City Council - Regular Meeting

should be ready.

Okay. Good evening everybody. Uh we're everybody that's here which I'm very pleased there's a lot more people here than I thought there might be and uh whoever's watching us online either right now or at their convenience at a later time. So welcome to this uhformational forum. It's featuring our two candidates for Ward 4 uh city council position. Uh was left vacant by the resignation of David Pasolski who just moved out of Ward 4. And in case you're not aware, I'm Steve Wright, the mayor of Seaside. Tonight, these candidates will be answering questions that were given to them several days ago so that they've had time to prepare um I'm sure thoughtful uh responses. City Council will also be interviewing these gentlemen individually next Monday night during our council meeting and you're all welcome to come to that. Uh we'll be asking different questions that will not be provided ahead of time and we the council will then discuss and vote and hopefully appointing one of them to represent Ward 4 for the rest of this year. Now there's a little difference this year per our city charter. This appointment will be effective for the rest of 2026. At the November 2026 general election, the seat will be open to any qualified candidate for a 2-year term. And u at the November 2028 general election, the seat will revert to the standard 4-year term uh on the rotation that's normally in place. Tonight, we're going to lead off with a twominute introductory uh comments by each candidate and then I will ask each of the six questions that were presented to you and you'll have uh three minutes each to respond and I will alternate the order of the responses for each

candidate. So, and then at the end we'll wrap up with a final two-minute statement from each of you and hopefully have some time afterwards for at least you that are here in in the chambers to meet and greet each of the candidates. So, if there are no questions from the candidates, you're all ready. Uh we're going to start with Mr. Ansbro for a two-minute introduction. Seaside is my home and W 4 is where decisions we make show up in everyday life. Good evening, mayor, council members, Seaside community attendees. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and for the time you dedicated to serving for our community. My name is Patrick Ansbro. I'm here because I believe in service to people to place and to long-term well-being of Seaside, particularly the neighborhoods and residents of Ward 4. Professionally, I'm a PMP certified project manager professional. My work focus focuses on organization accountability, risk awareness, and helping people and systems function more efficiently under pressure. In addition, I work in a compassion-based helping role that emphasizes leading listening, clear communication, and emotional regulation, skills that are especially valuable when navigating difficult conversations and high stakes decisions. Both roles require discretion, a steadiness, and respect for boundaries. I'm also a US Navy veteran and have spent decades involved in nonprofit and volunteer leadership. Those experiences have shaped my sense of duty, teamwork, and responsibility to something larger than myself.

Word for reflects many of the challenges Seaside is facing today.

You have 25 seconds. housing availability and livability, emergency and tsunami preparedness, infrastructure needs, and ensuring tourism supports the community without overwhelming it. These are practical issues that affect daily life. This is a nonpartisan role, and I respect that. My focus is simple and consistent. This community comes first. If selected, I will be guided by my moral compass, my personal code of conduct, and the oath I swore in the United States military veteran to uphold the Constitution. I don't come with all the answers. I do come prepared to listen, ask thoughtful questions, and work collaboratively. I care deeply about Seaside and believe we can meet the challenges ahead with integrity, balance, and steady leadership. Thank you for the comm the opportunity to speak with you and thank you to the community.

Okay, I'll uh give you three minutes as well, Mr. Craft.

About me? Um well, I am a uh I was born in California. I'm a military brat, so I've lived across uh the the world. Lived in Netherlands for 7 years, uh East Coast for 6 and a half years. Uh we moved back to the Oregon in uh 2001 and my parents are from Oregon so they wanted to come back home and um I graduated from a little school down in um Malala, Oregon. It's just south of Portland and moved out here to the coast in 2013. Um I have served from I've served primarily in the business community uh serving on boards with chambers and um other organizations and such. um how I I'm in hospitality. I've been in hospitality hotels for 18 years now. Um and uh I think my passion is really for making the you know making people feel at home and I see that that could be reflected in a position on the city council as well. Um, I got into hotels. I worked for McDonald's for 5 and a half years and I got into hotels uh driving shuttle and um from uh I was in college at the time and so I had to do an externship and that landed me at a uh an a nonprofit owned and operated hotel. I was running a resident assistant for a recovery program uh where I was a resident assistant for three and a half years while putting myself through some school as well as working full-time. Um, I worked my way up with our company that I currently work with and um, you know, been there technically 15 years, but technically 18 years. Um, they did the books for the first hotel that I ran and then um, I came to actually work for the company 15 years ago. Um, and moved out to the coast back in 2013. I've lived in Seaside here with my wife um, for 9 and

