standing United

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Alexis Espinoza, Porterville Recorder

Micari marches toward 2020 election, District 1 Supervisor spot

With 2020 looming in the not-too-distant future, Larry Micari has geared up for the next election and has set off on his campaign trial in hopes of being elected to represent Tulare County as the next Board of Supervisors District 1 representative.

Born and raised in Tulare County, Micari graduated from Tulare Union High School. He attended College of the Sequoias, where he received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Management from Union Institute and University.

Micari took his degree into the law enforcement field, and served the community for years through his career as a police officer with the Farmersville Police Department, until 1995. As a police officer he worked as a patrol officer, investigator and became a member of the Tulare County Inter-Agency Narcotics Enforcement Team.

His job as a police officer took Micari further in his law enforcement career when he became a deputy with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO). While employed with TCSO, Micari served as a Patrol Deputy, Terrorism Liaison Officer Coordinator, Criminal Investigator and Substation Commander. He was responsible for preparing the department budgets and fiscal unit and for attending Tulare County Board of Supervisors and other administrative meetings. He was appointed by the board to serve on the Step Up committee.

Micari is ready to take on the 2020 election with full force, and has already begun having meet and greets to learn what the needs of the District 1 constituents are.

Water, public safety, roads and homeless are the four main platforms Micari is taking stands on for his campaign.

“Water is life,” said Micari. “It is also our economy. I talk about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), and what I say is if we are not unified, then the state can come and take local control of our water. I am not anti-SGMA. I’m saying we need to work together.”

Micari expressed the importance of water used for agriculture, namely the citrus fields.

“What I bring to the table is the ability to work with different groups and people with different views to see what we can do,” said Micari.

When talking about public safety, Micari stressed the need for additional resources and personnel within the county departments.

“[County] fire needs like ten new fire trucks. They need 40 new additional engineers,” said Micari. “They need to add more bodies. On top of that, the older fire stations won’t fit the design of the new fire engines. There is a lot of decisions coming down the road for them.”

Micari moved forward and began speaking about the roads around Tulare County and shed light on his plan of action to bring better roads to the constituents.

“I bring up roads because they are terrible, and it has gone on for many years,” said Micari. “I understand that there are finances involved. I understand there is only certain discretionary funds in the county budget. The county, being an extension of state government, is tied by different rules than municipalities are, so there are some differences in how to conduct business. As a policy maker with the county, maybe we can look at something, something to update what we have. On a 20 to 25 year cycle, we will never fix our roads.”

Micari stated that he would put in the research and time to investigate new ways of going about the issue of fixing roads.

“No one knows all the answers, but I will surely do what I can to find them,” said Micari.

As he continued speaking, Micari brushed on the topic of homelessness and mental health, and related it back to his experiences working in law enforcement.

“In my law enforcement career, as a first responder, we dealt with the homeless and mental health. I know that there are a lot of outpatient services, and you can’t condemn the system,” said Micari. “In severe cases, I think ‘Laura’s Law’ would be appropriate. However, I know that you can’t incarcerate your way out of a problem. I understand that, but if you can get those severe cases and can help them get back on their feet, and then follow up with an outpatient program, I don’t see where there is no benefit. It’s a win-win.”

Micari spoke about experiences he’s had in contacting homeless people throughout his public safety career, and stated that taking time to talk to them and show them you care can make a world of difference.

“We’ve had this problem, and obviously it’s gotten worse, but it’s gone on for quite some time,” said Micari. “I think there are different solutions that I’d be open to listening to, and we can see what we can do.”

Micari stressed the importance of working with the community to get things done.

“You’ve got to work with the community well, and we have to work together,” said Micari.

He stated that the community needs to be educated on what the Board of Supervisors does so they can feel comfortable approaching their representative about their needs.

“That’s one reason why I chose to run,” said Micari. “I truly appreciate everything I have, because it came from working for a county government. I want to give back. I think coming in as a board member, I can look at the policies and suggest some changes. There are things we can do that could benefit the community

Micari brings to the table a unique point of view from his time as a public safety officer, and put a lot of emphasis on working united by providing great constituent service.

“The qualities I bring are the 33 years of public service that I have and the almost 23 years of navigating the county system,” said Micari. “I bring not only the perspective of a constituent, but also someone who has navigated the system. I firmly believe that if you are a government employee, that you should be responsive to your constituents. That is what you are elected to do.”