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Meet the Truckee Town Council candidates

Hannah Jones
hjones@sierrasun.com

KNOW & GO

WHAT: Election Forums

WHO: Candidates for Truckee Town Council, Tahoe City PUD, Truckee Tahoe Airport District, Truckee Donner PUD, Truckee Sanitary District, Truckee-Donner Recreation District

WHEN: 6 p.m. Oct. 3-4

WHERE: Truckee Town Hall, 10183 Truckee Airport Road, Truckee

INFO: Contact Rory O’Farrell, Truckee Tahoe Community Television general manager, at channel6@ttusd.org

As campaign season for the November General Election picks up steam, the field of challengers for the Truckee Town Council is set.

Among the seven vying for three seats on the council, Morgan Goodwin is the sole incumbent on the ballot, as current Mayor Carolyn Wallace Dee and Council member Patrick Flora will not seek re-election.

Challengers who filed for one of three seats include Anna Klovstad, the Truckee Elementary Project manager; David Polivy, owner of Tahoe Mountain Sports; Chelsea Walterscheid, program manager at Sierra Business Council; Suzie Tarnay, substitute teacher and Truckee Elementary School volunteer; Richard Ludke with the U.S. Forest Service; and Carmen Carr, Tahoe Donner real estate agent.



The Truckee Town Council is made up of five members, who each serve four-year terms. Terms are staggered between council members and elections are held every other year.

Carmen Carr



Carmen Carr has served on the board of the Family Resource Center of Truckee for the past 10 years serving as chair since 2014. She is a founding member of Mountain High Business Networking International, elected in 2011 as director for the regional BNI in Central Valley. She is also a member of Toastmasters International, an organization that promotes communication and leadership development, starting a local club named Truckee Talkers in 2011.

Why are you running for council?

I have lived in Truckee since 1986, observing change and transition. I am passionate about this community and envision achieving balanced well-being for our families and the future of our town. I am running for Truckee Town Council because I want our community members to be heard and have access to achievable housing, environmentally healthy transportation alternatives and renewable energy resources.

What is the most important issue facing Truckee?

I see three opportunities within the many significant issues that concern us as a community. I will advocate for achievable-housing opportunities, promote environmentally sound transportation alternatives and support conscientious adoption of renewable energy resources.

Morgan Goodwin

Morgan Goodwin was elected to the Truckee Town Council in 2014, serving once as vice mayor and once as mayor. He is the current chair of the Truckee Roundhouse makerspace and is an investor and future resident of the Truckee Cohousing Project. He also runs a small Burning Man camp and an annual Trail Magic event for Pacific Crest Trail hikers.

Why are you running for council?

Serving on council is the most rewarding work I’ve ever done. I’m running again because the things I believe in — greatly expanding local housing, a vibrant, walkable downtown for locals and visitors, 100 percent clean energy — are all in motion and we can make so much more progress with more positive, collaborative leadership.

What is the most important issue facing Truckee?

Local housing is by far the most important. Longtime residents are having to leave because they can’t find homes, and our businesses are suffering because they can’t hire good workers, even at good wages. I am calling for a goal of building or unlocking 1,000 new local, achievable units in the next five years.

Anna Klovsted

Anna Klovsted has served as the developer and manager for the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District Sustainability Program for 10 years. She serves as an executive board member for the School Energy Coalition, which advocates on behalf of energy and water efficiency in California’s K-14 schools. She volunteers annually at Truckee Clean Up Day, regularly at Truckee River Day and provides support to the Truckee River Watershed Council.

Why are you running for council?

For Truckee to remain the gem that it is we must plan a sustainable future. There is a path which will maintain the beauty of our hometown while keeping it vigorous and economically healthy. I am a sustainability specialist, a certified energy manager and a certified construction manager with 30 years’ experience. I live in and love Truckee. I am passionate about helping guide the General Plan update over the next two years, because it will be critical to the future of business interests and ecological concerns alike. There is a path to balance Truckee’s problems and promise, and my experience and commitment can help us build that future sustainably.

In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing Truckee?

Truckee may be a small town, but it is facing several complex issues. I feel the most important issue facing Truckee is the need to balance our divergent interests to achieve a Sustainable Future. We have to fight the urge to become polarized, pitting growth refusers and unrestricted development against each other. Truckee will not flourish unless we find a way for the entire community to realize we are in this together. So, the most important issue is not just to identify a problem, but to use facts and mutual respect to build — literally and figuratively — a better future for our town. My expertise is in bringing people of diverse views together. On Town Council, my experience with science and infrastructure coupled with compassionate leadership will be used to forge an economically viable and ecologically sound future for all of Truckee.

Richard Ludke

Richard Ludke currently works with the U.S. Forest Service and has volunteered for several years as a Big Brother of America, personal development mentor, at Truckee Clean Up and Truckee River Clean Up days, as well as helped with the local Food Bank and Rotary Club fundraising events.

Why are you running for council?

