myBurbank Talks

Meet the Candidate: Nick Schultz, (D) Candidate for CA Assembly, 44th District

Craig Sherwood, Nick Schultz Season 2 Episode 3

From a single mother's unwavering support to the helm of Burbank's political landscape, Nick Schultz, the city's mayor and 44th assembly district hopeful, shares an intimate look at the sacrifices that fueled his journey into law and politics. Every step, from debate teams to the courtroom, has been laced with the drive to serve the public—a commitment that's evident as he discusses tackling human trafficking and managing city budgets with the same fervor. His story isn't just one of personal triumph; it's a blueprint for transforming adversity into advocacy, a theme that resonates throughout our powerful conversation.

Diving deeper, Nick peels back the curtain on the intricate balance of local governance and the multifaceted nature of city council duties. He offers a candid glimpse into his world, where the hats of Deputy Attorney General, family man, and public servant are worn with deliberate care, and where the campaign trail is both a challenge and a profound opportunity to connect. As Nick outlines his plans for the 44th district, the discussion turns to the backbone of our community—our schools. He stresses the urgency for legislative reform, recognizing that the path to change is fraught with complexity but ripe with potential for those willing to bridge divides and build consensus.

As the episode draws to a close, Nick's focus shifts to the broader landscape of California's 44th district, healthcare funding challenges, and the pressing need to safeguard pivotal services like education and the arts. His extensive experience with budget negotiations and unwavering dedication to fiscal responsibility shines through, marking him as a candidate who is not just ready but equipped to initiate impactful change from day one in the state assembly. His invitation to fellow candidates to join the dialogue underscores the show's commitment to fostering a well-informed community where the voices of those vying to represent us are amplified and scrutinized. Join us in this candid exploration of dedication, service, and the pursuit of a brighter future for Burbank and beyond.

For more information on the Nick Schultz campaign:

Campaign website:

www.VoteNickSchultz.com

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www.X.com/VoteNickSchultz

Facebook:

www.Facebook.com/VoteNickSchultz

Instagram:

www.Instagram.com/VoteNickSchultz

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Speaker 1:

From deep in the Burbank Media District. It's time for another edition of my Burbank Talks, presented by the staff of my Burbank. Now let's see what's on today's agenda as we join our program.

Speaker 2:

Hello Burbank, craig Sherwood here with you once again and another edition of Meet the Candidate, the show that we have producing, which we allow any candidate who appears on the Burbank ballot to come in and we talk about his views, talk about him so you get a chance to know the candidate in a little more not confrontational way, I'm sorry, conversational way. So we can, you can make your opinions when it comes to a March 5th election, in fact, and then hopefully on to November 2. So today with us we have somebody who's been in our show before in another capacity, but today he's on our capacity as candidate, and that is Nick Schultz, who currently is serves as the mayor of Burbank but is also an assembly candidate for the 44th district. Nick, good to have you on the show today.

Speaker 3:

Hey, thanks so much, Craig, really glad to be back with you.

Speaker 2:

Well it's. I think it's important to have you on and have you on, especially as a candidate and because, yes, people in Burbank may know you, but the 44th assembly district includes Burbank, of course, glendale, ocrescenta, london, tehunga, north Hollywood, toluca Lake, studio City and Sherman Oaks, besides many other little parts of this, and that that's a very, very large district and I'm sure a lot of people may not know you in those areas and this is a good way for them to get to know you.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely, and even those in Burbank who will be voting, even if you know what I've done on the council, young people should be asking what would you do in the assembly? What are your priorities? So really just grateful for the opportunity, craig, to be here with you.

Speaker 2:

Well, we'll get into that. Let's start. I like to do. I got to go back and kind of start the beginning of things. So back in the days of single digit age, they probably called you Nicky or Nicholas and all that Both. Okay, there you go. So at what point did you want to become your lawyer also, and a politician now? So what were your first thoughts of what did you want to do when you were a kid? But what led you into law to start with?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's a great question. So just to give you and all your listeners a little bit more of my back story. Some you've heard, some you haven't. So I was born in La Mesa, just outside of San Diego, raised by a single mom. My dad left at an early age but you know, I came from pretty humble roots. I mean, my dad was a car mechanic, worked at the dealerships, my mom is and still was and still is to this day, legal assistant, legal secretary, at a time when you could get a job like that in the mid 80s, without meeting a college degree or anything. So you know, when I was about five years old, we moved to Oregon, to little city, little town called Gresham, outside of Portland. And you know, I was raised by my mom and my maternal grandparents and you know, like every other kid, going to school, just you know, getting older, experiencing life, I guess you know I really didn't know what I would do. I figured, oh, maybe.

Speaker 2:

What kind of student were you in high school?

Speaker 3:

Oh, I mean by high school. I mean I was on the debate team track and field. I was like your typical go getter, like trying to earn my Letterman jacket. You know, when I was little, you know I really didn't know. I just figured, oh, I'd do something like my parents. But as I got older, you know, my grandpa and my mom in particular, both really pushed me. They wanted me to go to college, they wanted me to have all of the opportunities that they hadn't had, and so Did your mother go to college?

Speaker 2:

Was she a college graduate? No, not initially.

Speaker 3:

Now, later in her career, she took a little bit of college coursework at Mount Hood Community College.

Speaker 2:

That was our local but that's every parent's dream right To go and graduate from college so I can imagine that was a very strong influence for you.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and I still remember to this day. I mean, you know, when I graduated college I mean my grandpa wasn't with us to be there, but my mom and my grandma were there it was a banner day for our family and I'm proud to say that after me, my brother ended up going to the University of Oregon as well, and it just I could sense all the pride and just all the emotion because they had poured 18 plus well at that point, 22 plus years Into us to give us that opportunity. And so to your point, you know, when I, when I graduated, I really thought long and hard about how I wanted to spend my life and I thought about all the love and the care and the protection that my family had provided me. And I thought, you know, I want to do that for other people, I want to give back to my community. I, after I graduated law school, I never really thought about going into the private practice of law.

Speaker 2:

Which law school would you graduate from?

