FIND AND REMOVE unnecessary regulations, develop a community around a new museum, use future property tax growth to upgrade infrastructure, provide a better path to citizenship for immigrants and offer low-cost loans to long-time residents who want to build equity. These are some of the ideas offered at a debate last week by five candidates who are running for THE Marin County’s District 5 supervisor seat.
One of them will replace Board of Supervisors President Eric Lucan, who is running for California State Assembly. Lucan hopes to replace Assemblymember Damon Connolly, who is leaving his seat to run for California State Senate.
Hosted by the League of Women Voters of Marin County, the online debate revealed the diversity of Marin’s residents and concerns. Moderator Linda Deer asked candidates about the core issues the county is facing — housing costs, childhood education, immigrant protections, wildfire preparedness, small business growth, veteran support and making the county more age-friendly.
Affordability, budget and infrastructure
In all their replies, the candidates addressed how the county might balance fiscal responsibility with essential services amid an affordability crisis.
“Our state blew through $900 million worth of a safety debt,” said Novato native Marc Hunter Lewis. “We have to figure out ways to be self-reliant in our revenue sources, because right now having 37% of it come from the state or federal government just doesn’t work.”
Lewis pitched the idea of paying for Marin’s estimated $17 billion climate adaptation costs using Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts. According to the Southern California Association of Governments, EIFDs are a type of local authority that establishes a base level property tax in a certain project area. Additional tax revenue in future years can be directed to pay for improvements, such as transportation infrastructure or climate adaptation projects.
“By 2041 about 42% of our residents will be over 65,” Lewis said. “When homes change hands, they are largely reassessed in value. That’s going to create a steady, predictable stream of new property tax growth.”
Business climate, permits and regulation
The candidates appeared to reach a consensus on the difficulties of opening a new business in Marin.
“Regulation, hostile toward small business owners and small housing providers, is choking people and there’s only so much a person can take before throwing in the towel,” said Chris Carpiniello, a longtime business owner. “A thorough review of all Marin’s codes and ordinances will help us to understand where we went wrong and allow us the opportunity to correct our past mistakes.”
Carpiniello called for an audit on every dollar spent on health and social services.
“California is spending tens of billions of dollars right now on immigrants and the homeless with no discernible results,” he said. “We can’t just keep throwing money at problems with little or no oversight.”
Novato School Board President Magali Limeta focused on existing policies and extended partnerships. She spoke about a new design museum that will be moving into the noticeable spiked-roof warehouse that sits west of U.S. Highway 101 between Novato and Petaluma.
“I’m really excited about the Eames Institute that’s going to be located where the old Birkenstock building is currently, and how many businesses that’s going to help in our local economy,” Limeta said. “The other thing that I want to do is be able to provide resources to the people that don’t know how to start a business. I know that there’s a lot of grants and funding to support small businesses, so I’m committed to continue listening and learning from the chambers.”
Winemaker Andy Podshadley pointed to what he sees as inequities in permitting and business fees. He told the story of a resident who runs a pizza place, who is frustrated about a food truck across the street that he said had no cost burden for business fees.
“I have a restaurant in my business,” he said. “It’s $900 a year, plus you get inspected every three months and then you get inspection fees. These pop-up food vehicles right now, I can count five in Novato, have no permits, no fees.””
Podshadley called for a mandate that food trucks have commercial hand-washing stations.
“If they don’t, they get fined,” he said. “And if you get fined three times, you end up in the pokey.”
Immigrant support and housing
Podshadley also spoke in support of Marin’s immigrant community, advocating for more reliable support systems for undocumented residents.
“Let’s educate and get them started on citizenship and support them through the whole process, not just scratch the surface at the beginning,” he said.
Much of the county’s workforce commutes in from more affordable areas in the Bay Area, according to 2023 data from the American Community Survey. Chef Curtis Aikens pointed out that even long-time residents cannot afford to buy a home.
“The biggest part of getting a home is that down payment, so why can’t we as a county help people that have worked, lived and served this county for X amount of years get a break or a zero-interest loan,” Aikens said, adding that the county can work with area banks on business loans as well. “We need a salesperson that can promote Marin County, Novato and District 5, not only in Sacramento and Los Angeles, also in Washington, D.C., Paris, France and Sydney, Australia.”
Aikens has also joined a coalition of activists who do not want the county to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I grew up in the Jim Crow South,” said Aikens. “I could tell you horror stories about what it was like being a Black person. I don’t want any person visiting Marin County to feel like they have to go through those types of things again.”
Disaster readiness and public safety
Regarding Marin’s emergency readiness, the candidates agreed that the county needs to do a better job at communicating disaster preparedness to residents, especially those who live in fire-prone areas.
Lewis holds a professional graduate degree from Emory University School of Law and identifies as a Blue Dog Democrat, a coalition within the party that is fiscally conservative. According to his campaign website, Lewis has worked in land use permitting and environmental review. He is not seeking endorsements, his statement says, because he wants voters to evaluate him on his record.
Carpiniello ran for Novato City Council in 2022 and is endorsed by the Marin County Republicans.
Limeta holds an anthropology degree from University of California, Los Angeles and has experience as a health care administrator. She is endorsed by several politicians including California State Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, and Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, as well as current Marin County Supervisors Mary Sackett, Brian Colbert and Dennis Rodoni. She is also endorsed by several Marin city councilmembers, the Marin County Democratic Party, SEIU Local 2015 and Marina Palma of the San Rafael Sea Level Rise Working Group.
Podshadley is the owner of Trek Winery and is running with no political party preference. He ran for state Assembly in 2024 against Connolly and is the former president of the Downtown Novato Business Association, where he created the Bouncy Ball New Year’s Eve.
Aikens’ endorsements include North Bay Building Trades Council union, Marin Professional Firefighters union, the grassroots climate advocate group 350 Marin Action, Novato Mayor Rachel Farac, former mayor and Chamber of Commerce president Denise Athas and Pastor Floyd Thompkins.
The last day to register to vote for the June 2 primary election is May 18. Marin County elections officials began mailing ballots to registered voters Monday, and secure ballot drop-off locations opened Tuesday. Ballots can also be brought to a drop-off location, county elections office, or returned by mail. For early in-person voting, the first voting centers open May 23. Hours vary by location through June 1, but on June 2, all vote centers will be open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. For more information, visit vote411.org.
This story was updated at 11:20 a.m. Tuesday, May 5, to correct names in multiple paragraphs as well as other errors that require clarification.
