Know the Candidates: Redlands City Council

REDLANDS>> The highly anticipated Election Day is coming and while many are heading to the booth to vote for their pick of presidential candidate, residents will also be choosing their candidates for Redlands City Council. This election season, nine candidates are running including Pat Gilbreath, incumbent, John James, appointed incumbent; Kaiser Ahmed, retired educator; Dustin Foster, transportation planner; Andy Hoder, retired airplane pilot; Ken Hunter, real estate broker; Ivan Ramirez, San Bernardino County Analyst; Mike Saifie, CEO and business owner and Eddie Tejeda, special education teacher. During a recent forum at City Hall, seven of the nine candidates met to answer questions so residents could learn more about each candidate. Hunter and Ramirez were not present for the forum. Gilbreath, a retired accountant and Redlands City Council Incumbent, was first elected to the council in 1993 and has served for many years since then. At the forum, Gilbreath spoke of some of the accomplishments the city has made including having a balanced budget and stopped spending one-time money. She said the council is looking at obtaining land to find adequate placement for police and fire. Gilbreath said public safety is the number one function of city government and allocation of the budget is important to maintain public safety. She also mentioned the importance of moving forward on the Redlands Mall and "putting the owner’s feet to the fire." “Another term on the city council will allow me to continue as the council’s ‘budget watchdog’ and use fiscally conservative practices to help guide the city through its current balanced budget,” she said in the voter guide. James, a long-time Redlands resident and Redlands City Council Incumbent, was appointed to the council to finish out the term Pete Aguilar. During the forum, he said he understands budgets and operations, economic development and public safety and that the vision is to create a future with the foundations of our past. If elected, James said he will assure that yearly budgets are balanced, ensure there is a high priority for fire, police and emergency services, make downtown more vibrant and create more revenue for the city. He said it is also important to have economic development to create a business atmosphere. “With my 45 years of business leadership experience, I will continue to bring business sense to the fiscal leadership of our city, protecting and preserving Redlands’ Citrus Groves, Hillside Memorial Park, the Redlands Municipal Airport and the public utilities such as water, wastewater and solid waste operations,” James said. Ahmed, retired educator, said public safety is an issue he is bothered by. During the forum, he said there should be an increase in the citizen volunteer force and more hired help. Ahmed also said he feels that small businesses are not getting enough breaks and one of his goals would be to give tax breaks to those businesses. Other goals he said he has includes keeping water usage and rates low, having an efficient and accountable workforce and ensuring the community is engaged with the city. “We must provide citizens with equal opportunity, freedom to pursue their dream, and an environment conducive to financial success, and responsible citizenship,” Ahmed said on his website. When asked about the homeless population at the forum, Ahmed said the mental health department from the county should get involved with those who are homeless, local restaurants can give to soup kitchen and the city can work together as a community. Foster, a transportation and community planner for CalTrans, said he can use his experience and education of analyzing public policy and is motivated to contribute his experience to the city. Some of the factors he said are important to him include openness, transparency and equality for all residents, sustainability, prioritizing development near Downtown Redlands, traffic safety, maintaining the historic heritage and having the youth engaged with the city. Foster said there is a pressing need for infrastructure and that he supports the railroad project. “Ultimately, my goal is to foster community in the city of Redlands because community is necessary to sustain the wonderful quality of life that is offered here,” Foster said on his website. Hoder, a long-time Redlands resident, spent time in the army and later worked as an airline pilot. He said he has a lot of ideas for the city and that it is important to be a voice of dissent rather than a voice of discord. Some of the goals he said he has include public safety being a top priority, working on the getting the Redlands Mall productive and maintaining the tax structure. In the voter guide, Hoder speaks of some of the problems Redlands has faced such the preservation of land and infrastructure the city is lacking. “Decorations for freeway off ramps while our own streets are in desperate need of repaving? Land zones as Agricultural Preserve being given to out-of-town-developers? That’s not preservation,” Hoder said in the voter guide. Hunter, a real estate broker at Re/Max Advantage in Redlands and Re/Max Lakeside in Lake Arrowhead, is also hoping to get a seat on the council. Hunter was born in Florida but moved to California when he was 10 years old. In 2010, Hunter ran for California State Assembly but lost to Tim Donnelly. According to his website, Hunter said he is a taxpayer advocate and activist for “commonsense government." Hunter said he has fought against the water rate increase and the destruction of the groves at Prospect Park. In the voter guide, he states he does not believe there is a need to fundamentally change Redlands with high density mixed use zoning. “Let’s not follow our neighbor into municipal bankruptcy,” Hunter said in the guide. “We must not increase our debt. Let’s not urbanize our great town into just another soulless ghetto.” Ramirez has worked as an analyst with the County of San Bernardino since 2011 and said he understands the importance of development and the role it plays in making Redlands a sustainable economy. Some of the goals he said he has is to support sensible development, providing alternative forms of transportation, work for affordable housing and improve the quality of life. On his website, Ramirez states panhandling and homelessness have become problems in Redlands and while the city encourages residents to support local organizations that provide services to the needy and homeless, he said he does not believe the city is using the campaign to its fullest. “I would like to see the city expand on this campaign and take the matter of educating the public about the nature of panhandling seriously,” Ramirez said. “By educating the public, we can help discourage panhandling by those who are not truly in need or even homeless. I would also like to see the city seek and encourage partnerships with local businesses in order to create measures that improve public safety.” Saifie said city government should run like a business by leaning in its expenditures, expenses and optimum benefits and services to the citizens. He also said public safety is his highest priority. He spoke about crimes such as home invasions being a problem and said it is important to invest the city's resources in the best way without raising taxes. If elected, Saifie said he would like to focus on the safety and security of the residents, address the homelessness issues, have a balanced budget, improve the infrastructure without raising taxes and support small businesses. "I understand how important it is that our government runs in a fiscally responsible manner while providing optimum services to our citizens," Saifie said. Tejeda, moved to Redlands from Los Angeles in 1995 and works for the Rialto Unified School District. He said public safety, improving infrastructure and keeping sales tax dollars in Redlands are some of his priorities. As an educator, Tejeda said he is an advocate for children’s needs by ensuring safe cycling and pedestrian routes to school; before and after school activities and facilities for the youth; repairing infrastructure, sidewalks and streets; and by providing enhanced parks, adding water playgrounds and spaces for pets. Tejeda said he believes the city can address the needs without raising taxes and that it is important to have responsible commercial and retail development within the city. “By protecting our sales tax revenue from leaving and with responsible commercial retail growth, we can grow our general fund revenue to continue to address our city's most urgent needs first as well as maintain our city's cultural heritage,” Tejeda said on his website.