SLT Council Candidate Cristi Creegan

South Tahoe Now reached out to all nine candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council and provided the same list of questions to each one of them. Once a day their answers will be published in the order received.

Today's candidate is Cristi Creegan

Profession: Business Owner

How many years in SLT: 23 years

1. Explain why you are running for City Council and what your qualifications are. I’m running for City Council because I believe our community is going through changes, and I am the best prepared to lead us through a process that preserves our history and strengths while making the most of new resources and talent. I’m a small business owner, actively managing Creegan Builders since 2000 and Cowork Tahoe LLC since 2015. My career also involved management of conservation-based nonprofit organizations, including Sierra Nevada Alliance and California Rangeland Trust. My meaningful volunteer efforts define my community connections: I have been a member of the Board of Directors of Live Violence Free (formerly the South Lake Tahoe Women's Center) since 2010, spending three years as board president, and serve as vice president of the Board of Directors of the Tahoe Heritage Foundation. I was a Tahoe Parents Nursery School parent and board member, served on the Tahoe Valley Elementary PTO and ran the Magnet School PTA bookstore, with children attending those schools, and was treasurer of the South Tahoe Middle School PTA. I have coordinated parent volunteer programs and also serve as a substitute teacher in LTUSD. Having received my undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and my juris doctorate with an environmental law specialty from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, I am committed to making fair-minded decisions, using a collaborative approach that brings us together.

2. There has been talk about making South Lake Tahoe a Charter City. Are you for or against this, and why? I think the option to become a charter city is really interesting and would support further study of it. In brief, “under certain home rule provisions in California's state constitution, voters can exercise a greater degree of local control than that provided by the California Legislature[.] Becoming a charter city allows voters to determine how their city government is organized and, with respect to municipal affairs, enact legislation different than that adopted by the state.” League of California Cities, https://www.cacities.org/Resources/Charter-Cities. This level of additional control over municipal issues that we as a community prioritize is really attractive. If the city chose to move in this direction, it should create a public task force to study the pros and cons, and in order for the city to become a charter city, the voters must approve.

3. How many council meetings have you attended (Remotely and in person) and participated in? What changes, if any, would you bring to the table on how meetings are run? Ideas for more public participation? In the past four years, I’ve attended about ten council meetings and made comments at a couple, most recently with respect to requesting support for the reopening of South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue Station 2. Consistently attending meetings during the workday is a challenge for most people, so focusing on personally important agenda items and participating at that time is a reasonable approach. I would think that the remote format actually allows for increased public participation because attendees can watch from home or work and join in as needed while also handling other tasks.

4. Are you for or against the US50 Revitalization Project, known as the Loop Road, and why? I am in favor of revitalization projects in our community that create walkable, small business-friendly areas that offer a ‘sense of place’ and don’t rely on personal vehicle traffic. The Main Street Management Plan, known as the Loop Road (link here to the US 50/South Shore Community Revitalization Project EIR/EIS/EIS http://www.trpa.org/wp-content/uploads/US-50-0-Summary.pdf) has been in development since 1980. As a City Council member I would work diligently to ensure that our community has a voice in this project and process as it goes forward.

5. What are your thoughts on the 56 Acre Parcel and what should be included? As noted above, I’m in favor of revitalization projects in our community that create walkable, small business-friendly areas that offer a ‘sense of place’ and don’t rely on personal vehicle traffic. The 56 Acre Parcel Project has the potential to make a hugely positive impact on the midtown area of our community, which has already benefitted from the creation of Lakeview Commons and the Harrison Avenue Streetscape Project. The 56 Acre area should include bike paths and greenways that provide connectivity throughout town, maintain the El Dorado County Library, which made such great upgrades to its facility two years ago, and the Senior Center, and develop the new Recreation Center with a focus on aquatics. Other additions to the area should be determined by public input from the community. I’m not overly supportive of structural upgrades to the campground, which I like being available to lower-income visitors who aren’t able to stay in hotels.

6. Being on council takes a lot of cooperation and collaboration. Do you consider yourself a team player? How do you work with others that may not have the same vision as you? Please explain how your election to the council will help get things done in South Lake Tahoe. I am very much a team player and thrive on collaboration. It’s straightforward with like-minded people, but probably even more valuable to do with those of differing opinions and values, a ’team of rivals’ approach. To collaborate with people whose visions don’t align with mine, I try to understand what skills I need to bring to the interaction to move toward a solution: compassion? direction? reasoning? In order to get things done in South Lake Tahoe, each council member needs to maintain an open-mindedness, while still staying true to one’s values, that allows for respectful discussion that puts the community’s interests first.

7. What is your top priority and why? Housing: the community needs to support a wide variety of housing types to meet the needs of our existing and future residents. I support implementing the Housing Action Plan and supporting programs that take best advantage of our current housing units, specifically the many empty homes throughout our neighborhoods, and the permitting of Accessory Dwelling Units (cottage units) where appropriate. I would also support the construction of appropriate new workforce and low-income housing in infill locations. Finally, I support a year-round shelter of supportive housing, such as the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless’ Homekey Program.

8. What do you see yourself accomplishing as one of five council members in your first six months? There is a huge amount of institutional memory that I will need to absorb quickly in order to understand why and how decisions were made in the past that are impacting our community now. The public doesn’t have as much background or data as the members of the City Council do about the issues, so in the first six months I would seek to learn about all sides of the issues. I’d also seek to gain an understanding of the organizational aspects of City government to better understand its operations and its challenges and opportunities, and my role within that structure.

9. South Lake Tahoe is very polarized right now. As a councilperson, what would you do to create a more cohesive and respectful community? I am already a trusted community leader, having significant experience in community organizations and schools. I am recognized as an accessible, thoughtful, and compassionate professional with business and community-based experience who can effectively follow through on my commitments. I am a problem-solver; when presented with a challenge, I pivot to solutions. I will bring these demonstrated strengths to my role as a council member.

10. Anything else you’d like to add? Bruce Grego's comment with regard to my acceptance of a contribution from a Nevada resident is intended to create the image of a cigar-chomping casino exec to whom I am now beholden, when nothing could be farther from the truth. This is a person who has contributed philanthropically to several projects in South Lake Tahoe and reminds us that a love of the jewel that is Lake Tahoe doesn't stop at any city boundary line but is shared by all, wherever they might live. I've also accepted contributions from residents of Meyers, not in the city limits. Don't get sucked in by the fear-mongering, 'us v them' sentiments; let's move forward together as one community.

Previous candidate responses
Daniel P. Browne, Jr.
Keith Roberts
Leonard Carter
Scott Robbins
John Friedrich
Bruce Grego
Douglas Williams