08 Oct Mike Barbanica and Shanelle Scales-Preston Vie for Supervisors Seat

(Image courtesy of Contra Costa County via Bay City News)

By Tony Hicks
Bay City News

For a quarter century, residents of East Contra Costa County have been able to depend on three things. The sun comes up in the east, goes down in the west, and Federal Glover represents them on the county Board of Supervisors.

Glover — who is retiring at the end of this year, during which he has served as the board’s chair — has held the job of District 5 supervisor since 1999.

Two East County local politicians are vying for Glover’s seat in a runoff after the March primary election, during which no candidate garnered the necessary 50% of the vote to take the job outright.

Antioch City Council member Mike Barbanica finished first, with nearly 39% of the vote, with Pittsburg City Council member Shanelle Scales-Preston finishing second with about 35%.

District 5 includes Hercules, Rodeo, Crockett, Martinez, Bay Point, Pacheco, Clyde, Pittsburg, and parts of Antioch and Marsh Creek.

Barbanica is a real estate broker and former Pittsburg police officer. Much of his support comes from police officers’ associations and law enforcement officials, including Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston.

Barbanica has been on the Antioch council since 2020. On his campaign site, he touted his record of “cracking down on dilapidated properties and helping small businesses succeed.”

He also said he has put more police in neighborhoods, stood up against defunding the police, and delivered body cams and more equipment to police “while holding the police department accountable.”

Barbanica also said he has fought for critical safety improvements like more speed bumps to reduce speeding and helped deliver over $1 million in structural changes to roadways to slow traffic, improve intersections, and reduce fatalities.

Barbanica said he fought the city buying a “homeless hotel, which was located near local schools, churches, and small businesses,” saying on his site “We can’t expect a taxpayer-purchased hotel room to solve the bigger problem.”

He said unhoused residents need all-encompassing services and that he was instrumental in working with the county to start a program that negotiated short-term housing and accompanying services for unhoused people.

Barbanica said he has a five-point plan to tackle county homelessness, which includes accepting that the county’s approach isn’t working; auditing county programs involving homelessness; prioritizing families with children, veterans and unaccompanied youth; prioritizing and re-establishing programs to keep people housed and prevent unnecessary evictions; and establishing “safety zones” near places of businesses, restaurants, downtown areas, and places where youth and families hang out. “The homeless camped on our street makes us feel unsafe and hinders small businesses’ ability to stay afloat,” Barbanica said on his site. “I am currently championing a program for safety zones adjacent to churches and schools to keep children safe.”

>>>Election 2024 Q&A:

‘I Love Public Service’: Shanelle Scales-Preston Is Running for County Supervisor<<<

Like Glover before becoming a county supervisor, Scales-Preston serves on the Pittsburg City Council. She was elected in 2018 and served as mayor in 2023.

According to her campaign website, Scales-Preston, who works for U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Walnut Creek, is chair of the board for local electricity provider MCE. She’s also the chair of TransPlan, which coordinates regional transportation projects and transit services in East County, She’s also president of the League of California Cities’ East Bay Division.

Scales-Preston said she wants to create housing for all income levels and partner with nonprofits and the private sector to provide innovative solutions to house very low-income and unhoused residents.

She said she wants to invest in infrastructure, coordinate transit across systems, and explore new modes of transportation to ensure mobility is equitable and easy. She supports youth having access to recreation, tutoring and extracurricular learning and wants to attract new businesses while supporting local entrepreneurs.

Scales-Preston said her record on the council shows she’s always supported a fully-funded police department and said “ensuring the safety of our neighborhoods requires collaboration between law enforcement and the community and investing in tactical and anti-bias police training to foster trust and cooperation.

She said protecting the environment is a shared responsibility.

“I will champion sustainable practices, advocate for clean energy initiatives and work towards a greener and more sustainable future,” she said.

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