I am running for Town Council because I feel called to get involved in the decisions that are made for our Town, that will affect the lives of my neighbors, friends and family. I have no self-interest or political agenda, only to bring collaboration, respect for others, challenging thought, honesty, transparency and sound reasoning on all the issues we face in our community.

In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing Truckee?

I’d like to see us work with organized groups in the Region to bring on more local housing in the next 4 years, which includes low to moderate income levels. Truckee’s beauty defines us as a culture, I support organizations that are committed to protecting our lakes, rivers and forests. I like to see continued good efforts towards creating adequate parking plans for all future developments.

David Polivy

David Polivy is the founder and owner of Tahoe Mountain Sports, a founding member of California Outdoor Recreation Partners, a founding member of Tahoe Backcountry Alliance and has been serving on the Truckee Planning Commission for the past two years, as Jessica Abrams’ representative. He has served as the program manager at Sierra Business Council, on the Mountain Area Preservation Board, the North Tahoe Regional Advisory Council and the North Tahoe Business Association and currently serves on the Outdoor Industry Association Recreation Advisory Council.

Why are you running for council?

It’s all about passion and wanting to make the world, and more specifically, our community, the best place it can be. I want to provide leadership and work together to create and implement solutions to what I believe are the most pressing issues our community faces. I love making a difference and being involved in the decision-making process. I have the experience that I believe qualifies me to take the lead and position me to be an effective Council member. I think Truckee can be one of the most innovative, diverse and successful mountain communities in the country and I want to be one of the leaders that gets us there!

In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing Truckee?

The most important issue facing Truckee is twofold: housing and rate/how we grow. I will work diligently to pursue housing solutions that work for a variety of income levels in our community. Everybody should be able to afford a decent place to live. I have advocated for housing projects while on the Planning Commission and will continue to do so. I will also work to implement many of the recommendations coming out of the Mountain Housing Council work.

As far as the rate and type of growth Truckee is experiencing, I will work to make sure it is sustainable, focused on our town and community centers and is based on smart and common sense principles. The General Plan update will be an excellent opportunity for the community to tell the decision makers how they want our Town to grow and I will take many of those recommendations to the process. I will also work to ensure that we develop building for tenants that we actually need. I believe we need to identify the most important uses our community wants and then work hard to get projects on the ground reflecting those desires.

Suzie Tarnay

Suzie Tarnay works as a substitute teacher at Truckee Elementary, Alder Creek Middle School and Sierra Expeditionary Learning School, regularly volunteering at Truckee Elementary. She has served on the board of directors for the Yosemite National Park Child Care Center and was employee as a conservation assistant for the Truckee River Watershed Council in 2014. In addition, she is active in Lake Tahoe’s mountain bike and rock climbing communities.

Why are you running for council?

I love Truckee! Our town is filled with residents who are deeply invested in the mountain lifestyle, and that makes for a strong sense of community. I want to be a part of preserving the aspects of our town that make us proud to call it our home. I want to help seek improvements and solutions to issues that are challenges for Truckee right now. Additionally, I have found that I enjoy and have an affinity for the public service process. My civil engineering background and the fact that I am a naturally social individual fulfill two sides of the public service coin. I like to dig into the numbers, and I also enjoy talking to fellow community members and listening to their views. We, as a whole, are a highly educated and street-smart population. I know together we can take on the toughest challenges.

In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing Truckee?

Affordable housing is the most pressing issue Truckee faces today. We are losing our hardworking families to more affordable locations and broadening our carbon footprint in the process. Last November, I spoke at a Town Council meeting to point out the conundrum that our Inclusionary Housing Ordinance requires 15 percent of new housing to be “affordable,” yet our in-lieu fee only requires a 3 percent monetary investment. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers when it comes to big-ticket items like housing construction. I hope to build upon the research conducted by the Mountain Housing Council and not only search for out-of-the-box solutions, but also put in the hard work and monetary investment that a problem of this nature requires.

Chelsea Walterscheid

Chelsea Walterscheid was raised in Truckee and has volunteered for multiple organizations in the area including leading and coordinating local events such as Truckee Day, the Old Timers’ Picnic and Truckee Thursdays. She was an inaugural member of the Truckee Citizens Waste Management Advisory Committee and past trustee of the Truckee Cemetery District. She also sat on the Truckee-Donner Historical Society Board for 20 years and on the Church of the Mountains Preschool Board.

Why are you running for council?

I believe in public service and am a very proud resident of a town that people care deeply about. My extensive experience in the community brings a perspective of someone who knows multiple facets of our community, including “old” and “new” ideas. At the end of the day, I want to represent Truckee residents in the best way I can.

In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing Truckee?

Affordability. Truckee was once a blue-collar, working-class town that has evolved into a high-end resort area. Affordability is relevant to every member of our community and I look forward to addressing issues that will retain a small town quality of life that accommodates all of our residents for generations to come.

Hannah Jones is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. She can be reached at 530-550-2652 or hjones@sierasun.com.


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