From dark streets in south Merced to whether a massive data center belongs in the city at all, candidates for Merced City Council Districts 2 and 6 laid out competing visions during a forum on Thursday night.
Three city council seats are up for election this year: District 2, which includes southwest Merced; District 4, the northeastern part of Merced; and District 6, which encompasses the furthest north point of the city and UC Merced.
Four candidates took the stage at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center. Running for District 2, two candidates joined the forum: incumbent Yang Pao Thao appeared alongside Felipe Rojas-Flores, a staff attorney with California Rural Legal Assistance.
For the District 6 race, two of the three candidates participated, including incumbent Fue Xiong and Yader Zeledon, a business owner and real estate agent. John Bliss, a high school educator who also is running for the District 6 seat, did not attend.
Councilmember Shane Smith represents District 4 and is running unopposed.
Representatives with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California’s Merced chapter, one of the event organizers, told The Merced FOCUS that every candidate was invited. Reporter Christian De Jesus Betancourt, with The Merced FOCUS, moderated the discussion.
How should Merced spend its money?
When candidates were asked where the city should put its money, south Merced quickly took center stage.
Infrastructure topped Thao’s list: better roads, sidewalks, lighting, parks and safer routes to schools and businesses.
For Rojas-Flores, the issue came down to what residents see on their own streets. A voter told him some areas are so dark that drivers may not see pedestrians, while others raised concerns about speeding and drainage.
“It’s not just a matter of paving roads, but also updating the infrastructure that slows down drivers,” Rojas-Flores said.
Housing was another priority. Xiong argued Merced does not build enough housing for low-income residents alongside market-rate developments and called for financial assistance when tenants are forced to relocate because of code violations.
Zeledon took the budget question in another direction, focusing on dependable funding for city services since Merced faces budget challenges.
Creating jobs and keeping talent at home
The conversation shifted to youth jobs with Xiong, who also took a swipe at his council colleagues along the way.
“This past budget in June and July, I motioned for us to add more money to our youth job program, in which the rest of the council just weren’t in favor of that,” Xiong said. “So obviously we got nothing done in that aspect.”
For Rojas-Flores, supporting youth jobs meant bringing more businesses to south Merced and creating jobs closer to home. He brought up the neighborhood’s long-running push for a grocery store, while warning against announcing projects before they actually happen.
“I’ve seen that happen a couple of times, and I’m still wondering where that Chick-fil-A is,” Rojas-Flores said.
Thao focused on connecting young people with training, highlighting a recent partnership with Merced College bringing resources to south Merced, something he said he never had growing up there.
“A lot of youth, they want to work, but they just don’t know where to look for it,” Thao said.
Zeledon pushed paid apprenticeships, job training and partnerships between schools and employers, while Xiong returned to the city’s youth jobs program.
“Great ideas don’t mean anything without money,” Xiong said. “I think it’s important that we put money into our youth jobs program.”
When the conversation widened to economic development, candidates tackled another familiar problem of Merced educating people who often end up building their careers somewhere else.
Rojas-Flores recalled watching classmates leave after graduating from UC Merced and said the city should create more opportunities for graduates and longtime residents to build businesses and careers here.
Xiong pushed for keeping more city dollars local through Merced businesses and credit unions. Zeledon focused on faster permits and infrastructure to attract higher-paying jobs, while Thao saw potential for new businesses in District 2, particularly around the airport.
When asked how to keep young people out of the criminal justice system, candidates largely came back to mentorship, after-school programs, sports and counseling.
Xiong also stressed the need to ask young people what they want and invest in the careers they’re interested in pursuing.
Housing and displacement
On housing, candidates wrestled with two connected problems – making Merced affordable and making sure longtime residents can stay as the city grows.
Rojas-Flores argued affordable housing should not be concentrated in south Merced and called for programs that help renters become homeowners. Thao pushed for housing at different price points and more state and federal resources for lower-income homebuyers, while Zeledon focused on faster permitting and alternatives such as tiny homes.
Xiong boiled his approach down to three words: preservation, production and protection.
“You can’t really do one without the others,” Xiong said.
Previous pushes for inclusionary zoning and legal counsel for tenants went nowhere at the council level, Xiong said, and he criticized what he called a “watered down” repeat housing code violators program. He also backed rent stabilization as one way to protect longtime residents from displacement.
Rojas-Flores focused instead on homeownership, saying new developments should give longtime Merced residents a better shot at buying homes, rather than competing with outside investors.
What should Merced do about homelessness?
