Wolf Croskey

NAACP & League of Women Voters Forum

Seven candidates. One table. 45 seconds an answer.

The East County branch of the NAACP and the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley sat every Pittsburg City Council candidate at the same table, asked the same six questions in random order, and ran a timer. Contra Costa Television recorded it. Watch the whole hour, jump to any question to compare every candidate, or press one button and hear only my answers.

Want to see how I answered the questions residents themselves voted on? Watch my Pittsburg Asks interview. For the long version, the 90-minute Contra Costa News podcast.

Watch it: the whole forum, or just my answers

7candidates
6questions
45sper answer
8 minof Wolf, total

The full forum, question by question:

Just my answers, back to back

Eight segments, about eight minutes, nobody else's answers in between. Press play and the video skips from one to the next on its own.

▶ Play just my answers

  1. Opening statement 1:03
  2. Top three issues 0:53
  3. Working with the schools 0:53
  4. Heated council meetings 1:04
  5. Keeping businesses here 0:56
  6. Success after year one 0:52
  7. Safe policing 0:49
  8. Closing statement 1:07

The six questions, and where I stand

What are the top three issues facing Pittsburg right now, and what is your plan for the top one?

Question 1 · asked of every candidate

Grow the tax base. Decide on data centers together. Know if we're winning.

First, grow the tax base by filling our empty commercial space, not by raising your taxes. Second, give the public real time to decide whether we want data centers at all. Third, build feedback loops that work for residents. Any sports fan can look at a scoreboard and know who's winning. This city can't, and I'd work with the rest of the council to fix that.

▶ My answer (16:27) · Every candidate (14:06)

How do you plan to engage the school district and the local schools as a council member?

Question 2 · asked of every candidate

Council doesn't run the schools. So be a real partner.

The city has no jurisdiction over the schools, so it has to be a partnership. Keep the city-school 2x2 committee and remove the barriers that keep educators from doing what they do best. My own passion is Black Diamond continuation high school, where there is untapped opportunity. My dad worked in continuation schools and so have I. I have six kids in Pittsburg schools and one at Los Medanos College, so this is personal.

▶ My answer (21:48) · Every candidate (20:40)

Recent council meetings have been contentious. How would you separate personal attacks from valid community concerns?

Question 3 · asked of every candidate

People get angry when things are done to them, not with them.

Most frustration comes from feeling that something is being done to you instead of with you. The fix is to make residents part of the process and keep them informed about what's happening in their city. A council member is an agent for the residents. As a real estate broker I live by fiduciary duty, and I'd put systems in place so residents can check that their agents are doing what they were asked to do.

▶ My answer (27:56) · Every candidate (27:24)

What are one or two things you believe are key to bringing and keeping businesses in Pittsburg?

Question 4 · asked of every candidate

I'm the only one at this table who has already done it.

For four years I've volunteered my time helping businesses get through city hall: a restaurant that needed its parking lot approved, a bakery that got the runaround, and more. That's a track record, not a promise. Businesses don't stay open late because people aren't spending money. Incentives haven't worked here, and that's documented. Count the jobs local businesses actually create, then roll up our sleeves and help them navigate city hall.

▶ My answer (39:25) · Every candidate (34:07)

What does success look like after your first year in office?

Question 5 · asked of every candidate

Restore “we.” Pick three goals. Ask: are we winning?

I heard a lot of “I” tonight, and most of the solutions offered will take years. The first thing I'd do is restore “we.” This is our town and we have the answers. I'd work with the council to narrow the city's goals to three, because more than that is unattainable, and make sure every resident, whatever their age or language, can go to one place and answer the question: are we winning as a city? Everything else is buzzwords.

▶ My answer (45:06) · Every candidate (40:26)

What does safe policing mean to you, and is there special training you believe Pittsburg needs?

Question 6 · asked of every candidate

Every resident has to feel safe calling 911.

I'm genuinely shocked the city hasn't started implementing SB 580, which sets a January 1, 2027 deadline for how police departments interact with ICE. If someone breaks into your house or your car and you're afraid to call the police, that person is still in the neighborhood committing crime. Our police chiefs say they don't work with ICE, and that's fine, so make it a policy or an ordinance so every resident feels safe working with the department. And keep PAL going.

▶ My answer (51:03) · Every candidate (46:51)

Co-hosted by the East County branch of the NAACP and the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley. Recorded September 23, 2026 and published September 30, 2026 by Contra Costa Television, in full and unedited. Summaries are drawn only from what I said on camera. Times are approximate.

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