Atwater candidates face off

The hiring of the next Atwater city manager, the city’s deficit and public safety were front and center during a City Council candidate forum on Tuesday.

There are two council seats up for election in November and four candidates. Incumbent Larry Bergman faced challengers Paul Creighton, who owns P-33 Painting, and Cindy Vierra, a manager at Nations Lending.

The fourth candidate, retiree Dan Hernandez, did not take part in the forum.

Bergman, who retired after 30 years with the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, now works at Coldwell Banker Gonella Realty in Atwater.

Elected four years ago, Bergman touted the improvements to the city’s deficit in his time in office. At about $6.9 million when he took office, the deficit has been reduced to about $3.6 million.

“I’m very proud that we’ve been able to do that in a short time,” the 55-year-old said. “The problem didn’t happen overnight and it’s not going to be solved overnight.”

Creighton, whose business contracts to cover graffiti in Merced, Atwater and other area communities, said he has more than 20 years of experience in the public sector. The 48-year-old worked in Patterson before being hired as the public works director in Livingston, where he was also an interim city manager.

He said he decided to run to improve the city’s recent shortfalls. “The roads are in bad shape, the parks look terrible, the city finances are bad,” he said.

His experience in the public sector could aid the city, he said.

Vierra, 50, described herself as a “doer,” who wouldn’t “just sit back and wait for things to happen.” She listed a number of local organizations for which she’s volunteered.

“This is a natural progression, staying involved in my community,” she said. “I get up every day and go to work, and I work in the finance industry where we’re very regulated by government guidelines. And we have to learn every day how to put that round peg in that square hole.”

The candidates were asked a number of questions, including what problem do they see in Atwater that no one is talking about?

Vierra said the City Council is “very divided,” which can make working together to better the city difficult, and that she would bring a different perspective.

“I just see that division. It’s very visible to the public eye,” she said. “So, possibly, with me as a girl on the council, (we could) teach them how to play nice.”

Bergman pointed to the city’s growing pension problems. Atwater owes about $19 million for the pensions of retired city employees.

“We’re looking at sharp increases in our (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) funds and it’s something that’s not talked about, and we need to solve (the problem) quickly,” he said.

Customer service is widely ignored in Atwater, according to Creighton. Atwater employees are furloughed on Fridays and City Hall is closed.

“Here in Atwater, customer service, unfortunately, doesn’t exist anymore,” he said. “When you come to do business in the city of Atwater, you should be treated with respect, treated with dignity.”

This story was originally published September 13, 2016 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Atwater candidates face off."