Speaker 3:

University of Oregon. So I went there for Go Ducks, go Ducks. So as I went there for four years and then I immediately went into law school and I was looking at actually coming to LA, I was looking at UCLA, for example but I mean I didn't have much money. So when the University of Oregon basically offered me half off, I mean that's not a deal I could beat. So I still graduated, by the way, with almost $150,000 in student loan debt. I mean I'm actually just paying that off now and getting some of it forgiven. But I mean it's a barrier. A lot of people can't afford that. And I was very lucky, even at half off, I still have to pay all that. But you know I had a lot of opportunities and anyway went to U of O.

Speaker 2:

I think that's something and who knows, as you may, with the latter, student debt and going to college should not be such a barrier, for which is, by the way, we don't have a lot of diversity sometimes, and a lot of you know it would help our minorities a lot more if they didn't have to worry about being sad with $150,000 or $200,000 and debt down the line. I think that our country needs to do a better job, like universal health care too. Those are things that need to be done. Now, that's a national basis. We're not here for that, but I think those are. You know good things. So you got into law, went to law school, you graduated and you said you weren't thinking really about you know, but that somehow led you to the California Attorney General.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so 2013,. I'm out of law school and I started working as a deputy district attorney in Oregon. So I'm prosecuting domestic violence, drunk driving, attempted murder I mean just anything right, anything that happened in the Lane County community. And then in 2016, and, by the way, backstory I met my wife in law school. I was in my final year. She was starting her first year we start dating, so there was a lot that was, you know, keeping me in Eugene. Obviously, you know, pursuing my relationship with Ali.

Speaker 3:

But 2016,. Ali's graduated, I'm graduated and I applied for a job with the California Attorney General's office. I had interned there in law school and I always loved it because I just thought that was like the cream of the top, like it was one of the best opportunities you'd ever have to serve California. The work that they do at DOJ is incredible. I knew I wanted to be part of it and in 2016, I got lucky. I got hired and I was able to come to LA and work under Kamala Harris for like that long, and then it ended up being Javier Becerra for a while. Are you allowed?

Speaker 2:

to say much about what you kind of focus on in your role, because I know that you know a lot of stuff is you know attorney stuff, stuff, stuff. But can you focus on at all what your kind of, what you key on in your job? Absolutely.

Speaker 3:

So I'm currently in. So DOJ has a criminal law division, a civil law division and a public rights. I don't. I won't go through all of that, but the reason I bring that up is my section is called special prosecutions and we're in the criminal law division. So most of what DOJ does historically is on appeal, defend the convictions that were secured by the district Attorney's office. So DA's office gets someone convicted Criminal defendants going to appeal it. Historically DOJ was really a bunch of appellate attorneys just saying no, you know, the conviction was right.

Speaker 3:

Number of years back maybe 2025 years back DOJ started to realize that there are some cases that are better prosecuted by our office, especially if it involves crimes that were committed in multiple counties or really large scale fraud like millions of dollars taken out of state public funds. So this unit was created. So just to bring it more up to date, greg. So kind of cases I do. They fall into maybe four or five categories. We do your financial fraud cases.

Speaker 3:

So I've handled cases where people I'll just give you one example there was a case in the height, in the height of the pandemic, while I was actually running for Burbank City Council, I did a grand jury and I can't talk too much about the grand jury, but I can tell you about the case. There were a group of folks who were going to homeowners who were at risk of losing their home and they were saying hey, craig, hey, don't worry about paying your mortgage, just pay us $1,500 a month, we'll keep you in your home. Well, you know where it's at. So all of a sudden you see your citizens probably a lot of senior citizens and a lot of folks where English is not their first language.

Speaker 3:

So they target these people. And so, all of a sudden, the deed on your house. 5% interest would be given to Ross Benson, but in some cases Ross isn't a real person. Well, we got to watch out for Ross Benson, right?

Speaker 2:

Well, and so here's, if you're wondering OK, how does it? How?

Speaker 3:

does the scheme work? So let's say you're not. You're not making the payments on your house. I'm the bank. I want to come in and foreclose on you. Well, all of a sudden, ross Benson, who has 5% interest in your house, files a petition for bankruptcy in federal court. Well, under the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution federal matters, trump state matters I can't foreclose on your house until his bankruptcy petitions resolved. And so the state has to be able to do that. And so you know. And then let's say you know Ross doesn't show up because he's not real or he doesn't know about it. They just do it again over and over to different people. So point I'm making is 10 years would go by. Bank would be getting no money, you'd be staying in your home. Eventually the scheme would end. You lose your house, the bank is out, the money that they should have had 10 years ago and the person who was defrauding you saying pay me 1500 a month. They make off like bandits. So we're doing a lot of stuff like that.

Speaker 2:

These are not sexy crimes. These are not the big high profile crimes, but they're the crimes that really do affect an everyday person. You probably don't really hear or see about much in the news.

Speaker 3:

So I'd say that that's one category. I also handle public corruption cases, so elected officials that are committing perjury using public funds like just things they shouldn't be doing.

Speaker 2:

right, You've probably been pretty busy with the LA city council lately. Huh.

Speaker 3:

I can tell you that thankfully, in Burbank we don't appear to have that problem. But you're right, there is a lot of public corruption around the state and I've definitely had my. I've had my fair share of investigating folks like that. You know another, another case we kind of case we've been doing lately is officer involved shootings. So anytime a person who's unarmed, not doesn't have a gun, for example, anytime they are shot and killed by the police in the state of California, I am one of a team of prosecutors who investigates that and determines whether or not the police officer should be charged with murder or manslaughter. So that's that's another very high profile, high pressure kind of case. And then I'd say the two more I'll be quick Environmental crimes. So the 2017 Thomas fire and the 2018 Woolsey fire that burned all the way to Malibu. I was the prosecutor assigned to investigating if Southern California Edison had committed any crimes or any individuals at Edison committed crimes.

Speaker 2:

I honestly I don't remember how that came out, because you know we're not part of San Juan Edison. We have our own Burbank water and power, thank goodness. But did you find that now? Is negligence part of a criminal thing? Was it negligent in their operations or what did you find on that?

Speaker 3:

So I would tell you, personally speaking, I think that there were things that the company could have done that they didn't do. But being negligent isn't enough to charge someone with a crime. It usually has to rise to the level of what we call criminal negligence or recklessness in the law. We had an investigation. We concluded that we could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that anyone had committed a crime. But I still like to think that the investigation we did led to Edison changing a lot of their records.

Speaker 2:

I was gonna ask you did that change either? Updated laws and regulations, so in the long run it did some good.