When it came to the city’s unhoused population, Rojas-Flores emphasized prevention and shelter space, while Thao and Zeledon called for stronger coordination between the city, county and community organizations.
Zeledon also pushed for public reports tracking where homelessness dollars go and whether people who receive housing remain housed.
Xiong kept his answer simple.
“Housing first. Let’s work on that,” Xiong said.
He argued that mental health care and other services alone do not address the lack of housing. He also criticized Merced’s anti-camping ordinance and said the city should provide public restrooms and showers that unhoused residents can use.
Would they support a data center?
When the candidates were asked what standards they would require before supporting a large data center in Merced, Xiong’s answer was immediate.
“We shouldn’t have it,” he said.
Xiong cited the amount of water and electricity data centers can consume and said there were no standards that would change his position.
Zeledon was also opposed based on what he currently knows, saying he would need assurances that Merced’s water supply would be protected, companies would pay for needed infrastructure and residents would not be left with additional costs.
“Right now, I’m not convinced that the large data center would benefit our city,” Zeledon said.
Thao was more open to the idea, arguing that the city should evaluate an actual proposal before making a decision and consider whether a data center could benefit Merced’s technology and infrastructure in the long run.
“We shouldn’t just say no to something,” Thao said. “We need to be able to assess things.”
Rojas-Flores also landed on “no” — for now. He cited a large data center built in Louisiana, where he attended law school, and said residents in a nearby community experienced problems with their water and rising utility costs. He worried a similar project in Merced could strain the city’s water and power systems and drive up utility costs.
“For the time being, no data centers,” Rojas-Flores said, though he left room to reconsider if the facts change.
Safer streets
Transportation brought the forum right back to Merced’s streets. Candidates backed improvements ranging from sidewalks and crosswalks to protected bike lanes and better lighting.
For Zeledon, the issue was personal. His grandmother was killed by a vehicle while crossing G Street four years ago. He called for identifying Merced’s most dangerous crossings and prioritizing better lighting, clearer crosswalks and safer sidewalks.
“When I talk about safe transportation, I think about the person crossing that road and the family waiting for them to come home,” Zeledon said.
Rojas-Flores recalled seeing a mother pushing her child in a stroller in the street because there was no sidewalk while he was out speaking with a voter. He called for more sidewalks and curb extensions, which can shorten crossing distances and slow drivers.
“We have the solutions,” Rojas-Flores said. “It’s time to put the money where our words are.”
Thao drew on his experience growing up in south Merced, calling for investments for better sidewalks and crosswalks and safer bike lanes, including along Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
Supporting Merced’s immigrant communities
Language access was one area where the candidates largely agreed. Thao, who described himself as a refugee from Laos, called for translation services that reach beyond City Hall.
Rojas-Flores also pushed for interpreters and translators to help residents navigate government, housing and other services, while Zeledon focused on connecting residents facing language barriers with education and licensing resources.
Xiong went further, calling for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and saying local law enforcement should not work with the federal agency.
He also revisited a welcoming city resolution he said failed to gain support from his council colleagues.
“Didn’t go anywhere for council,” Xiong said. “It sounds like a repeated story.”
Parks, council disagreements and climate change
When the conversation moved to Merced’s parks, the question quickly became: who is going to pay to maintain them?
Rojas-Flores said Merced has been successful at finding grants to build parks but needs recurring money to maintain them. Thao supported continued city investment alongside state and federal funding, while Zeledon highlighted shade, tree maintenance, water leaks and solar canopies.
For Xiong, the question opened up his relationship with his council colleagues.
“I’ve often been the sole dissenting vote on council,” Xiong said. “The mayor says I need to learn to play ball to get things done. I disagree.”
Xiong rejected what he described as “backroom” deals and argued that Merced leaders simply do not put enough money into parks and recreation.
On climate change, candidates turned to trees, shade, water conservation, transportation and energy efficiency.
Xiong focused on the environmental impact of large industries. Zeledon returned to shade, water leaks and solar canopies. Thao said businesses and individuals both have a role to play, while Rojas-Flores emphasized trees, public transportation and preparing Merced for extreme heat.
Bringing City Hall to residents
Candidates also agreed that information from City Hall needs to reach residents instead of waiting for residents to find it.
Rojas-Flores called for more town halls and neighborhood outreach. Thao emphasized making council members accessible, while Zeledon suggested working with schools, colleges and community organizations.
Xiong took aim at City Hall itself, including lengthy council agendas that can be difficult to navigate.
“If we continue to expect community members to show up to where we are, there’s not going to be a good turnout,” Xiong said.