Merced council candidates had a lot to say about the city’s homeless issues

A debate this week between candidates for Merced’s District 6, the northernmost district, focused heavily on the downtown’s issues surrounding homelessness.

The new district runs almost entirely north of Yosemite Avenue, though it does dip south of Yosemite to the Black Rascal bike path between G Street and Parsons Avenue. It’s an area not usually in the discussion when city leaders are tackling homelessness.

Nonetheless, candidates John Bliss and Delray Shelton noted the issue one of their highest priorities.

“My No. 1 goal to improve Merced would be to focus on the homeless issue,” Bliss said. “Trying to find a way, find solutions and work with the community business leaders and the community in general to solve the problem.”

The 55-year-old Buhach Colony High teacher said the D Street shelter is a good start, noting ending homeless is no easy task.

“It’s not a one-size-fits-all problem. It’s going to take time,” he said.

Shelton, who has worked in the Merced County Sheriff’s Department for about 13 years, said his highest priority would be making Merced a place where people feel safe.

“That’s safety for when your kids go to school, when you’re downtown and safety when you’re shopping,” the 34-year-old said.

Homeless-related issues cannot be solved by police enforcement alone, he said. “We need to provide sustainable, transformative wrap-around services for the homeless,” he said. “And we need to continue to keep them accountable.”

The number of people living on the street in Merced County is 514, according to a tally from this year, an increase of 13.2 percent from the previous year. Merced had 310 homeless people, eight fewer than a year ago.

The debate touched on a number of other topics:

• Neither candidate spoke highly of the planned state High-Speed Rail stop but agreed the city should try to take advantage of the opportunity.
  
  
• Bliss said he opposes the state’s gas tax, while Shelton said he didn’t have a strong opinion on it.
  
  
• Speaking in front of the Merced County Board of Realtors, both candidates say they opposed rent control.
  
  
• Both candidates agreed the city of Merced should firmly enforce its panhandling ordinance.
  
  
• Shelton had raised $8,771 through the last contributions filing on Sept. 22, according to records. More than $5,000 of that was a loan he made to the campaign.
  
  
• A filing for Bliss was not immediately available. He said he’s raised about $4,000, and that his top contributor was developer Greg Hostetler.
  
  

The board filmed the debate which is expected to be uploaded to YouTube this week.

This story was originally published October 2, 2018 at 4:15 PM.