Fire service, public safety are big issues in Stanislaus County District 1 election

Oct. 8--The person elected to represent the Oakdale-Riverbank area on Stanislaus County's Board of Supervisors will spend time dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.

But the next supervisor, either Matthew "Buck" Condit or Modesto Councilman Bill Zoslocki, also will confront the local issues in supervisorial District 1, such as emergency services, public safety and water. The supervisorial district also includes part of east Modesto.

The winner in the Nov. 3 election will take over from former state Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, who's been criticized for spending too much time away from the district. Olsen did not seek reelection.

"If there is anything negative to be said, she has disappeared from the district," Condit said when asked to rate Olsen's performance during a Modesto Bee Zoom forum Aug. 31. "It's hard to set up meetings."

Condit said it's feedback that he heard from residents before a Modesto Bee report in September that Olsen purchased a Modesto home last year and has not resided in District 1 since June.

Zoslocki said Olsen is "approachable and I like her as a person. She might have overbooked herself."

Condit, a captain for Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District, captured 42.6 percent of the March primary vote to 32.4 percent for Zoslocki, setting up the Nov. 3 runoff. Waterford Mayor Michael Van Winkle was third in the primary.

Stanislaus Consolidated was hit with controversy in recent years over the inability to keep a fire chief, its budget woes and Oakdale's dissatisfaction with an emergency services contract with the fire district. Last year, Oakdale parted ways with Consolidated and entered a three-year agreement with Modesto Fire Department.

Condit said this week the fire district has worked hard to close what was a $925,000 budget gap last year. It is now $276,000 in the black, he said.

Stanislaus Consolidated will use a three-year, $1.6 million federal grant to hire six additional firefighters and will reopen fire Station 23 on Highway 132 near Geer Road. Condit credited a partnership between the district board, administration and firefighters for coming up with financial solutions.

Zoslocki will try to capitalize on public discontent over emergency services in Oakdale, Riverbank and Waterford. He criticized Stanislaus Consolidated for adopting a new practice in May of billing a person's property or car insurance for responding to vehicle fires, collisions, water rescues and hazmat calls.

He said residents already pay for those services through property taxes.

Calling the practice a form of backdoor taxation, Zoslocki said a more regional approach to fire service in eastern Stanislaus County would provide better service without billing residents for calls.

Condit replied that the district board made the decision to bill insurance carriers and, as a district employee, he's not involved with policy-making. He said fire district boards have to consider the costs that can be covered by local assessments and how to pay for services.

"Most insurance companies will pay those fees," Condit said. "Stanislaus Consolidated is not the first fire department that signed onto that."

Condit, who cites public safety as his top priority, said there are still gaps in fire service in the territory around Oakdale. He added the rural eastern part of the county has long suffered from limited sheriff's patrols.

"Our farmers and people living there are suffering losses from theft, vandalism and illegal dumping," Condit said. "Those are still areas we need to work on."

Condit, 51, said he will retire from the fire district if he is elected as a county supervisor.

Zoslocki pushes infrastructure projects

Zoslocki, a councilman for more than six years, said the county in these trying times can use his local government experience and leadership skills to get through the COVID-19 crisis. A former developer who built apartment housing, Zoslocki said infrastructure is the key for making the county attractive for outside companies looking to expand and relocate.

He said projects like the Highway 132 reroute west of Modesto, the extension of Altamont Corridor Express train service to Stanislaus County and efforts to recharge groundwater are building blocks for economic growth.

Zoslocki, 67, said he regularly attended meetings of the California Transportation Commission before the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he was part of efforts to get approval for the ACE extension.

"I am anxious to jump in and push projects like I have been doing," Zoslocki said.

Condit gets out to meet the people

Condit won the March primary after his campaign was outspent 2-to-1 by the second place finisher. Condit said local voters know him from his 29 years as a firefighter in the district. He said he talked to hundreds of people in neighborhoods before the March 3 vote.

"I did a lot of walking," Condit said. "There are two types of currency in politics: Money that pays for signs and the other is shoe-leather currency. That is where I spent a lot of money."

In a time of intense scrutiny of police conduct, neither candidate sees a need for an independent review board for law enforcement.

Zoslocki said the clergy council has existed for a number of years in Modesto. The council of ministers considers the facts of officer-involved incidents and tries to defuse tensions in the community.

The council only has an advisory capacity but Zoslocki believes it creates transparency.

Condit said police agencies like the Sheriff's Department have internal affairs units, and officer-involved shootings are investigated by the district attorney.

Rating the county's response to COVID-19

In responding to the coronavirus outbreak, Condit said the county has needed more emphasis on testing. The outbreak touched the Condit home when his wife, a hospital respiratory therapist, came down with the illness. She has since recovered.

Condit said his wife received her positive test result in less than 24 hours. Condit was tested as a first responder and the result came back in six days. It was negative but first responders should not wait almost a week for test results, he said.

"I heard of people who had to wait 15 days," Condit pointed out. Because of the nature of their professions, the Condits had anticipated an experience with coronavirus and had a contagious disease plan at home, which kept Matthew and the children from catching it.

Zoslocki said county leaders had to learn on the fly when the COVID-pandemic arrived in the Northern San Joaquin Valley and the county's first cases arose March 11.

Some mistakes were made in the county's response to the coronavirus, Zoslocki said, adding the ability to provide information to Latino and immigrant populations could have reduced the severity of impacts on those communities.

Condit is a cousin of Ceres Councilman Channce Condit, who is competing with Tom Hallinan for the District 5 seat on the Board of Supervisors. Matthew Condit said he believes he and Channce would have independent voices on the board if both are elected. He disagreed with the notion they would form a Condit voting block.

"We are both independent thinkers," Matthew said.

Zoslocki said the question "would be out there" if the two cousins are elected to the board. "I would give credit to both of them that they be prepared for that consideration," Zoslocki said.

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