a half almost 10 years. Um and um we live right up behind the hospital in Ward 4 looking directly down on the helellipad which is fantastic. Um and um the reason why I'm up here is I'd like to serve the city in a uh greater capacity currently serving uh a second term on the planning commission here in Seaside. Okay. Thank you. We'll go now to uh six questions that we provided ahead of time. And the first question is, please tell us why you want to be a city counselor in Seaside. We'll start with Mr. Craft.

Thank you. Um, you know, I'm on a journey and my journey um has in my professional career um in hotels has led me to working with, as I mentioned before, the business community in many capacities, including six years on the chamber um the board chamber board here in Seaside. And I think that um for me going from and then stepping on to uh and serving on the planning commission has taken me from working with business community to the residential community. And for me uh as the seat on the city council for personally would be a a next step in serving the community on the residential side of things. I'm invested in Seaside both business and personal. I own two two homes here. one, we rent out full-time to two tenants that are full-time employees here in town. And um I feel being a part of uh not not to copy what Mr. Hanssboro said, but to be part of something bigger than yourself is very important. And um I feel that that you know the city council could um personally for me as well as my servitude for the the city be beneficial.

Okay. Mr. Ansboro, please tell us why you want to be a city councelor in Seaside.

I'm currently on the Bob Chisum Center uh commission and I really enjoy that. I want to serve on the city of Seaside Council because I believe in service to community and seaside is my home. This is a place where I live, work and engage with people every day and I feel a responsibility to contribute in a meaningful way. Seaside is an important place. Uh [clears throat] we're at a balancing point. We need housing availability and affordability, emergency and tsunami preparedness. We have an aging infrastructure and the need to ensure tourism supports the community without overwhelming it. These aren't abstract policy discuss discussions. They directly affect how people live, whether they feel safe, and whether they feel heard. Good governance is not about quick fixes or ideological positions. It's about thoughtful stewardship. long-term thinking and being willing to sit with complexity. My motivation comes from wanting Seaside to remain a place where people can live, work, and raise families, retire, and feel secure both today and in the future. This role is about stewardship and showing up, being present. For me, it's about listening carefully and helping guide decisions that reflect the best interests of the whole community. I believe our reach should exceed our grasp. Otherwise, what are we striving for? That belief is what brings me here and this is why I want to be a seaside city counselor.

Thank you. Second question uh we'll start uh with Mr. Ansboro. Uh talk to us about what you have done to prepare yourself to be an effective city counselor.

My preparation for this role comes from both professional experience and long-standing commitment to service. Professionally, I'm a PMI certified project manager professional, which means I'm trained to evaluate complex information, manage risk, balance budgets, and make decisions with long-term consequences in mind. I'm comfortable reading detailed reports, asking clarifying questions, and weighing tradeoffs, skills that are directly applicable to city governance. Alongside that, I've spent many years working with people in compassion-based roles, including as a hypnotherapist and raiki practitioner. While that work is very grounded and practical, it's taught me something equally important for public service. How to listen, remain calm in difficult situations, and help people move forward constructively. I'm also a US Navy veteran and I've spent decades involved in nonprofit and volunteer leadership. Those experiences have shaped my sense of accountability, teamwork, and respect for process. You learn quickly that leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about responsibility. It's about follow through and earning trust. Most importantly, I've prepared by listening to residents concerned about housing to neighbors thinking seriously about emergency preparedness and to people who want to feel that the city decisions reflect their lived reality. This is how I've prepared myself to be an effective city councelor.

