Rudy Molera is running for a Board of Supervisor’s seat for Santa Cruz County District #2. Here are his positions on issues relevant to PARA’s mission to monitor the activities of industrial developers, such as mining corporations, as well as government agencies, to make sure their actions have long-term, sustainable benefits to our public land, our watershed, and our communities.
1. When considering an industry’s promise to bring jobs to our community, what other factors would you consider when deciding whether or not the overall impact of such activity would ultimately be good for the long term sustainability of our communities?
“The first and most critical question is whether this is a reputable company with a good reputation. We need to perform good research on the company as to what kind of overall impacts they have had in small communities such as ours. Did they consider protecting the environment and the long term effects of their project?”
2. As we desert dwellers are aware, water is a precious resource. What actions will you take to assure protection of the quality and quantity of our water resource?
“It is our responsibility to maintain and preserve our precious resources. Water is a precious resource that we need to preserve at all costs. The other issue when considering mining and the use of water is protection against contamination of our precious reservoirs. We can make sure this company is following the proper protocols in order to assure our resources are preserved and protected.”
3. If you support open pit mining in the Santa Rita Mountains, Canelo Hills, Patagonia Mountains, and the San Rafael Valley, what is your proposed solution for the economic bust that will happen after the mines play out in 20 years (historical track record and what current mining applicants forecast as period of operation)? See following answer.
4. If you do not support open pit mining in the Santa Rita Mountains, Canelo Hills, Patagonia Mountains, and the San Rafael Valley, what types of support do you suggest for fostering our existing economic business models such as local food production, wineries, eco- tourism, heritage tourism, etc?
“We are currently working on a collaborated economic development effort that includes public, private, and non-profits in order to make our community more inviting for future development. We need to first of all work in a collaborated effort towards a master plan for Santa Cruz County. Secondly, we need to think outside the box and promote our beautiful county. This effort should include tourism, new industry, fully develop current industry, and has to be a united effort.”
5. What other visions of sustainable economic activities do you have for our area?
“Our current effort includes two goals. These two goals are to define our foundation as a community, and to have an annual summit to promote our community. The summit is called The Supply Chain Capital and scheduled for November 9th the Americana Hotel. For more information, feel free to contact me at 520-455-7159.”
As a non-profit organization with a pending IRS 501-c-3 application, Patagonia Area Resource Alliance (PARA) can not endorse specific candidates. PARA can ask questions of all candidates regarding their positions on issues relevant to PARA’s mission.
