Two Ward 6 Candidates Square Off on Homelessness, RTRP and the Galleria's Future

Two of the three candidates for Ward 6 faced off at the Raincross Gazette's third candidate forum on Thursday evening.

Oz Puerta, executive director of the Arlington Business Partnership, Board of Ethics Vice Chair Luis Hernandez and Alvord Unified School District Board of Education Trustee Norma Berrellez are vying for the seat vacated by Councilmember Jim Perry, who announced last year that he is not running for reelection.

Berrellez, however, was not in attendance on Thursday evening.

Ward 6 covers neighborhoods including Arlanza, La Sierra, La Sierra Hills, La Sierra South, and portions of Arlington.

The forum was moderated by former Press-Enterprise columnist and longtime Riversider Dan Bernstein, who introduced discussion questions on both citywide issues as well as Ward 6-specific questions.

Magnolia Corridor

Residents describe the Magnolia Corridor between Van Buren and La Sierra as the stretch of Ward 6 they're most frustrated by — encampments, open drug use, trash, vacant storefronts. Name one specific action you'd take in your first six months to begin cleaning it up.

Puerta: "So I'll tell you what I'll do at a local level, I'll do what I'm already doing now. I have nonprofits that clean up the streets. I've been on national media for my humanitarian work. We pick up trash, we restrike parking lots, and we make sure that we clean up and we instill community pride. I sit on Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful's board of directors. I want to bring more beautification projects locally, and I want to make sure that we work with our county officials [and] our state officials to make sure that we build those relationships so we can address the issues that at a local level we can't address..."

Hernandez: "So if we make beautification efforts to the Magnolia Corridor, obviously it's not going to solve the whole situation that's going on there. What I would do is I would partner with Riverside PD to go after those individuals who struggle with substance abuse [and] dealing with mental health issues. If we address those individuals that are providing those substances, we can start to make a dent in that area. Then we can work to bring in more affordable housing. Let's get rid of the room key project that just provides them vouchers for a couple of days, and bring in more permanent supportive housing, transitional housing. [Things that would actually get] individuals off the street, and we can actually start taking action to beautify the area and attract more businesses once those progress."

Ward 6 Identity

Other parts of Riverside have clear identities — downtown, Canyon Crest, the Greenbelt. What is Ward 6's identity today, and what would you build one around?

Puerta: "I think currently, Ward 6 is looking for its identity. I think there's a lot of issues, for sure, there's also a lot of potential. When you look at the Galleria, we don't need to rebuild the mall in [built in] 1995 – we need to focus on experiences, name brand retailers, dining and family activities. These are the things that we can build around and have the Galleria focus of Ward 6. So to start with, I want to clear their reputation for Ward 6 so it's considered sort of an uptown and showcase that Riverside is more than just downtown and with that comes a vibrant business community."

Hernandez: "I think the culture of Ward six is representative of the residents who live here. We're mostly Latino population here in Ward six, and you can see that by a lot of the restaurants, the shops, individuals who live here in the area. But it's also [a] very mixed community, and I love that. I want to keep focusing on that – bringing in more events that focus on the culture that exist here, the overall mixed culture here in Ward 6 I think is something that we should focus on to bring in more foot traffic for our local businesses."

Code Enforcement

Some Ward 6 residents are asking for code enforcement on evenings and weekends — when complaints like illegal dumping, party noise, and weekend nuisance issues come in but officers aren't on duty. What would you do to make sure code enforcement can respond to these complaints?

Puerta: "So just like what we do when the city needs to address another thing. Right now for the police department, for example, the city designed that piece of team to deal with certain issues, with mental health issues and whatnot. So all we have to do is designate a new team, a new force that can service as needed. Obviously, we do our homework to make sure what time these calls are made, any consistencies on trends, making sure that if it happens every Wednesday of the month at this time, we can be cost efficient at addressing these issues without necessarily having to hire an army of people."

Hernandez: "So obviously, when it comes to illegal dumping, things like that, I hear the complaints of the residents when I go knocking on doors. They [said they call police] to see what they can do, there's no answer. They don't come. And I know everything that's going on here in our area is going on throughout the city, so we need to make sure that we can provide more support for these individuals that address these issues like illegal dumping, and make sure that you know they have the resources that they need, so we can expand the times where they can address these issues."

