New city councilmen are ready to make a difference
Jim Reed and Steve Gregory excited for coming years on council
New Paso Robles City Councilman Jim Reed is sworn in during the first council meeting in December. Photo by Heather Young
The two open seats for Paso Robles City Council were closely contested. Incumbent John Hamon Jr. and then-Mayor Duane Picanco both sought council seats while Councilman Steve Martin ran unopposed for mayor. Hamon and Picanco were challenged by Pamela Avila, Jim Reed and Steve Gregory. Hamon was top vote-getter, retaining his seat with Reed coming in second, closely followed by Picanco and Avila. Gregory got the least number of votes, but was appointed by the council to complete the last two years of Martin’s term on the council when he was elected mayor.
Gregory, a Republican, said he was not expecting to be appointed to the council, but was hoping he would be.
“I think the voters wanted to see a change, I think I was a good candidate for it,” Gregory said.
Jim Reed, left, and Steve Gregory are newcomers to the Paso Robles City Council.
Some of Gregory’s big issues are transparency for better and open communication with the citizens, returning city services such as reopening Centennial Park’s pool and getting the road’s back to good repair, and exploring some economic development ideas.
“I have a lot of other things I’d like to achieve — a lot of it is communication,” Gregory said.
Reed said his main concern is getting the city out of automatic. “I still contend that the city is on automatic, headed in a certain direction … and it’s not a direction for the citizens.” He added that he’s still only a month into his term, so he’s still getting his feet wet and learning about the different issues before the council. But “I don’t know if I by myself will be able to do anything about it,” he said.
Reed said that while he finds that the other councilmen are thinking big — such as attracting big developments and big businesses — he is thinking small, more on the day-to-day level. He wants to include the children in on the plans because he feels that they are just important.
Reed, who said he prefers to be called an “American” when asked his party affiliation, has lived in Paso Robles for 30 years. Over the years, Reed was involved in local schools as his son went through school. Though he said he hasn’t formally been involved in any local organizations, he has supported the community over the years. He has his own consulting business. He said he helps people get permits and get through the building process.
Gregory, a Paso Robles resident since 1979, is a member of the Paso Robles Rotary Club, the REC Advisory Committee, has coached youth sports, been involved in PTA and helped in his children’s classrooms and has been involved with Paso Robles Downtown Main Street Association. He is also the founder of Avila Sea Life Center. He’s currently a project design consultant and owns several vacation rentals in Paso Robles. He also said that he helps out at his wife’s restaurant, Odyssey, in downtown Paso Robles. Before becoming a consultant, he helped build and develop Sycamore Springs Resort in Avila Beach. The company then bought Paso Robles Hot Springs, which Gregory helped with. He’s also served on a flood zone committee, to which he was appointed by the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors.
“I’m rather excited [about this council],” Gregory said. “I think it’s going to be a pretty good council … I think the community’s going to be happy with the changes. Steve Martin is going to put the pedal to the metal, which I’m excited about. I think it’s going to be a fun and exciting council.”
Reed said he is still getting to know the other councilmen, but said that “Steve is a great guy, he’s really stepping up.”
The Paso Robles City Council meets the first and third Tuesday of each month in the council chambers located on the first floor of city hall at 7:30 p.m. The meetings are open to the public and are also aired live in KPRL. For more information, go to www.prcity.com.
