raise money to support the arts.

Patch: What do you think the best plan is for bringing back the local economy and creating jobs in Santa Cruz?

Fusari: The best plan to create jobs and improve the economic vitality of Santa Cruz is to become more attractive to potential businesses. Historically, Santa Cruz has been a hard place to start new business. We need to learn from businesses that have been successful here and use that knowledge to better serve people interested in starting or bringing new businesses to Santa Cruz.

Patch: What do you think Santa Cruz's greatest problem is and how do you propose we fix it? What are the city's greatest strengths that you'd like to see preserved and/or built upon?

Fusari: It’s hard for me to say exactly what Santa Cruz’s greatest problem is. I do believe however that through responsible growth and development we can create jobs for the community and revenue for the city. This revenue can provide us with the funds we need to fix the problems.

Patch: If it were up to you, how do you see Santa Cruz five years from now?

 Fusari: If it were up to me, in 5 years I would like Santa Cruz to be safer, have more job opportunities, have a long term water solution, and for our beaches to be the most pristine in the state.