Ripon’s Mayor Chuck Winn is seeking election to the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors in the Nov. 4 election.
The retired CHP commander and two-term Ripon mayor and council member has also served as the chair and vice-chair of the county-wide Council of Governments (COG). Winn says he has been meeting people from Ripon and Escalon to Lodi knocking on doors throughout many neighborhoods during his campaign.
He has been representing Ripon on the 12-member COG board for the last nine years. Winn has been part of its five member executive committee for the last six years.
Winn also joined other lawmakers from the regional cities and the county in the “One Voice” trip to Washington, D.C., in April. The purpose of the trip was to lobby the federal establishment with the needs of the Central Valley and try to secure federal funding.
“The Constitution and the Bill of Rights became part of me early,” he said recalling his eighth grade teacher in his home town of Oildale.
He said that teacher made an indelible impression on him as she passionately taught the Constitution.
As for San Joaquin County today, Winn said he believes the No. 1 concern for voters should be the availability of water in the Central Valley.
“The Twin Tunnels are not going to bring one drop of water,” he insisted. He added that there are “other ways” to use a lot less money and generate more water rather than using a re-conveyance system. He further explained that a reverse osmosis system was used in Fresno to serve 94,000 acres through $25 million in federal funding.
He added that California’s State Water Plan and the Central Valley Project have had a lot of missed opportunities in supplying the water needs of the state.
“If I were on the board, I would use all the influence from county leaders for less costly (water) opportunities,” he said.
Having been in law enforcement for his adult career and continuing to teach Criminal Justice at the college level, he said that he sees public safety as being an “all important” part of county government. San Joaquin County stands ahead of other counties, but there can always be improvement, he added.
“The Port of Stockton is unique with its tonnage in shipping that other counties don’t have in their profile,” he said. “By 2015, I see Stockton Metropolitan Airport becoming the Stockton International Airport. That only plays into our image as a county as the Silicon Valley is looking to track more business with an international airport. It’s a win-win to place San Joaquin County with a new attraction.”.
Winn opined that the Bay Area airports are laden with restrictions because of the growing residential neighborhoods. He said people are already coming down from as far away as Reno to use the Stockton Airport and a number of San Jose and Santa Clara County electronic firms are using hangers at Stockton to house their executive jets.
“I think we are on the (cusp) of greatness and all the pieces are coming together,” he predicted.
Winn looks at the Fourth Supervisorial District as the Ag District on the Board of Supervisors. It stretches down the east side of the county with the greatest number of farms with almonds, walnuts, cherries and dairy. He says he is hoping for two conference centers to be built to hold audiences of some 400 people offering the products of the land at the two ends of the district, Lodi and Ripon.
He singled out Micke Grove Park on the north side with its great facilities and some great ideas for expansion in the future.
Winn added that back in 2005 there was consideration for the county and private enterprise working together on such a plan where the county could provide five areas of land and a grape facility to expose tourists to wine in the San Joaquin. Private money could now possibly build a conference center to seat large audiences.
“I, for one, would like to reengage the north part of the district. I recently talked in Ripon promoting similar facility for nuts, wine and cheese and we could transport people in from other regions such as the Bay Area. I really think there are opportunities for facilitating tourist ventures,” he explained.
He said he believes such a move toward cultural awareness could bring the county at least $300,000 a year and increase its exposure to other regions of the state.
“I understand all the focus has been on wine but we also have almonds, cherries and other crops,” he said.
Of special interest to Winn is the San Joaquin County Hospital that had a deficit of some $29 million as recently as 2009. That has now dropped to $10 million, he said, noting a sizable improvement at the medical facility. With the new Trauma Center, they are becoming more of a priority, enhancing quality care, he added.
“Certainly with the infusion of cash and entertained ideas for veterans to get their care cards, I would love to discuss with the Veterans Administration in having (vets) come to the County Hospital for care. We should still have a VA Hospital building in the county but in the interim using the county hospital would help,” he said.
Outgoing District Four Supervisor Ken Vogel probably works some 80 hours a week, he said, adding that many would find it hard to keep up with his energy. Winn said that amounts to 40 to 50 hours demand in the office and another 30 to 40 hours in the field to get the job done.
Winn and his wife Karon have three adult children and 12 grandchildren. They have been married for 44 years. They have two sons and a daughter. Scott is a computer programmer, Bryan is an attorney specializing in parents of children with special needs and Staci is a bank vice president.
