TRACY CANDIDATES’ FORUM ELECTION 2026 Mayoral candidates share thoughts on myriad topics
This year’s mayoral race features two Tracy men who couldn’t be more different, but they have one thing in common: their love of their hometown and desire to see it progress.
Burke Gardner, a high school teacher, is a relative newcomer to Tracy, having moved to town two years ago; Ron Stephens, meanwhile, is a retired Lyon County Sheriff’s deputy who has lived in Tracy for more than 40 years. The two were first up at last week’s Candidates’ Forum and answered questions that came from the Tracy Area Headlight Herald and members of the public.
Questions ranged from the city’s infrastructure and housing landscape, to the new community center and utility fee rates. The following is a Q-and-A to recap last Wednesday’s discussion, which was moderated by Marshall Radio’s Heath Radke:
• We’re on Phase E for infrastructure projects in Tracy, with more projects likely to come. Should the City continue spending on these projects, thereby continuing to assess homeowners in a climate where taxes are already high?
Gardner: “At the end of the day, if a community wants to continue to thrive and survive, infrastructure projects are vital to our survival. It has been kicked down the road for too many years, so I absolutely believe it is something that we need to continue to move forward; we cannot continue to have an infrastructure that’s over 100 years old.”
TRACY MAYORAL CANDIDATES RON STEPHENS (left) and Burke Gardner expressed many opinions at last week’s Tracy Candidates’ Forum. Photos / Per Peterson
Stephens: You’ve gotta keep on top of everything. Of course, high taxes are a big problem, but we have to take care of our businesses that are here in town and make sure they continue to succeed in town before starting new projects.”
• Declining population has resulted a in quiet downtowns compared to 30-40 years ago. What can Tracy do to increase traffic in downtown Tracy?
Gardner: “This is not a problem that is unique to Tracy. When we’re trying to compete with Amazon and Wal-Mart, that’s a hard problem to solve. I think one direction that we should consider is, what are the sort of things that you can’t order online? For me, it’s services. If we want to recapture that feeling of downtown Tracy that people were once so excited about, I think we pivot to services that you can’t order online.”
Stephens: “A lot of these problems aren’t solved in the city council chambers. A lot of them are solved by talking to the people. I would spend a lot of time talking to the community, what they would like to see downtown. The problem is when businesses don’t get support, that’s when thy fail.”
• Tracy’s historic municipal building is one of the busiest buildings in town year-round and one of our most important. But it needs improvement. What are some improvements you would push to see happen over the next 5 years?
Stephens: “Our city offices are actually in pretty decent shape compared to other buildings in town. Some of the improvements I would like to see is making it more accessible to people. I know they do a lot of sports stuff in there, but if they start utilizing it more to its full potential, it’s going to be a benefit to more people.”
Gardner: “The school is considering trying to make some improvements to their facilities, and the VMC absolutely should be a part of that conversation. Our lockeroom facilities in this building are not where we want them to be, especially if people are coming from out of town. We also have some parts of the building that could be utilized in a greater fashion, but if we want that to happen we need to make sure it is an accessible and friendly building on a variety of levels. It’s a question that requires more conversation.”
• The new community center was a long time in the making and involved some public controversy leading to its grand opening. As mayor, how do you recommend the City avoid future disputes between parties and deal with allegations of corruption?
Stephens: “A lot of the problems that were associated with the community center could have been resolved if the City would’ve taken time to sit down and talk to these people. The ducks weren’t all in a row when they did this; they should’ve had land set aside. This all could’ve very well been been taken care of beforehand if it was handled properly.”
Gardner: “There was a lot of hard work that went into making that facility happen. I can’t speak a lot to the controversy because some of it happened before we moved here, but I will say … the community center being built was one of the things that attracted us to this town. I understand that there was controversy, there’s always people that will be naysayers, but as we move forward, I think it’s time to move past that.”
• With the City’s levy consistently rising every year, do you agree with increasing utility fees 3% on an annual basis?
Stephens: “We were supposed to save quite a bit of money by having those solar fields in this town; I personally have not seen those savings. Because I’m not mayor … there’s a lot of misinformation that has not been brought to my attention where I could actually look over the budget and see where this money is going. I think that’s the biggest problem the City faces — the fact that they’re not transparent; they’re not telling people where their tax dollars are being utilized.”
Gardner: “I attended the budget meetings, which are open to the public, anyone can attend … the thing is that (City Finance Director) Tyler (Twistol) tried very hard to look at a multitude of ways that we could keep those numbers as low for the citizens as we can. When you consider the different capitol projects and ongoing expenses that are a part of them, the numbers are there, you can’t really move them. The City tried to get those numbers down and keep them as low as possible.”
• Additional affordable housing has been on the City and EDA’s agenda for years; how do you think Tracy can add more housing to our landscape and where would you propose new housing is added?
Gardner: “We have housing here in town that can be upgraded, we have the option to build new houses, which we’ve done. It’s not just one solution in one category; you need to make sure you have affordable housing but if you just have one category, it becomes overloaded. It needs to be equalized.”
Stephens: “They would be smart to build out in areas that are close to the hospital … and closer to the school system. There’s a lot of land out there by the schools and then kids can walk to school and don’t have to be bussed. It would save the taxpayers money by not having the bus them.”
Closing remarks: Gardner: “I believe you are what you do, and what I try to do every single day of my life is to be a part of the community, be somebody who is community-minded — that’s the energy and the work ethic that I would bring to this job. I strongly believe in discussion, in talking with people — that’s what really makes things work.”
Stephens: “(People) are tired, they’re tired of everything, they’re tired of not knowing how their money is being spent, they’re tired of not having the transparency within the community. A mayor does not have a whole lot of power, but he does control the meeting … and the authority to ask the questions that the public wants to know.”
