BISHOP COUNCIL FORUM SET FOR THURSDAY

In anticipation of the Bishop City Council candidate forum scheduled for next Thursday at the Tri-County Fairgrounds (Tallman Pavillion), we give you three candidate profiles (we could not corral Aaron Schat as of press time. We did, however, take a photo of one of his campaign signs). 

Karen Schwartz

After 12 years on the Bishop City Council, Karen Schwartz is seeking another term. Why? The quick answer: “I really like it.” The longer answer involves tackling an ambitious goal over the next four years that would have the city step up to become a more significant partner in maintaining and improving many aspects of the region’s recreation and outdoor-based economy.

“That’s what gets me fired up about another term,” Schwartz said in an interview with the Sheet. 

Not that she is dismissive of the lengthy, more pedestrian aspects of small-town council business. The routine work of day-to-day city operations is still interesting and sometimes surprising, she said. One of the best parts of the job is seeing issues “from a different perspective … That keeps me learning new things.”

While it’s “rewarding to serve” the community on council, the job is also “a big responsibility” since many people are busy and “trust me and the council” to make good decisions for the community. 

Schwartz sits at an interesting intersection of the larger Bishop community. She and husband Howie moved to Bishop in 2000. He had a job as a mountain guide and she as a teacher. In 2006, she opened Sage to Summit outdoor store, which has expanded to include a climbing wall and gym. That puts her in contact with the often younger climbing community, the small business cohort, and long-term customers, she noted. “We have a good cross-section of people we are friends with.” 

When asked about some accomplishments during her tenure, Schwartz noted good fiscal oversight and reliable services, then highlighted large, long-term achievements. The Silver Peaks affordable housing project was “a huge win,” she said. The project was approved, delayed, stalled and revived. The council, she said, stuck with the goal of developing affordable housing and, thanks to a recent $25 million grant, the project will break ground next year. “We did it.” 

Year round airline service was another successful multi-year effort. The city, she noted, worked collaboratively with Mammoth Lakes, Mammoth Mountain and Inyo County to first get the Bishop airport in shape to handle commercial air service and then get that service up and running in Bishop.  

Less “glamorous” was a new sewer plant. The single, new plant will replace two outdated existing sewer plants right next to each other, one run by the city and the other by the Eastern Sierra Community Service District. That was “just be bad government.” The newly formed Bishop Area Wastewater Authority includes the city and district and the Bishop Paiute Tribe as a full partner. “It’s a win-win for residents, the city the district and the tribe,” she said. 

Schwartz wants to take on the “huge disconnect” between the massive spending on marketing to get people to “play in our backyard and recreate” and the city then not taking a role to help to “responsibly manage” the surrounding public land that make up that backyard. The city has some “responsibility” to be part of the solutions to nagging problems with inadequate amenities such as restrooms, education, parking and trail work, she noted. 

Collaborating with all available partners to address those issues is possible, and other mountain communities have models that work. The county and city would be the primary partners working with local non-profits, and state and federal agencies to help create the setting for “a good experience so people visit in a healthy way.” In the same vein, the county and city could also form a cooperative structure to provide “dedicated funding” for the non-profits that host the events that are “important to the area economy.”  

As is often the case, “the money is there, we just have to rethink how we spend it.” 

Tyler Beadle

Tyler Beadle is persistent. He’s 25 and this is his second campaign for a seat on the Bishop City Council, after falling short in 2024.

A third generation Bishopite, Beadle graduated from Bishop High and got a two-year business degree from Cerro Coso. He currently works as a title officer in Bishop. He stresses those hometown roots and his determination to promote positive changes and “healthy growth” that won’t overwhelm Bishop’s infrastructure or “small-town charm,” he said during a recent interview with the Sheet. 

Beadle said one thing the city could improve is its approach to attracting new, small businesses, starting with being proactive in finding and landing businesses that fit the town. The city “could be a little more friendly” when dealing with startup businesses, he said. He would also consider offering some sort of incentives for start-ups, whether those are reduced fees and paperwork or short-term tax breaks, for example. “I am definitely business friendly.” 

