Four candidates are running for two openings on the American Canyon City Council. The four include incumbents Joan Bennett and Cindy Coffey, American Canyon Planning Commissioner Matt Pope and Napa Valley College student James Walker. Recently, the Register editorial board met with or spoke to each of the candidates.

Here is a summary of their views:

Bennett, who served on the city’s first council and then returned to city politics after a hiatus four years ago, described herself as a “rah-rah girl” for American Canyon. She emphasized the importance of community and communication, and said her volunteer service in activities such as the cancer fundraiser Relay for Life and other events is part and parcel of her service to the city.

Like Pope and Coffey, Bennett is supportive of the city’s recently approved rural-urban limit line and the proposed Town Center, a multi-use project east of Highway 29 that may someday serve as the town’s still-missing central gathering place.

She said top issues for the city include traffic circulation, water and fiscal responsibility. The city, she said, shouldn’t “do anything without paying for it somehow.”

 She said she supports former American Canyon Fire Chief Keith Caldwell for supervisor over former Napa County Sheriff Gary Simpson.

Coffey was the lone vote against the city’s acquisition of the new City Hall, and she lamented the city’s decision to abandon development on Oat Hill, a project that would have included new homes, a school, a park with a pool, etc. Her rivals did not share Coffey’s sense that the tabling of the Oat Hill project represented a missed opportunity, with both Bennett and Pope saying residents are tired of growth and have displayed more support for the Town Center.

Coffey identified the water supply as a major concern for the city, and proposed the city look into a desalinization plant — which would filter and clean bay water for potable use — as a possible solution.

Pope, a city planning commissioner for four years, emphasized the importance of modern urban and green planning principles, saying the city is well- positioned to be a leader in terms of pedestrian- and transit-friendly urban growth and design.

Pope said he would like to see the land on the city’s eastern boundary, just outside and upslope from the city limit line in the hills separating the city from I-80, stay in open space. Bennett and Coffey suggested large residential lots on the uphill side of the boundary.

Pope said his goal is that the city “be as well-known for open space as it is for growth.”

Pope, who was a reserve police officer for six years in another Bay Area city, said programs for youth are important to residents seeking a “safe, serene” place to raise their families.

Active in Democratic Party circles, Pope noted his familiarity with local leaders including Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, and Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and said these connections will help him do what the city must — seek regional, not just local, solutions to problems such as  traffic and land use conflicts. He supports Caldwell.

Walker said addressing water and traffic concerns are high priorities for the city. He said the first tasks he would like to take on in office would be to open a senior center and create more programs for local youth.

Walker, who is 20 and works at Safeway while attending Napa Valley College, said his youth an advantage. “I’m the right age to handle some of the city’s issues,” he said.

He cited his experience on the city’s youth committee, the high school design committee and volunteerism for the Relay for Life fundraiser and at local hospitals as examples of his community service.

He said the Oat Hill area is not the right spot for residential growth, and said residents want growth to slow down. He said he would be wary of allowing more residential building in the eastern hills and near wildlife corridors.

He favors the urban limit line and the Town Center, and said the city must work to add more businesses and ensure that the local business community remains vigorous. He said the city could offer incentives to retain the right mix of businesses, as well as incentives for carpoolers. He said he is undecided in the supervisors race, but is leaning toward Caldwell.