Speaker 3:

I think so. I think, if nothing else, the undergoing an investigation so public like that led Edison to really evaluate how are we spending our money, how can we better guard against the risk of a major wildland fire, and I still think there was some good to come of it. And then the last category of case is human and labor trafficking, and so I think I've talked about it on the show, where I know I've talked about with you before.

Speaker 2:

but the most notable and let me also bring up that we just passed something on the Burbank City Council and once again, this is not here as a Burbank mayor or council member, but you did champion this through the Burbank City Council and maybe talk a little about what you just got passed by the council.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so at the last council meeting we introduced an ordinance that was brought by a community member, gloria Salas, working with our city attorney's office. So under California law, certain businesses like massage parlors, for example, hotels, motels, they're required to post a notice somewhere that's really obvious and visible that says if you or someone you suspect is a victim of human trafficking, call or text this number, and it's supposed to be posted in at least English and Spanish and then other languages too. The problem is the state law has no penalty if someone doesn't post the notice, and so we created an ordinance where there is a fine attached to a business that doesn't post the notice. And we're gonna be partnering with the Zonta Club of Burbank to go out there and to educate businesses and to get these notices up. And that really stems from my work, greg, on a case that really spanned several years before the pandemic and during the pandemic.

Speaker 3:

But I was part of the trial team on the Nassone Joaquin Garcia case. Mr Garcia was, and I believe still is, the leader of a church based out of Mexico called the Light of the World I've heard of this, yes, alus Del Mundo. So our investigation revealed that he was trafficking and sexually abusing children and there were four very brave young women who came forward who had been abused in Los Angeles County and with their testimony and their help we were able to charge the case. When he landed at LAX he was apprehended. We litigated the case for several years and I'm happy to say that he eventually pled guilty to some of the charges and he's now in the California Department of Corrections where he cannot hurt other children.

Speaker 2:

That's making a difference. A lot of people right there absolutely Well, you have a vast background in many areas, so we talked about how big this district is. How are you getting yourself introduced around the district and letting people know what the substance of who? Nick Schultz is yeah.

Speaker 3:

So I mean, obviously I'm known in Burbank and that doesn't mean that I'm not still making efforts to outreach in Burbank. But outside of Burbank there's no substitute for hard work. You gotta go knock doors, you have to call voters, you have to text with voters, Show up to community events, write letters to the editor. I'm doing all of those things in an effort to let them know a little bit more about me and about this race.

Speaker 2:

Because that is. Your challenge, though, is to reach out to voters and let them know who you are, and just not another name on the ballot.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely, and I don't wanna take the wind out of your sails, Craig, but I would say, as a candidate in 2024, looking at a state race, the biggest challenge is not any of my competitors. The biggest challenge is that people in Burbank, for example, a lot of your listeners. They are paying a lot of attention to who our next United States Senator is gonna be, whether it's Adam Schiff or someone else. A lot of people are also looking at that congressional seat. I mean, we have Senator Anthony Portantino and Assembly Member Laura Friedman, both going for it. People don't always think about oh yeah, and there's that state assembly seat. And then keep in mind that only one other candidate in the race has experience currently serves in local office. It's a lot of first-time candidates. So I agree, that's the challenge is reminding people that this race is happening and then, of course, introducing yourself to all these new voters.

Speaker 2:

Okay, and let's talk about first-time candidates. What you were a first-time candidate and when you were a student, who was a Burbank City Council, what led you into politics that you thought this is now another route for me?

Speaker 3:

So I mean no surprise. I am a registered Democrat and I bring that up because it was the 2016 election that really got me more involved in politics. I mean, I was a regular voter. I voted in every election that I can remember. But as I watched the rhetoric around the country, when we saw Secretary Clinton and Donald Trump candidate Donald Trump at the time going toe-to-toe, there was so much volatility and I just I got wrapped up in that election and felt that I couldn't.

Speaker 3:

Voting was good, but I needed to be more involved. I needed to walk precincts and knock doors and make calls and just take that next step in being more involved. When Secretary Clinton lost the race and I saw some of the things that the Trump administration was doing that I just didn't sit well with me. I got involved with local Democratic clubs. So first it was with Democrats for Neighborhood Action in the city of Los Angeles and then, shortly thereafter, it was the Burbank Democratic Club and just getting together endorsing candidates, writing letters, making calls for good pieces of legislation opposing bad legislation, and so between, say, early 2017 and 2020, over the course of four years, that's really what I was spending my time. When I wasn't at work, I was doing everything I could to get good folks elected from school boards all the way to the state assembly in the state Senate.

Speaker 2:

That's okay. And then you gave me the Burbank and you said let me give a Burbank City Council a try. Huh.

Speaker 3:

Well, yeah, basically I mean. So you know, I'll just share a little bit of the biography, and I know you've heard this before. So you know my wife and I moved to Burbank we're involved with Burbank Democratic Club years before. You know, I was walking for a you know measure, I and but point is, as we moved to Burbank, it's where we wanted to call home and then the pandemic hits and then we hear that there's a retirement on council. You know Emily Gable-Luddy at the time and you know I had some folks from the club, from Burbank Democratic Club, that were coming to me and saying you should really run, and I kept thinking of all the reasons not to, including the fact that I was. You know, while I'd been involved, at least in Burbank Democratic politics, I was relatively new to the community, so I kept thinking of the reasons not to, but I still it just still kept eating at me like, okay, but what's the reason to do it?

Speaker 3:

And for me, the reason I ran in 2020 was I saw a community that was hurting. I saw folks that were losing their jobs, folks that were at risk of losing their homes or their housing and, look, a lot of great people on council at the time, but I didn't feel that there was anyone that could speak to my lived experience. Someone who graduated with student loan debt. Someone who, my first job in college, I was picking up trash and bottles and cans to help pay for college. Someone with my professional background. Someone who had a wife and was planning for a young family, who had rented for a long time, can't afford to buy a single family home but bought a nice condominium. What we could afford All these things it just I felt that there was the experience of a younger person trying to make it in this world that just wasn't represented on the council at the time and that's why I ran.

Speaker 2:

Well, you bring up family and stuff and that's how you balance okay. So being an attorney general is number one, a very complicated job you start with okay. And then, of course, now you've got a family, you know now you've got to balance family and job. Now you're running for council and you have the duties of mayor, which are very you know, you have to show up at a lot of events and stuff. So now you've got that, now you're a candidate, you're balancing four things. Is 24 hours a day enough for you? How are you doing all that?

