The League of Women Voters — together with Just San Bernardino and KVCR News — is sponsoring four candidate forums in the City of San Bernardino to allow contenders running in city council races to speak directly to voters.
Two of three candidates were present on stage to speak to voters on the westside about issues related to housing, economic development and public health.
Councilwoman Kimberly Calvin and candidate Mario Flores were present, with former councilwoman Bessine Littlefield-Richard not in attendance.
Calvin, a surprise write-in candidate, shared throughout the evening she’s still committed to "keeping her word" to constituents.
Flores — a field representative for Supervisor Joe Baca Jr. — says he’s running because he’s grown frustrated with the depletion of his old neighborhood.
Calvin says one of the issues plaguing the area is poor building and land zoning codes. She says the Council and staff should consider strong development across the entire city…not just downtown.
"To be quite frank, it’s verydisappointing, discouraging and frustrating to me," Calvin shared. "Because it allows certain businesses to come in to your community that you really don’t want there. Because the zoning has not been updated.
Flores says he wants to support efforts to bring better housing for young people that want to live in the ward.
"I might not be an all-knowing expert in the area, but it's important to surround yourselves with the people who do know about housing and partner with them and create good development and place housing in an area where it makes sense."
Calvin admitted towards the end of the evening that this election race will be the fight of her life. She alleges that Flores and Littlefield-Richard are being encouraged to run for the seat by some of her colleagues on the Council dais.
"And while you may not always like my tone, please listen to what I am stating," said Calvin. "Understanding what I’m saying is more important. Because the fight is real. The culture is there."
Flores says if he’s elected, he’ll help bring more known chains like Starbucks and Chick-Fil-A to the 6th ward.
"It sounds selfish but I want that too for the sixth ward," he said. "But, it's not as simple as wanting it. We have to look to see where the underlying issues of why we can’t have it."
The 5th Ward forum is taking place on Saturday and the 7th Ward forum is happening next Thursday. For more information, visit justsb.org.
