After only one term, current San Bernardino Ward 7 councilmember Damon Alexander will be replaced by either community leader and professor Treasure Ortiz or former city attorney Jim Penman.
Facts about Ward 7
State of the race: Features two candidates, who just two years ago, unsuccessfully ran for Mayor. In Ortiz, there’s a candidate who vows to bring true leadership to the City Council, while Penman says he’ll bring tested and proven leadership.
Where: Neighborhoods of San Bernardino on both sides of the 210 Freeway and between E Street to the west and the Highland border to the east.
Key Issues: Public Safety, Housing and homelessness, public infrastructure, economic development
What happened in March: Current Councilman Damon Alexander was defeated in the primary election by Treasure Ortiz and former city attorney Jim Penman.
Candidates
Treasure Ortiz
Professor and community advocate
Ortiz, who has previously ran for public office in the city, says everyone has benefited from business interests, but the residents.
If elected, she says she’ll put an end to a “pay to play” culture that benefits outside developers.
Platform Highlights:
● Safer Neighborhoods: Ortiz says she will support bolstering police resources by adding hundreds of officers to neighborhood patrols. Ortiz vows to be a public critical voice against “Sacramento’s bad policies” that she believes is driving up crime.
● Economic Development: Ortiz vows to help revitalize business corridors across the city by helping secure more mixed-used development and improve infrastructure to entice existing businesses to stay.
● Housing and Homelessness: Ortiz wants to use Patton State Hospital to house people struggling through drug addiction and severe mental illness. She believes partnering with county and school district officials will help provide direct services to homeless veterans, at-risk youth and working class families.
● Public Infrastructure: Ortiz wants to combine public water funding resources with capital improvement money to transform city streets and replace aging sewage pipes. Additionally, she believes the warehouse and logistics industry should be required to front costs for road maintenance and improvement projects.
More resources:
Jim Penman
Attorney
Jim Penman served as San Bernardino’s city attorney for 26 years. He shared that he’s a candidate that provides years of leadership experience. He says he’ll improve the city’s quality of life by attracting better employers.
Platform Highlights:
● Safety: Penman says he wants to increase neighborhood police patrols and use technology to prevent crime.
● Homelessness: Penman says he wants to stop illegal camping to get people who have been homeless for long periods off city streets. He believes in getting these individuals effective mental health and addiction treatment.
● Housing: Penman wants to expand new home construction to make housing more affordable and wants to improve code enforcement to address blight and hold slumlords accountable.
More resources:
News Coverage:
San Bernardino Ward 7 candidates share thoughts on city's quality of life, business development. KVCR News