Speaker 3:

You know I've gotten a lot of questions and some criticisms about that, so let me answer it in two parts. I'm gonna answer it, you know, sort of big picture, and then I'll focus on what I'm doing right now in these two and a half months leading up to the election. So the way I have been handling it is two things when you don't sleep much and when you organize everything in your day. I mean from like, like. If you look at my calendar, 6.30 to 7 is waking up and playing with Ellen Aiden, 7 to 8 is handling council emails and you have work, and then you have your lunch break where you're fitting in a meeting. There isn't a lot of free time or gaps in my schedule, but that level of organization helps me do it all. And then, of course, having a day that starts at six and ends at midnight also helps a lot. And to be very fair, craig, I think I also have the youth and the energy that I can cheat a little bit. You know, if I you know, 10 years from now we'll see if I have the stamina to keep doing it. But you know, one thing that folks have asked me is you know right now, in this time as mayor. How am I managing it?

Speaker 3:

I have a very supportive office and management team at DOJ and so I told them late last year I'm gonna go out on a leave of absence, so I'm not working. You know, eight to five at the DOJ, you know, from now until election day. And my job, you know, thanks to them, we'll be waiting there for me when I come back. But I told them I gotta give this election my all, but I'm not going to fail in my duties as mayor. I'm not gonna not show up to ribbon cuttings. I'm not gonna, you know, fail to be prepared for meetings, so luckily they're supportive of that. So right now, being mayor, if you will, is my eight to five job. And outside of that, yes, I'm campaigning and of course I'm saving time for family. But I luckily don't have that DOJ eight to five obligation, at least from now to March 5th, to worry about it.

Speaker 2:

People don't realize that being mayor, being on the privilege city council, is not a full-time job or anything else. It's a very part-time thing but it turns into nearly a full-time job with all the different functions. You know mayoral functions. You have to perform time, so I appreciate that. So let's talk about the campaign trail a little Sure. What have been some of the you've been out there for now? You know probably a month or two. You know Moving around, what are some of the surprises and some of the challenges you've found while the campaign trail right now.

Speaker 3:

You know a couple things, so not to repeat myself, but you know, the first thing and the most obvious is that people don't really realize this election is happening. The other thing that I've noticed is that, you know, a couple years back we made the change as a state to where every presidential year we want to move up our primary to March. People are not used to that. We're waking up in January saying, oh yeah, there'll probably be an election later this year.

Speaker 2:

June usually, but now it's super Tuesday Exactly. Right now it's not very much of a super Tuesday the way the national campaigns have kind of fizzled, but even so, March 5th Absolutely Is our primary.

Speaker 3:

I mean, we're sitting here and it's Friday, february 2nd and then, of course, whenever this gets posted and people start listening, people don't realize next week Monday, tuesday, your ballot's going to start to arrive Like the election is here. So that that's probably been the biggest challenge, you know. The other thing I would just say is that I also sense a lot of burnout. I think that there are folks are. We've had a lot of contentious elections the last few cycles, last several presidential cycles, to say the least, and I think that people what I have found from walking on a lot of doors over the last year believe it or not, I've been running almost a year at this point People are tired of talk.

Speaker 3:

I mean talks great. They want candidates who say the right things and believe the right things, but people want someone who's going to deliver results, and you know much like a business right? This is a results driven industry. You can mean well, but you have to be able to point to a record of accomplishment and you also have to be able to deliver on what you promise. And I think you know the one advantage I have found in the campaign so far is a lot of people are coming to them saying I support this and I support that I'm able to go and say look, this is what I believe and you don't have to take my word for it, for better or worse, whether you vote for me or not. You can look at what I've done with my time on council and you can judge me based on that. But I think my record speaks very well for itself and I'm proud of what my colleagues and I have done.

Speaker 2:

OK, any surprises though.

Speaker 3:

You know, not really. I mean, I mean nothing that I really didn't anticipate.

Speaker 2:

I expected huh.

Speaker 3:

I mean I knew it was going to be a slog. I mean, I guess if I had to pick something I didn't realize, well, I guess I guess. Ok, if there's one surprise, it's this I am kind of shocked that in a lot of so there's seven candidates running and I'm sure your viewers will get to hear most of them, or all of them, to think that I'm the most experienced candidate, at least in terms of, you know, service as a state employee, but also even even elected experience. I'm kind of like, look, I'm the young buck in the room, like how am I the most experienced person in the race? And yet I only have one competitor who's been on her city council for I don't know, like maybe like a year, year and a half. I really expected there'd be a bigger name or someone who'd like served on LA USD school board. Someone else jump in this race. So I think that's been a real shock to me.

Speaker 2:

You see that? Well, let's let's talk a little about A step. Right now you're sitting on a city council. You're one of five votes, but you know you have influence at one fifth has influence and you're able to bring up things and get a lot of things passed. But if you go, if you, when you were elected to the assembly, you become one of 80.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

It's a lot larger body and now trying to get a bill you know passed and everything else is going to be a whole different matter and you have to get, I'm sure, allies and work together and I have Democrats versus Republicans and the entire gamut. What's that experience going to be like?

Speaker 3:

You know I've thought a lot about that and I know we'll probably talk more about this in a few minutes, craig. But to anyone who thinks that it's an easy decision to leave council and run for assembly, I can tell you it's not because you're right. On a council, I mean, you get a chance to be mayor for a little bit.

Speaker 2:

Let me interrupt you for a second and say this because of state law you can't run for two. Your term expires in December or November, I mean, and you can't, really you can't run for two offices at once. So you're kind of all in on the assembly race. You cannot run for Birmingham City Council again at this time during your candidate for assembly. So you're all in on this.

Speaker 3:

You have to be. I mean so just to unpack that quickly, craig, because you're right. So under state law if I make the runoff and I'm not going to piece of wood here if I make the runoff, meaning I'm in the top two, by law I cannot run for that city council seat again. Now, if you run, if you make it to the runoff and you finish second, well you're not an assembly member and you're not a council member. So there is a bit of a risk to all that. But you're right. I mean, I'm all in for the assembly and I think the reason why and just the one thing I want to get out of the way before we get back to your other question there, craig, you know, the one thing I've heard over the course of the last year is a concern or a worry that I'm leaving Burbank. I, this is our home, this is where we're raising our kids, I love this community and I, to anyone who worries that that might be the case, all I can say is I assure you it's not. I'm not leaving Burbank.

