Oleksii Chuiko, George Fuller and Cristina Pena Langley are on this election’s ballot for the District 5 Oakley City Council seat.
Oleksii Chuiko
Chuiko previously ran for an Oakley City Council seat in 2020. According to Ballotpedia, Chuiko pulled papers as a registered Republican in 2022 for California’s 10th Congressional District seat, though he did not appear on the ballot for the primary on June 7, 2022.
Chuiko cited public safety, economic growth and regional cooperation as his top priorities during a debate forum hosted by the Oakley Chamber of Commerce earlier this month.
“I believe we all would benefit as a region if our cities would start working together more to achieve common good for our people,” he said, expanding on how regional partners could collaborate to grow businesses and jobs.
George Fuller
Incumbent Fuller, who was elected in 2020, has a professional background in special education and nonprofit leadership, along with 22 years with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Fuller said his top three priorities are to establish Project Labor Agreements between the city and trade unions, to block any new taxes and to develop an inclusive community with affordable housing.
“We need to make sure, when we sell surplus land, we make sure that 20% of that is going to go to affordable housing,” Fuller said. “Not just affordable housing in a big apartment complex but affordable housing within the communities that are being built.”
On his campaign website, he expands on how he believes Project Labor Agreements should be required for all municipal capital improvement projects, noting that the city has previously been reluctant to hire trade unions that might try to “get paid for as little work as possible.”
“The members of the trade unions are significant members of our community, Oakley,” he stated. “Yet, I believe they have not received the respect they deserve from prior Oakley City Councils, certain members of the current Oakley City Council, and City Hall.”
Cristina Pena Langley
Pena Langley grew up in Texas and moved to California about eight years ago. Active in the community, Pena Langley is a teacher in the Oakley Union Elementary School District and a Girl Scout leader.
During the forum, she said public safety, a clean community and economic growth were among her priorities. She wants to ensure that streets, parks and neighborhoods throughout the entire city — not just her district — are clean. If elected, she said she would also like to hear more from the public regarding the best ways to develop the local economy. In addition, she wants to increase the number of police officers on the Oakley Police Department and get a School Resource Officer assigned to the local middle schools.
“Right now, the chief is working on making that happen,” she said, adding that there are fights happening on campus almost daily. “By having an SRO in our middle school, you will not only make our hardworking teachers feel safer, but it will make our students feel safer.”