Thank you, Mr. Craft. Will you talk to us about what you have done to prepare yourself to be an effective city councelor? [sighs]

Yes. [clears throat] Um so the city of Seaside we all know is hospitality uh oriented. Um and in my 18 years in hotels I've come to see really a city as has as a as a giant hotel especially in Seaside. Um the building is a city limits. Each room is a resident or a business. um the you have to deal with infrastructure so you have your you know keeping your city clean which in hotels that's very paramount to getting people to want to stay and to come back. Um, it's also listening to resident or guest complaints and being able to mitigate them, solve them, and and a lot of majority of the time it's just to make sure that you sit there, you listen, and you want the uh to let them feel that they've been heard, that you actually do hear them. And then there's those red carpet items that you have to go and take care of, and they're not always pleasant. Um I've s meetings and um watched a lot also online and the feedback that you get sometimes is not the best feedback. I get that. Um it's not my favorite thing to respond back to those reviews but you have to do it and you have to take it in stride. Um I have sat on and and run committees and boards. So I know the inner workings of you know how the structure of a meeting should go as well as you know you know all the technical sides of of those um of of a board or a council. Um but for me the side of the my side of it is I've prepared myself in hospitality to be hospitable and that's what really we as a council is I see the council structure kind of as mid-level management in a hotel and you have your your workers

like your city workers utility workers and everybody who works for the city are your um uh your your housekeepers your front desk agents your maintenance personnel then you have your department heads and your midle level management. And what we have to do in mid-level management is we have to come together, collaborate, discuss what's going on in in the hotel or in the community in this case. And you have to troubleshoot and you have to bounce ideas off of each other. And you have to really work together to make it work as a whole to give that best experience that you can to your guests or to your residents. And so I think that my um uh my time in hotels has prepared me for that.

Okay. And again to Mr. Craft, how would you handle a situation where the council makes a decision you strongly oppose and believe is not in the best interest of Seaside?

Well, there's seven people up here for a reason. Everybody has their own point of view. And if you make a if a decision's made that um you know if a decision is made that I don't like have to roll with it and and see how that decision turns out whether you uh you know whether you agree or you disagree. I've dealt I deal with that honestly all the time in my professional life where um there are everybody has a boss when my boss or those above me say you know have rolled out a decision that you are not that's not very favorable to you know your liking um you can give your opinion make sure that you're heard make sure that you back it up with facts and then u move forward from there I've been in a couple of situations where my thoughts and my feelings have turned turned out right and that decision was um not necessarily the right decision and then it's turned out the opposite where absolutely you guys were right I was wrong and um that's how we roll with it you know we we're all at the end of the day we all go home and go home to our loved ones and so you can't carry that to you know if you're upset about it you can't really carry that baggage so you just handle it with with finesse

good thank you Mr. Transboro, how would you handle a situation where the council makes a decision you strongly oppose and believe is not in the best interest of Seaside?

If the council were considering a decision I strongly oppose, my first responsibility would be to ensure that my concerns were clearly and respectfully expressed on the record and grounded in facts, data, and community impact. That might include raising questions about long-term financial implications, housing availability, public safety, emergency readiness, or quality of life for residents. I would ask clarifying questions, propose alternatives if appropriate, and advocate for reconsideration if new information became available. At the same time, I believe strongly in maintaining professionalism and respect for the democratic process. Disagreement does not mean disruption. You can hold firm to your values without undermining the council's ability to function. Once a decision is made, my responsibility would be to continue working constructively for the community. Integrity means standing by your principles, but it also means recognizing that governance requires collaboration and mutual respect even when perspectives differ. My goal would always be to ensure that decisions are made thoughtfully and transparently even when they are difficult. This is how I would handle situation where the council makes a decision. I strongly oppose.

Okay. Um with Mr. Ensro again, tell us about a time when you had to gather consensus in a group to solve a problem.

Well, uh throughout my career, I frequently worked in environments where people had competing priorities. uh limited resources and strong opinions. In those situations, consensus is rarely about everyone getting what they want. It's about finding a path forward that people can support. In project management and nonprofit leadership, I've often had to bring together stakeholders with very different concerns. budget, timing, emotional investment, or operational constraints. What I've learned is that consensus starts with listening, not persuading. I focus on slowing the conversation down, clarifying the actual problem, and identifying what our shared goals are. Once people feel heard, it becomes much easier to move from positions to solutions. That approach has helped me move stalled projects forward and resolve conflicts that have initially seemed intractable. It's the same mindset I would bring to council work. respectful dialogue, clear framing, and a focus on outcomes that serve the broader community. That's how I would gather consensus to solve a problem.

Mr. Craft, please tell us about a time when you had to gather consensus in a group to solve a problem.