Speaker 3:

To me, running for the assembly is even leveling up a further commitment to my community, because the reality and this kind of goes back to your question when you're on the city council, you're one of five votes. You get a chance to be mayor and you're talking about. You have a lot of power, a lot of influence. You get to vote on infrastructure improvements, but there's also a lot of help that we need from the state. I mean, I'll just give you one example. The state legislature passes the annual budget for the entire state. The state legislature funds our schools and as much as we're trying, we're talking about we've talked in the past in Burbank about parcel taxes and bonds the reality is we need to reform how we fund schools and I can't do that at the city council level. And I'll give you one just really granular, specific example we fund our schools based on average daily attendance. So if we have a hundred seats in the schoolhouse, We've got seats, butts in the seats.

Speaker 3:

That's right. I mean, I'm so glad we're talking about this, you and I. You know it better than I do. I mean, so, average day, you have 90 kids that show up for whatever the reason, schools only getting funding for the 90 kids. How is that fair when the school has to plan to provide for all 100 children, whether it's, you know, the staffing, the food, the textbooks, light? I mean, these are fixed expenses. We are setting schools up for failure and the point is we need more help to do that. I think that that's an obvious answer, and I've heard our current elected officials talk about it and say, yes, that makes sense. Still hasn't been done. And the point I'm trying to make is that I'm running for the assembly because our schools need help. That's the only issue I'm running on, but we need someone up there who knows how to get things done and is going to fight to save our schools, for example, and I just feel that I can do that with the knowledge and the experience better than any other candidate.

Speaker 2:

I know that years ago we had when we passed the California lottery, and the big thing about getting it passed was well, the money's going to go to the schools and it's going to be a windfall for schools and it's going to help the schools and the money all. It's been true, the money has all gone to schools. But our government in Sacramento decided well, if they're getting this amount of money brought in by the lottery, we don't need to put that amount of money in anymore. So after it's never increased, it's always stayed the same. It should have remained the same funding by the state and added with the California lottery money, but that didn't happen. So that was a shortcoming on our elected officials at that time and something you might have to look into it if you ever get up there.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I mean with any luck I will. But, yes, no, I appreciate the question and you're right, Craig, I mean it's a trade-off. I mean there's a lot of good that you can do that I am trying to do on the city council, but at the end of the day, folks, another question I get a lot is so what is the legislature, what is the assembly? What does it do? I mean they set all that state funding, from education to infrastructure projects. They also passed laws. I mean you know whether it's saying what is or is not a crime, or how to regulate industries or ensure that our environment environment has preserved and kept clean. I mean there's a there's a lot to do. But, to your point, you are one of 80 assembly members, You're one of 120 total legislators that are up there. So it's hard work because you have to build consensus and build alliances and convince people of your point.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's not going to be easy. Um, if here is a second term, this is going to be a. What are some of the areas in the 44th district that you feel are the most important if you were elected, that you need to focus on?

Speaker 3:

Well, geographically I would say, of course Burbank is always going to be near and dear to my heart. North Glendale is very close and we obviously share a lot in common. But I think this is a majority city of LA district and people always think of Sherman Oaks and Studio City, but I also sorry, I also think of Sunland, tahunga, parts of the district that don't always get the attention.

Speaker 2:

The sexier parts.

Speaker 3:

Right, people know Studio City, they know Toluca Lake, they know Sherman Oaks, but the district also includes Valley Village and Sunland, tahunga and Montrose. These are areas that very much need someone who's going to bring resources back to those areas, to the residents, to the businesses. That's, you know. I think it's what I'm trying to make is it's all important and the person in the seat has to understand that and also be present in the district. You know, one thing I commit to not doing is I'm not going to be that legislator who flies out Sunday night back Friday morning just in district for the weekend. Again, I don't want to put the car before the horse, but if I'm fortunate enough to make it, you know, with two kids at home, I'll be coming back midweek into district to spend time with them. Luckily, I only live 10 minutes door to door to the airport, but I'm going to remain connected to Burbank and to the district at large.

Speaker 2:

Well, it's convenient to have an airport in the city you live in, Very convenient to use and of course now with the new terminal I'm sorry, the replacement terminal dedication. That's going to be a big asset for you.

Speaker 3:

Very much so.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so the election goes well, we're in November, you win, congratulations. Now you walk into Sacramento and they have a new rule, new rule that they just put in. They're going to say it's the first year assembly rule and that means you can bring up any bill you want to bring up, and that bill will be passed with no riders or no attachments or no anything else, but only one subject and one thing only. What would that one bill be that Nick Schultz says I want to make this into law?

Speaker 3:

Oh, craig, you're challenging me there. You know I'm long winded. I have so many things, so many ideas. But okay, one change Single payer, health care.

Speaker 3:

And the reason I say that is because health I really believe in my heart, health care is a human right. The way that we have health care in this country right now and I'm not just saying abstractly, I was on the phone with a voter today telling me that because of the high premiums, they don't have health care insurance it's a choice between getting health care or paying the rent, getting your medication or getting groceries on the table. To me, that is where the world's fourth largest economy we talk all the time about how great California is and I believe we are and yet it's an economy that is leaving way too many people behind. That is not acceptable. Every single person in this state of California should be covered and have access to quality medical care. Period. If I could do one thing, it would be that that's a huge lift, obviously, but I'll just say one other thing on that, craig, because I know you have more you want to ask. You know we've been talking about public option in the past. We've been talking about single payer for a decade. You aren't that much closer to actually doing it.

Speaker 3:

I don't have any illusion that this is going to be an easy lift, but that one of your earlier questions was you know what is it? What have I seen talking to voters? It's that people are saying okay, you all think healthcare is single payer, healthcare is great. How do you actually fund it? How do you actually put it into practice? How do you make it happen?

Speaker 3:

So the point I'm trying to make, craig, is, if I'm lucky enough to get up there, I'm not going up there to have great talking points and to sound good and come back to my district and say I'm talking about single payer healthcare, I'm fighting for it, I want to deliver on single payer healthcare and the only way to do that is to sit every other legislator down, all the interest groups, and say this is what I want to accomplish. This is my plan for getting it done. If you have a better way of doing it, let's talk. But we have to agree on one thing People should not be walking around uninsured in the state. People should never be given what we call a Hobson's choice, that impossible choice to make. I can't go to the doctor today because I got to pay the rent. That is not acceptable.

