LAKEPORT >> The city of Lakeport has a late entry for a city council election campaign write-in candidate who has been a Lake County entrepreneur for 40 years and who brings business savvy in a bid for a seat on the council.
Andre Williams is from San Francisco but spent much of his youth in Lake County. He knew this was a good landing for his adult life. “Good people, fresh air and my first business, Burgers Plus in Clearlake Oaks started 27 years ago, Williams said. “You hear of people of getting out of Lake County, but there’s no place better than here. I’ve been around the world performing (jazz) with MC Hammer and other bands, and I’ve seen a lot of what I don’t want and can’t wait to get back here.”
Clear Lake and surrounding mountains speak to (his sensibilities). Since 1966 Williams cultivated a love for Lakeport. “I’ve learned to direct by example so, we need to make an example to the community,” he said. “But we need to respect the community and have better communications with the public.”
If elected, Williams would make a pitch to adopt a city council walk (in various neighborhoods) once a month to sow solidarity among the council. “It would encourage people to unify, care and respect each other. We have to work together and the council is about the ideas of the community. We’re trying to make things happen and council walks show we care about the business community and owners- anybody who aspires to start a business.”
“Supporting seniors- and children, are priorities because they’re going to be seniors some day and (this) gives children positive direction from the council, that’s the basis of Lake County,” Williams said. He added that it was colleagues who encouraged him to seek election. Security is a major reason why he wanted to create the city council monthly walks.
“We need to get out in public and find out what the complaints are,” he said. “We know that (inadequate) lighting is a problem- and going 50 MPH on Main St. is a big problem.” He said that numerous seniors cannot run across the street to avoid oncoming cars that are speeding, and too many drivers are distracted from texting while driving. Another ancillary benefit of a council walk; motivation to highlight crime committed under the radar. “We need to create a voluntary community patrol, just to observe and report and be the eyes and ears of the police.”
Regarding crime, Williams said it was another reason to implement a city council walk. It offers the public more facile access to collaborate with city leaders of what the public see in neighborhoods. “There’s more crime than the council can see,” he said. “And improved lighting can offer a sense of security and that would deprive criminals of the obscurity they prefer.”
This is in line with Lakeport’s philosophy and practice towards “community policing.” which outgoing Police Chief Brad Rasmussen has cultivated over the years.
In a related topic, regarding the opioid/fentanyl crisis, Williams noted youth needs a positive outlet to burn off excess energy they typically experience. He said he always wanted to start a Boys Club in Lake County and said he has never seen one here. “So, we need something positive because if there’s nothing to do, I’ll do what my older brother does- maybe smoke something, that leads to something worse. Young people need to express themselves and burn off energy in a productive manner.”
Williams also subscribes to recruiting more police officers, preferably from here or neighboring counties. “We need good people, but we need to thoroughly vet them, before they become officers,” he said. “We could recruit them from voluntary community patrols if we had them. We’ll see who is dedicated to safety and to Lake County.”
In response to homelessness, Williams again emphasized safety. He suggests accessing vacant public land to support the unhoused, where they could clean up substance abuse challenges that could buy time to find temporary employment as a transition to returning to the community at large in a full-time capacity.
And of course, he urges a proactive initiative to attract more tourism and new businesses. He advocates first, to ameliorate growing numbers of vacant storefronts. “Take care of lighting and signage and do a good job of property
maintenance,” Williams stressed. “It shows prospective entrepreneurs the city is serious about hosting their commercial expansion. If we could offer incentives to potential startups we’d attract new business.”