All right, I'm going to use an example that's a little painful for some in this room. Um, and we're going to talk about the forbidden word COVID for a minute. Uh, when when all the hotels and the restaurant when we all had a shutdown um, in 2020. Um, and we were trying to I was I worked the most I'd ever worked in my life. Um, the hotels didn't fully shut down. We went down to a bare skeleton crew. U, my wife was working at my property in Atoria. I was working the desk six days a week and then overseeing uh, a project at my other property here. Um, and we were I was on the phone sometimes till 11:00 11:30 at night with Brian from the chamber when he was uh the CEO there. Um, and trying to figure out what can we do to come together and get us reopened. And so a group of us got together and restaurant owners and hotel owners and we're like what standards do we need to agree to to come to the table to come to the city um to city state level and to get reopen that's safe and and get get the cash flowing again. And in our company of 11 hotels, we have so we have 11 hotels in two states, Oregon and Washington. We have nine different uh cities in seven different counties. Every state, city, county, hotel brand, um we have three brands, Choice Hotels, IHG, and Best Western. All those elements were saying that we had to have all these different standards and we must mask up this, no, we must do this. You know, there were there were a lot of elements involved. What I had to do with my teams was gather all this information together. We go back to multiple organizations, multiple meetings saying, "Okay, how about this? How about that?" Um, in the end, we were able to gather the requirements for the hotels specifically, um, all the requirements and I pulled them apart and I put

everything together and then handed it to the group that we were working with and said, "Hey, here is a standard that our company is going to adopt for reopening our our properties." U, we were working with Terry Terry Bixel was involved. uh Bill Montero was involved at the time and we were able to come to cons, you know, we were able to build something that we were able to to I guess present essentially and agree upon. Um but we had internally in our in in the hotels in our company, we had to get all of our managers and the staff cuz you had polar ends of the spectrum. We all know it. We had polar ends of the spectrum when it came to um either, you know, we all quarantine or we get back to business. And we had to make it safe for everybody and and get everybody back on board and come to um an amicable solution, a consensus in order to make that happen. So that'd be my big example.

Thanks for bringing back that memory. I said it would be painful. I'm sorry. And Mr. Craft, how do you plan to engage with the community and ensure the voices are heard in council decisions?

Um, to to me it's, you know, it's I'm a millennial. I'm kind of a cusper, kind of in between, actually. And so, you know, social media is a big thing. There's lots of social media groups out there to in order to to push out um like this event on my Facebook page. I pushed out the event asking people to come by um and doing I know that the city does coffee with the mayor, coffee with the counselor, those types of public events um to uh engage the individuals but also being um respond if I get an email or a text respond to it in a timely manner. make sure that the person or the community members of the the members in Ward 4 are knowing that they are being heard and if I don't have the answer or I don't have the resource that I'm able to point them in the right direction or at least you ask that. Um so to me engaging is just you know it's listening it's being available. I have to be available all the time for my teams 24/7 and um so that's um that level of engagement is something I'm used to. Um, now on the residential side of things, I think really watching, paying attention to what's being put out there on social media. Um, uh, and making sure if you know when I am engaging and posting things or engaging in conversations that it is, um, it's helpful. It's not negative or derogatory or anything like that. So, just being able to be be available and use the resources that we have.

Thank you, Mr. Stransboro. How would you plan to engage with the community and ensure their voices are heard in council decisions?

I believe community engagement starts outside of this building, outside of community hall, um outside the city hall. Um while public meetings are important, they don't always capture the full range of voices in our community. Many people, working families, renters, young people, seniors, may not have the time or comfort level to attend these meetings, but their perspectives matter just as much. I plan to be visible and accessible in the community, listening where people already are. I want to hear concerns about housing livability, emergency preparedness, infrastructure, and how tourism is important to our seaside community and the impact it has on our daily life. Transparency is also critical. Even when discussions and decisions are difficult, people deserve to understand how and why those decisions were made, how their input may or may not have been considered. Feeling heard builds trust even when there isn't full agreement. Engagement isn't just about collecting opinions. It's about creating a culture where people feel respected and included in the process. This is how I plan to engage with the community and ensure voices are heard.

