Debbie Walsh Candidate for County Supervisor

For over 30 years, Debbie has worked to protect our communities by speaking before the Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission and numerous other government bodies to implement policy changes to improve the quality of life for residents living within the First District of Riverside County. During those thirty years, Debbie volunteered to organize hundreds of community events and pushed through a rural community and trails plan.

One of the major concerns today is massive traffic congestion on our freeways and long commute times. We expect our local government to provide local jobs with a living wage. That is not happening in Riverside County with the majority of residents forced to drive to other Counties to make enough money to feed their families. The current solution is to build more toll lanes. As we have seen that just increases the cost of commuting and continuous construction projects that cause more delays.

The real solution is to create real jobs that pay a living wage in Riverside County. The first step is to put the Riverside County Economic Development Department back to work performing its main function to attract real businesses to Riverside County. The current path is to continue voting for more toll lanes. Instead of corporate and manufacturing jobs, we see logistics warehouses spouting up like weeds in a beautiful garden. Their massive trucks increasing congestion on our freeways and their soot turning our air a toxic brown. We must go beyond these massive logistics warehouses and reserve our precious land for real job creating enterprises that reduce congestion, increase property values, increase County revenues and protect the environment.

Another major concern is homelessness, which is out of control in Riverside County rising 21% last year. Homelessness is affecting our neighborhoods, businesses, parks and quality of life. The current methods of dealing with homelessness are not working. Homeless camps are on the rise in our watersheds, rivers, creeks and dry brush areas as well as our shopping centers, parks and neighborhoods. People living in homeless camps are committing crimes and starting fires that are threatening our lives and homes. This a complex problem especially with those who are chronically homeless because of drug dependence and mental illness. Millions are being invested in building low-income housing, but that will not solve the problem. Funding to deal with the homeless crises must be spent to address the root of the problem with treatment programs for those who are drug dependent and mentally ill. Prevention is paramount to addressing families that are in need so they do not become homeless. I will work to increase State and Federal funding, create policies, expand supportive services and create an effective task force to deal with the homeless crises in Riverside County so those who desperately need our help can receive it.

Crime rates are rising in Riverside County. It is crucial to provide our local Law Enforcement and Fire Department personnel with the staff, tools and resources they need to keep our families, schools and businesses safe. The County Fire Department budget was slashed by $1.5 million dollars last year. I will restore funding to the Fire Department so they can increase response times and hire more firefighters.

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