RTRP

Riverside Transmission Reliability Project construction is active right now and headed toward Arlanza, directly behind homes that were evacuated during the Mandalay Fire last June. The route, the schedule, and the four-miles-underground split are locked. What would you actually push for during construction to protect Ward 6 — and what's your standard for whether the city has done its job here?*

Hernandez: "So when it comes to the above ground portion of the RTRP project, I've been very vocal that I'm against the above ground portion. Initially, this project was supposed to go through Ward 3. For some reason it didn't go through there anymore. Right now it's going through here. Why is it that they can change that, but they can't find alternatives to make it underground..Why? Because they don't want to. I know, there's the excuse [that] we can't find the money. It's convenient when you can find when you want something really bad, you can find the money. I think the safety of our residents is something important enough for us to find money to protect the future of this area."

Follow-up question: During the construction, there are certain things that could be done, I believe, by city council members to make sure that things go smoothly, to protect the ward, maybe getting things on schedule, environmental issues. In other words, make this construction program accountable, so that the residents don't worry that [the work] is being done correctly.

Hernandez: "You know, it's, it's important that we make sure that…we look at the environmental effect that that project will have on that area. That's one of the major reasons I'm against this. Well, as far as the construction, I know it's already started. But as far as it's going to make sure that they're following along with the plans that we're already in place, and making sure that we have some oversight in place to make sure that things are going along."

Puerta: "So…I would push to make sure that your power stays on. The state mandate was done 20 years ago in 2006. Riverside is not the same Riverside today as it was 20 years ago. If we have the money to make this project fully underground, by all means, I don't think anyone is disagreeing with it. And correct me if I'm wrong, I believe this project costs around $600 million and it would be another $600 [million] to get this fully underground. If the money's there, I don't have a problem with that. At least one of the council members said the money was there. I don't understand why if a standing council member says the money is there and nothing has been done about it – maybe the money is not there. I will say this, the need for a second connection to the state [grid] has never been more important. Now I want to make sure that in the summer, when it gets hot, you turn on your AC, that it actually turns on. And as far as the standard for whether the city has done its job here, I think that there's been a lot of information going around. There's been a lot of community engagement. The problem was that this model, this method, was designed years ago, and I can't speak for whether or not that right outreach was done to make sure that the needs of the community was heard when those decisions were made. I feel like we are supposed to be reactive, and we're risking your reliability tax dollars, so we can make sure that we make a smart decision – preferably what you guys prefer – to make sure that you guys don't lose a core service like your electricity."

Street Vendors

State law permits what cities can do about sidewalk vendors – no outright bans, capped fines, no criminal charges. But some of the respondents to the registrants complained that Riverside has too many unpermitted street vendors. Riverside already has a vending ordinance. Ward six residents see unpermitted vending every day, so what should the city be doing about it and where do you draw the line between enforcing it and also allowing some economic opportunity for these vendors?

Hernandez: "So obviously, here in Ward six, a majority Latino community, we see a lot of individuals…who actually want to make money to start a business of their own…but don't have the financial opportunity… As council members of the city, we can work together to provide programs to be able to teach them the proper way, to be able to grow businesses, to work with them, and maybe provide places where they can set up. There's already places over there by Target where some of the food trucks will set up. Perris has done this in the past, where they have an area of vacant property where they just allow them to set up – there's that way. It's concentrated in one area, and it doesn't bother the neighbors. We need to provide opportunities for these individuals who want to work, who want to create a business for themselves, who aren't in the financial position to do that by paying really expensive rent for a storefront."

Puerta: "I think this is an area where the city can easily lead with compassion. First, we can address unpermitted vendors by showing them maybe a pamphlet, guidebook, something that says, these are the steps you need to be compliant to make sure that you meet the safety standards… I think number two, if we continue to see the same people going that aren't permitted, that's when we need to enforce what whatever policing policies we have – which means, if we need to fine them, we fine them….I don't think anyone is against someone making a living, but we all abide by rules in the society. We all voted. We may not agree with all of the rules, but we did…come to a consensus with them."

Galleria at Tyler

The Galleria at Tyler has lost Nordstrom and Forever 21, and the JCPenney property sale fell through last year. The mall's largest vacancy is over 150,000 square feet with no public plan to fill it. What should happen to the Galleria — and what's the council's role in making it happen?

Puerta: "So I've spoken about this before, and the question is: why do people shop in person when they can buy something online? The answer is simple, it's for the experience. So we'll talk about adding things like family dining, entertainment and family activities, then we can revitalize something like the mall. What does a council's role take place in that? It's simple: on the business side, permitting and processing. If we streamline the process, we get more consistent answers. We'll have a reputation of being business friendly. So that way these bigger businesses, like I said earlier, they don't come out of compassion, they do their math, they do their homework. We make sure that they're sustainable,...Currently, I believe Riverside is ranked the 19th city, best city to start a small business. That means we have 18 spots to do better. There's always room for improvement. And I think that if we start at city hall we start with consistent answers and we'll build that reputation that makes it easier to attract these businesses."