Speaker 2:

You know, with housing and with gun control and everything else. That was probably not on the tip of my tongue, but it makes a whole lot of sense and I think that we got the quote of Obamacare in our country. That helped a lot of people didn't go far enough. Right, it was a great start and I agree with you, especially with the prices of everything in California, it is tough for healthcare Okay, but that's a fantastic thing. And boom, here's a problem. You know, we've had a nice budget surplus in California for a while now and things went just great. Now, suddenly we're going to be dealing with a deficit and you're going to get your healthcare passed and now you're going to pay for your health pass. What about this deficit? What are your thoughts on all this?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that is a phenomenal question, craig. So you know, to everyone who's listening to this, and to you, craig, I would say this you know this is a different election cycle than we've had in recent memory. In the past we've had assembly members, assembly candidates, Senate candidates who have come and talked about wanting to bring this money back to the district for this, and that we don't have that luxury. Right now we have a. I think last we checked. Well, I know the governor has a different estimate, but the last figure I remember hearing was a $68 billion projected deficit. There could be very tough times ahead for this state the impossible decisions of what gets funded and what doesn't, or what funding, what projects get deferred and what don't.

Speaker 2:

Do you have any idea why we went from a surplus to a deficit? What was the? Was there a main cause of that? I mean, I don't really know why that would have happened.

Speaker 3:

You know I mean. The short answer is that we have a lot of different revenue streams, and some of them are more static or subject to change than others. But what I can tell you is that in Burbank we have a fantastic resource and Jennifer Becker, who's able to finance, forecast what our revenue stream is going to be. I do feel like the legislature has to own this a little bit more. You know, to go from a historic surplus to a deficit so large I mean somebody. I understand there's an unpredictability to all of it, but at the end of the day, we need to be doing a better job of being more accurate and even conservative in our forecasting measures, because this isn't good. You know, we have money that was doled out for all these projects. Now we're having to claw it back or talk about deferred infrastructure investment.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, because, as you said example in Burbank you know we faced years ago a huge pension problem and if we would not have gotten ahead of it and started to fund it, you know in advance, a lot of cities went bankrupt and have a hard time even counties went bankrupt at a hard time recovering from that. So we had the forethought of a city to take that and our budget is balanced fine and we have a small surplus ourselves here. What is it that you think we should look at for that? What would you change to try to? Because you're right, politicians sometimes, and in all honesty, I think the reason we got into a problem with our pensions in Burbank is we had council members who wanted to give raises to everybody all the time in the public sector and then thinking about 20 years down the line when they would go to retire, and by then they're off the council and they're not the ones to have to worry about how to pay for it. So that's, how do you write those checks? They have to cash later.

Speaker 3:

So what? I would say this would be my approach. If lucky enough to represent you in the assembly, I'm not going. I would not be going to the assembly to turn around and run for LA city council like a former school board member did. No disrespect, but that's not my end game. I'm not running for the seat to run for something else. I've been very happy and I've enjoyed every minute on the city council. If I go to the assembly, I'm going there to do that job for up to 12 years, which is the term limit that we have under state law. You can't be in the assembly of the Senate more than 12 years.

Speaker 3:

The point the reason I bring that up is because I think our job is to not just think about the here and the now, but the long-term health of our state. And so just because you have all this money right now doesn't mean you should spend all of it. I would take a similar approach to what we've done in Burbank. We've taken some of our one-time available money in our recurring surplus and we've said let's invest it and proactively paying down our unfunded pension liability, because that actually has cost savings now but it improves our long-term financial health.

Speaker 3:

The other thing I would say is that when I took office in 2020, as you well know, craig, and I know you reported on it we had even after, you know, after the sales tax increase we had because of COVID-19, a pretty large deficit, a recurring deficit in the city. The way we managed out of that is we didn't go and find a new tax. We were just very good about putting in place cost savings measures, waiting to fill vacancies. When we asked more, we went. We asked our employees to do more with less, but we managed through that and look at where we are today we have a surplus forecasted for the foreseeable future. I think that that's what we need to do at the state level.

Speaker 2:

I think that a lot of the candidates really don't have that experience, know what it's like to have to deal with a budget and with the labor unions and everything else. Because, you're right, our labor unions nicely didn't like don't take pay raise like that. Since then the new contract negotiations, you've now rewarded them for their you know their patients and everything else, and I know our firefighters are more than ecstatic with you know, with their contract. So but I think a lot of our, a lot of the candidates right now, like you said, very little experience and when it comes to things like budgeting, budgeting is not sexy, budgeting is kind of a boring thing, but budgeting is what makes sausage work, you know.

Speaker 3:

Well, absolutely. And you know, Craig, I'll tell you one other thing. A lot of folks will come in and talk about how they'd manage a budget. I'll just tell you right off the bat there are things that we can talk about cost savings, deferring, you know, infrastructure expenditures right now. The one thing I will never support is a budget that cuts programming and critical funding to those most vulnerable in our community, those most at risk of falling into homelessness, those who need the help the most. I'm talking about our kids, I'm talking about people with disabilities, I'm talking about our seniors. We can talk about deferring high-speed rail. I mean, you know, we can talk about deferring some things, but we have to understand that those who need the social safety net right now more than ever, who are most at risk in our community, we cannot cut another dollar from education, the arts, you name it. That's what I wanna be there in Sacramento to fight for to ensure that we're not cutting another dollar from our students, for example.

Speaker 2:

I think it's gonna be tough because right now you've got a high-speed rail line that's probably one third funded and done, and if we were to ban, that's gonna sit there like a sore thumb for years and years to come. But you're right about when it comes to healthcare and housing. As we all know, you know and people, when you see those bills, you see an A-B something or an S-B something. Those are assembly bills and Senate bills. So that's where these laws are coming from that we're dealing with Now.

Speaker 2:

Let's be honest we got caught off guard by SB9, senate bill number nine. It was passed in 2017, and it wasn't until about 2019 or so that a developer came in here and used it and we were kind of caught off guard. So, if you make it to an assembly, how can you help? Well, if anything, how can you help cities like Burbank, small cities, when it comes to some of these state regulations? Either give them a heads up or look at it from their point of view. Also, I think that you'll be more unique to as, coming from a small city, to say, hey, this is how small cities work and this is how we could consider, because sometimes one bill fits all is not the case, as we found in SB9.

