LOWER LAKE ? The third and final debate was held Wednesday night between District 1 Supervisor candidates Jim Comstock and Susanne La Faver.
The candidates answered questions from an audience of approximately 60 people at the Lower Lake Community Building at Lower Lake County Park about issues concerning the district and the county. Less than two weeks remain until voters will decide Nov. 4, which candidate will fill the open county seat.
Comstock said his first act as District 1 Supervisor would be to rescind the ban on genetically engineered (GE) crops the Lake County Board of Supervisors passed Tuesday. La Faver emphasized the need to bring state and federal money into the county as a priority.
“I do not want to take tools out of hands of farmers. I don”t believe government should be involved in it,” Comstock said.
Referring to the Lake County Farm Bureau”s endorsement of Comstock, La Faver said, “The Farm Bureau is a big special interest group in Lake County. I want to make sure the decisions that are made here are local decisions. The positions they take here locally are the same as the California Farm Bureau, and I know that they are a strong lobbyist on this issue. I want to make sure this is best for the entire county, not just one special interest group,” La Faver said.
The candidates were asked what their party affiliation was and which presidential candidate they supported. Comstock said publicly for the first time that he is a Republican and supports Senator John McCain for president. La Faver said for the second time that she is a Democrat and supports Senator Barak Obama.
Both candidates said they would support all citizens equally, regardless of party affiliation.
Asked by an audience member whether she supported the First and Second Amendments of the Constitution, La Faver prefaced her answer by saying, “There are a lot of Comstock supporters here.”
La Faver said she didn”t know what the Second Amendment was and Comstock took the opportunity to answer the question.
“The Second Amendment is the right to keep and bear arms. I am a very proud, strong defender of the right to keep and bear arms. This country was founded on people keeping and bearing arms, and fighting those who were trying to oppress them,” Comstock said.
La Faver thanked him for the definition, and said she also supported that Constitutional right.
“I”m from a hunting family, and I grew up in rural Monterey County. We had guns and we had rifles and we shot deer ? I was raised on venison. We never had anything my dad didn”t hunt or grow. That”s how we were raised,” La Faver said.
The debate was sponsored by the Lower Lake Community Action Group.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
