Ahead of the November general election, the Southern California News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates who wish to represent you. You can find the full questionnaire below. Questionnaires may have been edited for spelling, grammar, length and, in some instances, to remove hate speech and offensive language.

MORE: Read all the candidate responses in our Voter Guide

Name: Amanda Quintanilla

Current job title: Registered Nurse

Political party affiliation: Non-Partisan

Incumbent: No

Other political positions held: None

City where you reside: San Clemente

Campaign website or social media: www.aquintanilla4citycouncild3.com

How can the city best meet the demand and mandates for more housing, including at lower prices, while also preserving the quality of life for existing neighborhoods and residents? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)

The housing demands for San Clemente is a difficult issue since there are several factors involved. Our town has essentially been built out and there is no room for new development. Another problem is unstable lands caused by ancient landslides and fault lines throughout our town. This is result of the type of land consisting of Capistrano formation and Monterey land formation, which is the cause of unstable land. Building on that land is nonexistent.

There is no quick fix to address housing. However, I do believe that it can be addressed at the local level. There has been recent legislation that is aimed at taking away local control. Our city is the best government entity to identify and prioritize housing needs of our town.

The city has to provide for new residential and commercial development to promote jobs, to meet state requirements under the law. The city has implemented mixed-use designations and these changes in the new mixed-use overlay. The city should reach out to private landowners and develop solutions to address affordable housing.

California is working toward achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2045. Where does climate change fall in your list of priorities? How, if at all, would you address this as a councilmember? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)

Climate change is a priority since San Clemente is a coastal city and will be impacted by erosion to our beaches, bluffs causing landslides, flooding of coastal canyons, creeks and watersheds. It will have a negative impact on our public infrastructure.

I have participated at Coastal Advisory Committees, San Clemente Nature Based Coastal Project Feasibility Study, OCTA’s Coastal Rail Resiliency Study, OC Parks South OC Regional Coastal Resilience Strategic Plan and the Subcommittee on LOSSAN Rail Corridor Resiliency. I participated in studies on sand replenishment, sand retention measures, nature-based solutions, impacts on rail lines, etc.

I have spoken at these meetings, testifying before the Senate and submitted my public comments. I have reached out to major stakeholders such as Assemblymember Laurie Davies, OCTA representatives, councilmembers and city staff to work together to address these issues.

Recently, I attended a meeting with Supervisor Foley, San Clemente staff and residents where we saw firsthand the damage caused by the Mariposa landslide. City staff pointed to the continued groundwater seeping from the bluffs.

For months, I have urged our city to work collaboratively with partners, like the OCTA, and other stakeholders to protect our beaches with sand replenishment, facades or revetments.

How should the city balance paying off debts, such as pension liabilities, and building reserves all while meeting residents’ needs? Should a solution involve finding new revenue, trimming the budget, or something else entirely? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)

The city of San Clemente chose to make additional payments to reduce the amount of unfunded liability. One option is to increase the percentage rate to pay down the unfunded liability. According to the city of San Clemente’s two-year budget, city staff proposed implementing a Section 115 Trust Account that allows the city to place funds in a restricted account that can only be used to pay for pension obligations. This plan allows it to keep the capital and maintain control over its money. In a period of five years at a reduced rate of 6.8%, a possibly make a payment of over $1.2 million dollars to CalPERS.

Currently, there are three plans for hotels in San Clemente and are in the planning stages having worked with approvals by the Design Review Committee, Planning Commission and city staff to facilitate their plans. These hotels will add to the transient occupancy tax (TOT) and the result will pay for the unfunded pension liability. However, these hotels have significant issues that needed to be addressed to preserve the historic Spanish colonial buildings that may be affected by these hotels.

In your opinion, what is the biggest need your city faces, and how would you address it? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)

There are two needs.

Public safety: A recent survey showed that keeping public areas safe and clean ranked at 96% making it a priority for San Clemente residents. Previous efforts by the city were to hire four additional deputies, but only two have been hired. The city hired private security, and that contract ended; now Park Rangers work along with OCSD to promote safety.

Then, San Clemente faces preservation of our beaches. Sand nourishment is important to our local economy. It is important to have sand replenishment projects and retention measures to maintain our beaches. Some retention measures include nature-based solutions, such as a dune ecosystem by planting native vegetation to maintain sand.

The city hired a coastal advisor to write and apply for grants, more grants and working with our representative for funding is important. Supervisor Foley stated, “”…Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) applied for more than $460 million . . . in FY 2023-2024. Anywhere from $70-$140 million of these dollars will directly aid San Clemente’s sand nourishment efforts at no additional cost to the city’s residents.”” The Coastal Commission awarded $1.5 million to complete a sediment source investigation to support the development of a nature-based beach restoration program.

Why would you make a good leader, and how would you represent the diverse communities of your city? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)

As a San Clemente resident of 53 years, I have been active in the community for years. I participated in the San Clemente Leadership Academy, and I was appointed to the city of San Clemente’s Citizens Amphitheater Committee in 2023.

I have been involved in many city issues where I developed a professional and good rapport with representatives and major stakeholders, like the OCTA and city staff. I use thorough research and critical thinking skills and evidence-based data to develop common sense solutions. I have institutional knowledge of San Clemente’s history and issues. I found errors in the executive summary of the budget that totaled $1.1 million and found other errors in the graphs, charts and tables.

My past experience fighting against the toll roads and Amazon, along with other issues will allow me to make informed and conscientious decisions. In addition, I stay informed about transportation updates like the OCTA project of adding HOV lanes on the 5 freeway from Pico to the county line. The Caltrans managed lanes project may affect the OCTA HOV Lane project. If Caltrans’ managed lanes project indicates that toll lanes are needed in lieu of toll lanes, that would be problematic.

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