While affordable housing is needed for working families, he said such projects should be sized and sited to not change the character of a neighborhood. Keeping the town’s “character” also involves focusing on downtown businesses and historic buildings. Beadle was a consistent supporter of keeping and upgrading the vacant A Frame in City Park.  

He praised the city’s recreation department for offering a wide variety of popular, well-attended programs and sports. City Park “is one of our signature spots,” and Beadle said he would “like to see where we can grow programs and facilities” at the park. 

Since most local businesses benefit from tourism, Beadle said he supports the marketing efforts of the city and the Bishop Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, and would even consider increasing the city’s fiscal contribution to marketing and promotion. Same for the potential to expand commercial air service to Bishop. 

A concern for Beadle is the number of local nonprofit organizations that are “slowly in decline.” He said the city should be more active in finding ways it can help those groups keep operating which will benefit the city and the region. 

The city’s relationship with the Bishop Paiute Tribe has been improving, which he said was a positive development. He cited the collaboration on a new sewer plant and working to secure a new fire engine for the Bishop Fire Department. To keep that momentum going, he said holding more joint meetings and informal gatherings with tribal and city leaders would be helpful to “build more personal and government connections” between the city and the tribe. 

Beadle said, in general, he thinks the city is on the right track in seeking more decision-making authority when it comes to the relationship between the city and the Bishop Rural Fire Protection District board. He commended Fire Chief Bret Russel for his ability to work with both boards. 

Beadle said he would like to work to find a way to get a more secure and reliable funding source for ambulance service in Bishop and the surrounding area.  

Stephen Muchovej

Stephen Muchovej is a two-term incumbent … and he’s still the youngest member of the Bishop City Council. 

Yet when I sat down to interview Muchovej and he handed me his campaign pamphlet, I said, trying to be kind, “That photo … looks a bit dated.” 

He laughed. “Yup. That’s my campaign photo from eight years ago. I’ll also be re-using all of my campaign signs. This demonstrates I am both thrifty and environmentally conscious,” he said, laughing some more. 

Muchovej (pronounced Mah-ho-vee) moved to the Valley about twenty years ago to take a job at the “Big Ears.” 

He now works remotely for a cybersecurity startup. 

He divides his council tenure into two parts. 

Step one involved getting the city onto a firmer financial footing. “When I got on council, I had all sorts of big ideas … until the realization of all of our budget constraints set in – including $10 million in unfunded liabilities.”

He now sees the city as being well into step two, which involves making long-term, generational improvements. Example: partnering with the Bishop Paiute Tribe and the Eastern Sierra Community Services District to replace the 70-year old sewer plant. 

Another accomplishment. Sorting out city leadership. 

In the interim between his first election win and taking office, the lame duck council at that time hired David Kelly as City Manager. “Joe Pesci made sure I had no say in that hire,” said Muchovej. 

Kelly lasted about as long as a Blow Pop in a kid’s Halloween basket. 

Then there was 75-year old Interim City Manager Ron Phillips, before the City finally elevated Deston Dishion. Dishion had a very successful run and installed a solid core of department heads. Pam Foster was selected to succeed Dishion after his retirement.

A few accomplishments which may have heretofore gone unnoticed. 

1. Muchovej sits on the Local Transportation Commission. For years and years, all of the STIP (State Transportation Improvement Program) funding for Inyo County was designated to go to the Olancha-Cartago four-lane project. 

Now that that project is completed, the LTC (which includes Muchovej and District 3 Supervisor Scott Marcellin)has shifted funding priority to street projects within Inyo County. 

2. Muchovej did spearhead the effort to eliminate Bishop Council retiree benefits. 

His overarching message, as taken from his campaign literature:

“I don’t believe every decision should be easy – or even unanimous. I do believe every decision should be thoughtful, transparent, and made with Bishop’s long-term interests in mind. Ultimately, I believe government should be measured not by promises, but by results.”