Meet the candidate: Kris Lawrence

In a series that begins this week, we will be featuring the candidates running for the three open City Council seats this year.

The candidates who are running are current council members Gilbert Alvarado, Chad Givens and Manuel Garcia, along with newcomers Rafael Zamudio, Kris Lawrence and Pete Espinoza.This week, we will be featuring Lawrence.

Lawrence is a regulatory coordinator for the Westside Water Authority. He is a mechanical engineer and handles regulatory compliance for the farmers in our districts, as well as helping with some projects around the area. These include solar projects, water accounting and programming.

Lawrence said that with his experience in his position with the Water District, working with policymakers in a board meeting setting has prepared him to have a positive impact on the City Council.

Lawrence lives in Gossamer Grove and believes that it is important for the burgeoning area to have representation on the council.

As with many in the area, Lawrence said that some of the main concerns in the city are safety and economic security.

"Shafter has been historically a very safe town, and it has done well with businesses," he said. "This is something I would like to be a part of continuing into the future."

Lawrence said he would like to help attract more businesses to Shafter.

"First, decisions at the City Council meetings need to as pro-business as possible, without adversely impacting the residents of Shafter, of course," he said.

Lawrence said that Shafter also needs to have the reputation as a good place to do business. "Shafter also needs to be seen as a stable place," he said. "There should be a stable City Council, a stable city manager, lots of experience at City Hall. These are all important things."

Lawrence said he could make a positive impact on the council because of his experience dealing with policymakers on a regular basis in a board meeting setting, as well as being a quick learner. "I've always been good at seeing the big picture, and how day-to-day operations fit into that," he said. "Looking at my experience and who I am, it was suggested to me by some long-term Shafter residents that I would be able to do a good job on the council, so I decided to run."

Next week, we will be featuring candidate Pete Espinoza.