Hernandez: "So the reason a lot of these stores are closing…we have to pay attention to what's going on nationally, locally. Obviously, the economy is having a huge impact on residents, right? Online shopping has put a dent in storefronts…I don't want to lose Tyler Mall. It's been here ever since I've lived here. It's a landmark for the city. So I think council members should work together to try and keep it alive by making it maybe multipurpose. Maybe we can bring in art galleries. Maybe we can bring in different things [so] the Tyler Mall will bringa little bit of new life… Not just the same old stores, not just the same old restaurants, something a little different. That's usually what sparked people's interest. If the Tyler Mall is like, oh, I have something new, usually people want to go check it out, right? So just thinking outside the box, just the regular retail and regular restaurant stuff, thinking differently."

Looking Forward

Ward 6 is an open seat after Jim Perry's 13 years. You win this election. Four years from now you're running for re-election. Tell voters concretely what you'll have accomplished in your term.

Hernandez: "So I aim to be as responsive to residents as Jim Perry. Whether people disagree with Jim Perry, everyone agrees that he's always been responsive to their needs. He's always reached out to them. He's always come to them and [said], 'hey, you know, what's the problem? What do you need?' Whether it be one of his assistants, whether it be himself, in person, that's one of the things I aim to be. The other one is obviously bringing in more affordable housing…the unhoused situation in our area [is] never going to go away, and nobody's ever going to fully solve that. But if we can make a difference and take some of those individuals off the street, that's something that I aim to accomplish, obviously keeping people off the street by bringing in [more affordable housing]. That is one of the main things I aim to accomplish, along with infrastructure, making sure that some of the streets that haven't been paved or done in a while get done, areas with families that have children running around, [making sure] that they have sidewalks [so] those families don't have to worry about getting run over. So those are just some of the things I aim to accomplish in those four years."

Puerta: "So I want to take advantage of things like the city of Riverside and their volunteer list of people who want to help, people who want to give back. I want to make sure that those people are presented with every opportunity to go forward. Because every time I come to a forum, every time I go to a group, I meet people with new organizations that I've never heard of before, there's a lot of good work being done in our city, and we need to take advantage of that. There's a lot of smart people in our city. I also want to work on making sure that Riverside meets its housing mandate, because we have a situation where Alvord has just voted to [let go] over 100 educators because of the anticipated lack of enrollment numbers. If we address housing, we can make sure that our teachers have a job, we make sure that we create the right opportunities by creating career-technical pathways for our students. We start at the high school level, we learn about what our college students are learning. So that way, we can approach it in two ways: we can educate them on the jobs that are available here [and] talk about the opportunities that I will bring in from other industries based on what the students are already learning. Things like advanced manufacturing, things that we've talked about before. But what I really want to do is make sure that we address all these big issues: housing, quality jobs, a vibrant business economy, because I think that those are some core concepts that we can, at a local level, get the most return on investment."

Closing Statements

Puerta: "Well, first I want to say thank you to everyone for coming out tonight. I also want to thank…Jim Perry for his 13 years of service. I've heard from knocking on doors that Jim Perry is accessible, and he hears people out. Working with him for the last eight years, I can tell you that's absolutely true. If he doesn't know the answer, he'll find someone else to get it to you. That's the level of service that this Ward expects. That's the minimum level of service it needs. Moving forward, he has set that standard. We need to make sure that whoever sits on that dais for Ward 6, make sure that Ward 6 gets the attention it deserves, because, in my opinion, it's the most neglected ward in our city. There's a lot of opportunity. There's a lot of things we can do about it. We need to make sure we have someone on that dais that doesn't just wait for opportunities to come to them – but they go out there and find them, they go out there and make things happen. I'm the most experienced candidate. I can do that."

Hernandez: "So I agree with Mr. Oz Puerta that our ward is one of the most neglected, and I could change that. I'm running because I live here and I know and I experience all of the challenges that our families and local businesses go through in this area. It's important to me that someone who's local, that knows the area, that lives here [is] on City Council so that they can represent the individuals in this area. My campaign is rooted in community, advocacy, education, transparency and accountability. But most importantly, standing up for working families. Our residents deserve leadership that is transparent and consistent. Thank you."