Speaker 3:

You know. So let me talk about just my general approach. I think that that is a strength I would have as a candidate. I have been on a city council. I've also been on a planning commission, not in Burbank but when I was living in city of LA. I was on one of the planning commissions, to your point when a bill let's say I'm in the assembly and there's a new housing bill that comes up. You know, obviously I have connections with Burbank city staff and Burbank electeds. But I think I would have a duty to also communicate to the electeds and staff in Glendale and to the council districts that LA city council districts to overlap with this assembly seat. You know, and that's proactive leadership that's talking about.

Speaker 3:

Here's this bill, here's what Senator So-and-So is proposing. I wanna understand how this could impact you and I think that having someone from Burbank who has seen what's worked and maybe some of the unintended consequences of legislation whether it's housing or related to any other issue, someone who has served in local government, I think understands who to ask and where to go to really inform themselves. And you know the other thing I'll just say, craig, maybe I should have mentioned this earlier about you know when you were saying, like what are the surprising things? What have you found out? You know, it's not just this seat, but as you look around across the state, a lot of first time candidates, folks without a lot of experience, run for the state legislature and then they run for something else.

Speaker 3:

I'm kind of going in reverse in a lot of ways, but I think that that's actually refreshing because I have seen how state laws and any issue actually impact locally, and that's why I wanna go up there, because I think there's a really intelligent way to design legislation that helps, you know, local governments accomplish our shared goals, like getting to 100% renewable, clean energy. I mean, at the end of the day, we all wanna get there. The question is, how do you get there? And also, how do you get there without crushing ratepayers with all the increases that we're going to need to build all of that infrastructure? And I think that you've had a legislature that thinks very big picture, top line. We have to do this. What we need a lot more of is that granular detail, the real sweat equity of saying and this is how we achieve that goal and do it in a way that is equitable, you know, socioeconomically.

Speaker 2:

I think that's a great point because I think cities are, sometimes we're all lumped together and Burbank is not Sonoma and and you know Sonoma is not Eureka, and you know there every city has its own unique characteristics and Sometimes that put one rule for every city. Sometimes, you know, I think there always needs to be a clause or something to help a city Negotiate it. I know Beverly Hills, I think, just got Slapped for their SB 9 housing problem and are no longer allowed to have any commercial Building in there in their city. It has to only be housing now. So you know, that's for a city like Beverly Hills. That's a very unique city also. So they're going. You think it's tough in Burbank thinking about Beverly Hills right now, but yeah, go ahead respond.

Speaker 3:

Oh no, I would just say just two quick points on that, craig. So you know, first of all, to your point, I think that representing this district effectively means Understanding the how unique Burbank is, but also, you know, understanding how unique Glendale is and the different you have to. You have to represent and really get on an area like Van Eisen.

Speaker 2:

Schirmann Oaks are part of a larger city, Not just their own little. They don't make their own decisions. They're part of a larger structure there too.

Speaker 3:

That's right. And yet you still have to understand the nuances of Studio City, your Valley Village, right? I mean, it's just, it's all of it. But the other thing I would just say just very quickly for the sake of time. But on the housing front, one of the reasons that I'm running is that I see an affordability crisis looming in our district and across the state. For the most part, wages are remaining largely stagnant in comparison to the very high cost of living here. That includes high rents, high home prices, high gas At the pump, high cost of groceries, you name it. Point is, it's never been harder than ever to just make it here. People are working multiple jobs and still barely making ends meet. So it's To solve the problem.

Speaker 3:

You really got to look at both ends of the equation. You got to recruit and retain high quality, good-paying jobs here, and that's why we need to do things like making the California film industry tax credit program, which has been a huge success, making it a permanent fixture, not extending it every five, ten years, but making it a permanent fixture of our economic development strategy. That would be one thing, but on the other end, you got to tackle housing affordability. We do need more housing. We should be embracing opportunities to grow in the places that make a lot of sense, like the old Ikea location. It is perfect for housing and it's close to jobs and transit.

Speaker 3:

And then you know, at the same time, we also have to embrace the fact that even if we add all this housing, it doesn't get added and open its doors overnight. So what do we do to protect our tenants, to prevent people from being displaced from the communities that they've long called home? It's an all-of-the-above approach, but really, I mean right now, if I, if there's one thing I would tell you, it's across the district, people are feeling the pain. I mean, they're feeling the high cost of everything. It's, it's crushing the middle class and that's an issue I want to solve.

Speaker 2:

It's interesting that you know. I watch national news every night and they're saying well, gas prices now have leveled off at $3.45. I go what I wish gas price not here $3.45, you know.

Speaker 2:

so we're always paying a dollar more than anywhere else in the country. You know, I mean a lot of it's our taxes and everything else for our roads and all the things we have on there. You know, I mean I think the gas companies aren't clue. I really believe they're on collusion to set a price because you know, all of a sudden a Bomb goes off in in some country and gas goes up next day because of concerns of oil prices. I mean, how does it something that goes on halfway across the world affect prices the next day at the gas pump? But that's but that's adding. You know California needs to look at down the line. That's another one of those issues for the high cost of living in California Especially, we have all these refineries here in our own state. Yeah, that's a, that's a whole nother issue, which I will Say for next time with you.

Speaker 3:

Well, I'll let you get to your next question, but you know one. One final thing, craig. I mean people wonder why I care passionately about this issue. It's because, I mean, look selfishly as a parent, but look even as a council member. I've heard it from people in our community it is so darn expensive here that kids and grandkids can't afford to grow up where they live. That's sad to me and I worry about what kind of job my kids might get one day, or where they could afford to live. I mean, these are not theoretical issues to me. These are issues that I want to tackle for their benefit and for the benefit of all of us.

