Know Your Candidate: Tom van Overbeek runs for Chico City Council

CHICO, Calif. — Tom van Overbeek is a retired former tech businessman running for city council in Chico.

Van Overbeek, a Modesto native, moved to Chico 15 years ago and owns Whole Body Fitness, a local gym off of Highway 32. According to his Facebook page, Van Overbeek has the support of former Chico Police Chief Matt Madden, and city Councilmember Mike O’Brien.

“I think I can make this a better place to live,” Van Overbeek said. “I love Chico. I have an enormous amount of experience in dealing with complex organizations and budgets. I have a lot of experience in dealing with hard issues—and we have some hard issues in Chico.”

Two major issues, Van Overbeek says, are homelessness and police staffing in the city.

Van Overbeek called the “George Floyd protests” a deterrent for potential police officers and says stories of police heroism “need to be told.” The Chico business owner also has the support of Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea, according to his website, and is on the Chico Police Chief’s Advisory Board.

KRCR met with Van Overbeek at Bidwell Park early Friday morning.

On homelessness: “People camping in our public spaces is a disaster for the city and it’s a disaster for them,” Van Overbeek said. “Homeless people living in tents die at five times the rate of the general population. It’s not compassionate to let people sleep in a tent.”

“There are some people who don’t want to go to the shelters. But the public spaces belong to the public. The homeless either need to go to the shelter or the [city mandated homeless] campground, or they need to leave town. It’s not acceptable for them to be camped along bike trails and in the park, because it deprives those areas from being used by the rest of the population.”

Ultimately, Van Overbeek wanted to emphasize the need to work across the aisle.

“I think our politics today, unfortunately have been characterized by people focusing on where they disagree rather than finding common ground,” he finished, “and so one of the experiences I have from my business experience is building consensus and getting difficult groups of people together to all pull in the same direction.”

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