And the last question, Mr. Ansboro, how would you work with other city officials, departments, and community organizations to make progress on the council's goals? Okay. I see the council's role as setting policy and direction while respecting the expertise of city staff and department leaders. Good governance depends on trust. It depends on clarity and collaboration. My approach is to ask informed questions. Listen carefully. Avoid micromanagement. City staff brings professional expertise that should be valued and council members bring perspective, accountability, and community connection. Many of Seaside's challenges, housing, emergency preparedness, infrastructure planning, and tourism balance cannot be solved in isolation. It can't be done in a silo. They require coordination with county agencies, regional partners, nonprofits, and community organizations. I bring a collaborative mindset, and a strong respect for people doing their job, doing their work. Progress happens when relationships are built on trust and shared purpose. That's how I would approach this role. And this is how I will work with other officials and departments and organizations.

Thank you, Mr. Craft. How would you work with other city officials, departments, and community organizations to make progress on the council's goals?

So, I think a a big part of that would be to make sure that you understand the goals. Um, I did read through the uh the city council's strategic goals that are listed on the on the website and I I agree with the direction that they're going. I think they should be plastered up here on a on a poster. Um, that way we can all you know make sure that we're on track. Um, communication communication is key. um making sure that um I you know honest discourse, respectful discourse. If you agree to disagree, uh keep uh partisan partisan uh politics and emotions out of the decisions. Realize that we're all here to work together. Um you know, I've been on the planning uh planning commission for four years um working with uh Jeff and the rest of the planning commission. Um it's, you know, it's it's collaborative. We have to talk. We have to ask questions. Sometimes we don't know the questions to ask because, you know, we're not all experts at everything that's brought to us. And so it's it's doing the research and uh calling Jeff or texting Jeff at at 7 at night like, "I don't understand this. Can you please clarify?" So asking clarifying questions and just, you know, being real with each other and and and um uh yeah, communication. 98% I I I tell all of my staff when I when I hire a new person or I hire a new manager, I tell my staff that 90% of all issues in the workplace are due to lack of communication and lack of clarity. As if there's open communication, clear communication, respectful, transparent communication, um transparency, then you know we'll work together just fine.

Okay. Thank you. That's the end of our prepared questions. Uh we'll give each of you and I think we have plenty of time. We give each you up to three minutes to make a closing statement. Let's start with Mr. Craft.

I didn't prepare a closing statement, but yeah, we'll do. Um now, I thank you for the opportunity. Um I uh like I said in my my opening statement, I feel that um a seat on the city council would be uh for personally would be a a great step in development on the residential side of things because I've worked with the business community for so long. Um I have and I've you know I love the people of Seaside. I love the city of Seaside. I've been here you know going on 10 years and we we thought that our stint on the coast would be short-lived and turns out we actually really really like it. So, um um I just I thank you for the opportunity and I hope you can consider me for the seat. Okay, Mr. Ansboro,

this is a nonpartisan position and I respect that. At the same time, I think it's honest to acknowledge that people bring their values and perspectives with them. For me, my focus is simple and consistent. This community comes first. If selected, I will serve guided by my moral compass, my personal code of conduct, and the oath I swore as a US military veteran to uphold the Constitution of these United States. Those principles don't belong to a party. They belong to public service. I promise the people of Seaside that I will always listen, that I will always act in good faith, and I will always work toward the growth, welfare, and security of this community. That commitment is unwavering. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, city council. And thank you, community of Seaside. Thank you gentlemen. It was uh a good talk with each one of you. As I said before, uh this is just the first step and we will see you both at uh the city council meeting next Monday. For those that are here in the audience, there are forms back there that you can fill out there. Uh for those of you that are adept at it, there's a QR code where you can fill it out online. And for everybody that's watching online, either right now or later, there is Yeah, wave at him. Um there is a a place on the website, you go to the website, there will be something there to uh do the same thing. You have until uh Monday at noon to turn in your comments and uh we would appreciate hearing from as many people as possible in the city. Um

particularly those in Ward 4, but not strictly W 4. Um these seats up here represent the whole city as well as their individual or combined wards. So uh what we're going to do now is is close the official part of the meeting. I think what we'll do is perhaps um uh Mr. Ansboro stand up here in the the center and then uh Mr. craft in the back and then if you want to come and talk to him and ask him any question uh that you feel like you want a further answer to or something off the wall or whatever that's your opportunity and be nice to them. Okay. I mean these are nice guys.

Yes. Uh thank you very much again. Thank you especially for everybody that showed up in person. This is tremendous and greatly appreciate uh all of you. Thank you.