Speaker 3:

Right now and there is and I guess the point I'm trying to make is there's a lot of great people running in this race, and I don't think any of them had a bad intention. I think that, frankly, each one, each one of us, could probably do a good job. The issue is, and the reason why I'm in this race, is that we don't have any more time for on-the-job training. We need people that are there day one, ready to start finding solutions, because more time that goes on, the longer we wait for these solutions to arrive. People are leaving California. These problems are getting worse day by day and I'm not gonna sit here and tell you I have every answer, but I'm not gonna take the status quo for the answer. You know we need to be pushing the envelope on health care, education, the environment, housing, job creation, retention, all of it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, well, a lot of the joint lately is they're trying to try to kill prop 13 and a lot of people being affected by what got voted on property nine before. So I mean, if I wasn't lucky enough to have this, keep my my Parents home here, which I inherited, and I still prop 13 tax this year, I couldn't afford to live in Burbank anymore, or probably in California. So a lot of that, yeah, that's, that's up to good legislators too, correct? We're about done here, sure, and I've loved this. I I've thrown every every question I can think of. You come back with great answers and you're on top of the ball. So what I like to do at the end is give you a couple minutes here to Speak your piece to the, to the voters, and tell them why is it, when they walk in that little voting booth and they pick up that little Pencil to punch that ballot, why should they punch Nick Schultz for assembly? Member of the 44th district.

Speaker 3:

You know there's so much to say, but let me just say right out the gate that serving on the Burbank City Council has been the honor of a lifetime and the thought of it coming to an end really does make me sad, because I mean, I've loved every minute of the experience. But I decided to run for assembly because we've talked about so many issues high cost of housing, stagnant wages and Entertainment industry that's against the ropes. Rising crime rates I know we didn't get into that, but all these issues right. And at the end of the day, like I've said a couple times now, I looked in my heart, I looked at the field of candidates and I asked myself Do I think that there's someone better, more prepared, more ready to go day one to tackle these issues and to get good results? And the only reason I threw my hat in the ring is because these issues matter to me. They're affecting every Burbanker and so this is not me Leaving Burbank behind. It's me saying I love this community. I want to serve it as best I can. You got, I got four amazing colleagues on the council and there at least three of them are gonna continue to be there next year. We need someone fighting for us in Sacramento as these decisions are made, whether it's the budget, environmental law, housing and I'm prepared to do that. You know, the other thing I the question I get a lot of times is okay, you know you're potentially leaving for the assembly.

Speaker 3:

What did you do with your time on council? I mean, what is your track record of accomplishment? Why should I vote for you? You know, what I would say is that I'm really proud of what my colleagues you know, former and current and I have done in the three plus years I've had on the council. We inherited a budget deficit. We turn that around in about a little less than two years. We passed a greenhouse gas reduction plan, an updated one that does takes the theory of let's get to 100% clean energy and actually charted this out. This is what Burbank needs to do, step by step, actually achieve our climate goals. In terms of housing, we've entitled over a thousand units of housing in the last three years. That's more units of housing, including units earmarked for low and very low income, than we had approved in the previous 20 years.

Speaker 3:

Homelessness, based on the 2020 numbers, at a time when homelessness was on the rise across Los Angeles County by a 4. I think 08 percent. We had an almost 10 percent drop in our unhoused population Because of the things we're doing, like the safe storage program and the streets plus outreach program in downtown Burbank. I and then I would say the one last thing on top of all of that, and even inheriting the budget problem, we continue to have a safe community with top-notch police, fire and emergency medical services in the region. I mean, nobody compares to us.

Speaker 3:

So I look back in the last three years and I think you know, look, have we done everything I wanted to do? Know, there's still more I want to do in terms of preventing gun violence, but I am very proud of all that we have accomplished together and we still have a whole year ahead of us to do a whole lot more. But at the end of the day, I think it's that experience you know, having inherited a bad situation, no other candidate can say they took office at the height of the pandemic, when people didn't know when or if or how we would reopen our economy and get back to normal. I've weathered that storm and I feel that all of that experience Prepares me to not just be a good advocate for Burbankers but to be ready to go day one, and so the very last thing I'll say is this Greg, if I'm lucky enough to be elected to the seat to serve, I am a part of this community.

Speaker 3:

I'm not going anywhere. I love Burbank, my kids are here, my family's here, our home is here, and so I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that the legislation coming out of Sacramento Reflects our values, fits our interests, and and I'm going to go up there as a representative for Burbank, of course, but for representatives for this entire district I'm going to give it my all for as long as the voters will have.

Speaker 2:

Well, I'm going to say this I you know, I applaud, I applaud you 100%. The media and the politicians have always sometimes had a contentious relationship. I think our job at my Burbank is kind of be a watchdog sometimes too. But in the three years that you've been on the council, you've never dodged a question, you've never not communicated. We've had our disagreements and you know you have your point of view, I have mine. We talk very civilly about it and understand each other, and I appreciate, as a member of the media, that you've always worked with us and explained things and never hidden from us.

Speaker 3:

Well, thank you, craig, and I know we're at time. I just want to leave your, your listeners, with this. If you're still on the fence, or if you want to learn more Couple things, you can go to vote. Nick Schultz calm, you can go there. You can read about my background, things We've talked about today. You can also read in detail my policy ideas, my proposals, all the things we didn't get to talk about. They're all up there and if you have any questions at all, you can. You can text me or you can call me. I'm at 818 806 9392 or you can shoot me an email. Nick at vote. Nick Schultz calm. You have a little over a month, or about a month, I guess, to get your ballot in, and the point I'm trying to make is, if you have a question, if there's something I can answer for you to help you make your mind up and decide whether Nick Schultz is my guy or not, I'm there and I'm available to answer those questions.

Speaker 2:

Why no? I got the text today from the, the Registrar, saying you're balancing the mail, so I got a text today. They're coming. That's they're out there. Nick, I want to thank you very much for being on the show. I think it's really important for people to know who you are and we invite any candidate who's gonna appear on the Burbank ballot to. You're welcome to send us an email and say I want to be on the show and we'll be glad to have you on. You know it doesn't matter what party are in or what race you're in if you're on the ballot in Burbank, and that's a An issue for us. Anyhow, craig Sherwood saying thank you very much and we will talk to you next time.

Speaker 1:

My Burbank talks would like to thank all of my Burbank's advertisers for their continued support. Her bank, water and power to Shimano real estate group. You me credit you. Burbank Chamber of Commerce, game credit Union, providence, st Joseph Medical Center, community, chevrolet, media City Credit Union, ucla Health, aquila's Burbank Logix Credit Union, hill Street Cafe, hurtain Escobar wealth management and the UPS store on 3rd Street.