City Council will discuss placing tax measures on the June ballot including a potential 0.25% sales tax generating $21 million annually and consider warehouse development restrictions.
Dan Florez, a retired Riverside County Sheriff's lieutenant who spent 28 years in law enforcement, has entered the Ward 2 City Council race, emphasizing his experience fighting government inefficiency and his opposition to the city's rejected homeless housing project.
"I have shown a consistent practice of leading, managing, and correcting the various issues that plague government bureaucracies," Florez said. "It is my intention to correct problematic quality-of-life issues and make local government more responsive to the public and efficient."
Ward 2 includes the University neighborhood, Hunter Park, Canyon Crest, Sycamore Canyon and Mission Grove. With Florez's entry, the race now features five candidates competing to replace Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, who is running for State Assembly District 58 rather than seeking re-election. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the June 2 primary, the top two finishers will advance to a November runoff.
Florez's 28-year sheriff's career included more than a decade on patrol in Moreno Valley, five years in Internal Affairs investigating officer-involved shootings and personnel misconduct, and management roles overseeing drug units, detectives and the Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center. He retired as a lieutenant in 2017.
Florez first moved to Riverside in 1989 and returned to the Sycamore Canyon area after retiring. "While living in Riverside, I observed that Ward 2 was noticeably deteriorating, and that my neighbors and friends were discussing their desire to move out of Riverside," he said. "I felt I could not stand by and watch my city slowly decline."
On homelessness, Florez said he would have voted against the Quality Inn conversion project that City Council rejected 4-3 in January. "This project was simply creating the same mistakes as everyone else has made over the last few decades," Florez said. "The homelessness problem is not just a housing problem but primarily a drug and mental health issue for a vast majority of the homeless." He called for a census of homeless individuals to evaluate their circumstances, with priority given to women with children, and advocated for involving faith-based organizations in treatment.
On public safety, Florez pledged to ensure the Fire Department receives funding for 84 firefighters and two fire stations, citing the recent Eaton and Palisades fires as a warning. He also called for proactive community-oriented policing and traffic safety enforcement.
Florez identified traffic congestion on Sycamore Canyon Boulevard as a ward-specific concern requiring a traffic study and proposed making Riverside "the capital of trade schools," arguing that electricians and plumbers can earn strong incomes with less time and expense than a four-year degree.
At a January 14 candidate forum hosted by neighborhood groups, Florez joined fellow candidate Mike Vahl in opposing the Quality Inn project, while candidates Aram Ayra and Christen Montero said they would have supported it and Gracie Torres declined to commit without more community engagement.
Two neighborhood organizations will host candidate forums for the three City Council races, beginning Wednesday with the Ward 4 forum at Orange Terrace Community Center.
