Coronado City Council members and two of this year’s mayoral candidates Casey Tanaka and John Duncan discussed the Coronado Cays, Awaken Church and everything in between, including LGBTQ+ books in the library at The Coronado News mayoral candidate debate on Sept. 24.
Mike Donovan, who is the third candidate running for mayor, was unable to attend the debate.
Awaken Church
The church’s plans to expand to the island prompted a grassroots movement among residents to attempt blocking Awaken from opening a new church in Coronado.
Tanaka said that he did not want to take a stand on the controversy as a city official.
“I don’t think my job as your elected official is to stand there and again, take pot shots or virtue signal, virtue shame people, so I’m not going to do it,” he said.
Duncan agreed with Tanaka on not declaring a stance on the issue, but added that, personally, he does not agree or support groups that speak with “unkind speech.”
The Cays Park Master Plan
Many residents have recently spoken out against the Cays Park Master Plan, mainly citing that updates such as the view deck and the cost of the project were unnecessary.
Tanaka said that the public’s issue of implementing the Cays Park Master Plan for $31.5 million was frustrating because the majority of the plan is to maintain the facilities that are already there.
We’re not looking to put a rollercoaster or a swim park down there. But for some reason, to maintain the amenities that already exist, update things as a pedestrian … it costs more than any of us would like.
Casey Tanaka
“We’re not looking to put a rollercoaster or a swim park down there,” Tanaka said. “But for some reason, to maintain the amenities that already exist, update things as a pedestrian … it costs more than any of us would like.”
Tanaka did say that there is still time in the months and years ahead to see what the city wants to keep and might want to get rid of.
However, Duncan said the vote on the Cays Park Master Plan was in his top two votes by the City Council that he was the most disappointed in.
I was like, wait a minute. I have concerns about the costs, I have concerns about all these options.
John Duncan
“[The Cays Park Master Plan] went out to quite a few public hearings. A lot of people voiced concerns about it,” Duncan said. “Not one thing changed in the plan. It went to the next [public hearing], not one thing changed, and it came back to council … I was like, wait a minute. I have concerns about the costs, I have concerns about all these options.”
Duncan said that he believes the City Council should relook at the plan, discuss the costs and send it back out to the residents as well.
Tanaka rebutted, saying that Duncan had the opportunity to handle the vote differently and ask for an amendment or to make a substitute motion, but he didn’t.
The library
Several parents were upset at the content of the book, claiming that it was too sexual and should not have been allowed to be shown to preschoolers.
Tanaka said that he supports the city’s librarians and staff.
“They have the training, they have the discipline to make decisions about our collection, and I’m not concerned about the work that they do,” he said.
But he continued on to say that his job as mayor would be to listen to the community.
“I promise not to ignore you … I think the hardest part about being mayor is you have to be ready and willing to meet with everyone, and then you have to be a problem solver,” Tanaka said.
Duncan said his belief was that society, which also applies to Coronado, thinks people are not allowed to talk about things anymore.
“I am not for banning and censoring books, but I do believe reasonable discussions are what we should do as citizens about any issue,” Duncan said.
“We have a great library staff. They’ve definitely made mistakes … lots of things have happened, but they’re very well-intended, and they’re very good people,” Duncan said as he ended his answer.
