Election Day, November 8, is fast approaching and includes a race for Twentynine Palms City Council, District 4. Newcomer Octavious Scott is challenging council incumbent and current Mayor Karmolette O’Gilvie.
We posed the same five questions to both candidates and here are Scott’s responses.
What makes you uniquely qualified to sit on the council?
If elected, I’d be the youngest city council member in Twentynine Palms at age 35, but at the same time, I have substantial experience in the private and public sectors. I served for eight years in the Navy achieving the pay grade of E-5. After serving in the Navy, I graduated college with a Bachelor’s in Management and Masters in Leadership. I have also worked for six years in workforce development and education. Currently, I’m a University Development Counselor.
What is the most urgent issue facing your District? The city?
Lack of affordable housing. It’s important for the city to increase homeownership for local residents. I support self-help construction programs and partnerships with community-based organizations to increase homeownership. Organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Coachella Valley Housing Coalition have proven models with track records of success.
I also think lack of youth programs is another important issue within the city. We are in need of a Transactional Age Youth (TAY) program in Twentynine Palms. TAY is defined as youth between the ages of 16 and 24. Yucca Valley has several programs for TAY. We should build partnerships with some of those organizations to get satellite offices in Twentynine Palms. TAY support can be anything from mentorship, to entertainment, recovery from substance abuse, job placement, housing placement etc. I also support the establishment of a Boys and Girls Club.
What is your position on the Vacation Home Rental situation in Twentynine Palms?
I believe homeowners should be able to rent their residences for short-term if that’s something they are comfortable doing; however, I don’t think companies should be operating ‘hotels’ in residentially zoned areas. With that being said, I support the cap on non-owner-occupied short-term rentals, but I would open short-term rentals to owner-occupied properties. For example, property must be the host’s primary residence for at least nine months out of the year. Hosts can short-term rent a room on their property if the host is present or has a separate unit/ADU on their property and would be exempt from the cap because the property being rented short-term is their primary residence.
What can the city do to encourage job growth?
A lot of jobs can be performed remotely now. I think the city should partner with Copper Mountain College to train local residents for these remote jobs. During the pandemic, we saw a lot of people from urban areas relocating to Twentynine Palms while working their remote jobs.
I’d also love to see some type of Public Works internship for our young adults (TAY). They can get real-world experience while serving their community by keeping it clean and safe for residents. Filling potholes, litter removal, graffiti abatement etc.
How best to address homelessness in the city?
I believe the city needs emergency housing for homeless and those at-risk of being homeless. I would support the renovation of a hotel that’s currently not being used to meet that need.
You can read Heather Clisby’s interview with Karmolette O’Gilvie here.
