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Supervisors candidates face off in Taft
It's visionary vs. community outsider
| Wednesday, Apr 9 2008 9:03 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Apr 10 2008 7:22 AM
Cliff Thompson and Ray Watson faced off in Taft on Wednesday.
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Supervisors candidates incumbent Ray Watson and Taft's Cliff Thompson attended a forum in Taft Wednesday night. Here challenger Thompson looks toward Watson as Watson answers a question during the forum which was sponsored by Taft's newspaper, the Midway Driller. Moderator is television journalist Jeff Lemucchi.
The two men took what are becoming classic stances in their race for the fourth district seat on the Kern County Board of Supervisors.
Thompson, of Taft, took the role of small community outsider.
Watson, of Bakersfield, claimed the stance of a larger-picture visionary.
Thompson questioned Watson's commitment to the outlying communities of the district, calling the incumbent a "drive-by supervisor" who is rarely seen outside Bakersfield.
Watson dismissed the label.
Running the county takes more than stopping to visit with people, he said.
"There is a point at which you have to get back and get to work," Watson said. "Your county has to do well, not just your district and not just your community."
Around 30 people, including campaign staff and media, showed up for Wednesday's candidates forum in downtown Taft.
Thompson, a Taft City Council member on his home turf, put on a show.
He held up photos, dropped books on the floor and accused Watson of stifling attempts to clean up trashy properties in the county areas of Taft.
He laid lack of basic public services, economic development and decent affordable housing "on the westside" at Watson's feet.
"We have been taken advantage of by our current supervisor," he said.
Watson calmly defended with a list of accomplishments from tourist kiosks to baseball fields and airport plans.
"To listen to my opponent you would think I really didn't care about the fourth district," Watson said. "That's far from the truth."
He outlined his background as a business leader in the television industry — and his basic philosophy of hands-off government.
Government doesn't pay for itself, he argued, and waiting for the county to solve all of Taft's problems isn't a real solution. Voters will pick between the two candidates in June.