With a month left before the November general election, the five candidates running to fill the two open seats on the San Fernando City Council are deep into their campaigning, putting up lawn signs and door-knocking throughout the local town.
The candidates include Sylvia Ballin, former mayor of the City of San Fernando and former Metropolitan Water District (MWD) Board of Directors; Patty Lopez, former California State Assemblywoman; Sean M. Rivas, chair of the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley; Jason D. Strickler, prevention program coordinator for Pueblo y Salud; and incumbent Victoria Garcia, an attorney who won the special election to fill the council seat after the passing of Councilwoman Cindy Montañez in October 2023.
A candidates’ forum was scheduled by the San Fernando City Chamber of Commerce but was canceled due to a lack of participation. Only Rivas and Strickler were available to attend. Ballin, Garcia and Lopez responded to the Chamber’s requests but said they were not available to attend.
The San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol reached out to the candidates to hear more about their top priorities and how they plan to tackle the gang and drug problem in the city. Their interviews are listed in alphabetical order.
Sylvia Ballin
Ballin said she’s been campaigning since mid-August and has been joined by Vice Mayor Mary Mendoza who is a supporter and has been walking with Ballin going door-to-door in the city. One of the issues residents have expressed, Ballin said is traffic control. “They’ve said many drivers blast right through stop signs and that there have been more car accidents in the area.”
Another issue has been rent control. Ballin said she knows someone whose rent is $2,500 a month, while she’s heard a neighbor of a friend is paying $4,000 a month. She explained that the high rent leads not only to homelessness but a lack of parking.
“Multiple families are living in one house just to afford rent, and their kids are coming back home with their cars, so there’s a lot of problems to solve,” Ballin said.
When it comes to addressing the city’s crime and drug problems, Ballin explained the importance of working with the San Fernando Police Department (SFPD) and the police chief, Fabian Valdez.
“It’s really sad because a lot of these drug problems that I’m aware of are family members, and … what do you do when it’s your family member?” Ballin asked. She added that everyone knows someone who “is experimenting with drugs or is really sucked in the ugliness of drugs. … It’s not just a San Fernando problem, it’s everywhere.”
Despite the issues the city faces, Ballin is looking forward to the years ahead. Unlike when she first joined the City Council, the city is no longer on the brink of bankruptcy, she said and through the efforts of the previous councils she served on with the city administrator, there is now money to upgrade its streets and infrastructure. If Ballin makes her return to the dais, she would like to add more community and educational programs for kids, seniors and those with special needs.
“I enjoy all the successes that I had on the City Council … but now we have money,” Ballin said. “We can do things and we can work on … our priorities [moving] forward. My big priorities are public safety, the drug problem, the gang problem – there’s just so much to work on.”
In the presidential election, Ballin indicated she was supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.
Victoria Garcia
Garcia is the only incumbent among the candidates – sworn into the City Council last April to serve the remaining time on Montañez’s term. After campaigning for the last month and speaking with residents, she said that residents’ main focus has been on public safety and infrastructure, which boils down to fixing the sidewalks.
She’s also in support of increasing patrols in the city. The City Council approved $50,000 towards that endeavor, she said, but they’re currently working with the Chief and the SFPD to make sure they’re hitting those goals of having extra patrols and being available for its residents.
“My priorities are, number one, … making sure we don’t have any of those incidents of violence and burglaries occurring in our city, making sure people feel safe and are safe,” Garcia said. “Second is fixing our sidewalks and our streets … and helping our businesses grow and thrive in the city.”
Her campaign for the special election was supported by members of local ultraconservative groups and “parental rights” organizations, including SFV Alliance (Serving Family Values) and Leave Our Kids Alone (LOKA), which have been involved in local anti-LGBTQ+ protests. These supporters filled the chambers on the day of her swearing-in, giving her a standing ovation.
Garcia is simultaneously running for the California State Assembly in the November election. If she wins both the Assembly and City Council races, she would need to decide which position to hold, triggering a special election for the other position.
Garcia was not available to indicate who she was supporting in the presidential election.
Patty Lopez
Among the top concerns that Lopez would want to work on is the safety and economic well-being of local businesses. She believes local stores should be given priority when it comes to support and opportunities to promote their business, over vendors that have been coming into the city. She’s not against new businesses coming in but doesn’t want them to harm the shops that are already here.
Lopez also feels that elected officials should be giving more of their attention to the community. When she has talked to local business owners, they’ve said they don’t feel close to their representatives, even though they’ve been in the city for decades.
“You can see that in the meetings in the Chamber of Commerce [that’s held] twice a month,” Lopez said. “It’s almost empty, and they feel like nobody listens to them.”
Lopez went on to say the landscape of the city has become really political. She explained that a lot of people who are “not part of our community” are coming into the city and “demanding” changes when the community is more “traditional.” She clarified that the community is open to welcoming new people, but not to run the city.
“We can do better instead of bringing people from outside [the community] that think because they’re well-educated, they know better when it comes to what the community needs,” Lopez said. “But that is not the truth.”
Lopez has indicated that she is not supporting either of the presidential candidates, Harris or former President Donald Trump, in the election due to their stance on the immigration community.
“There are interests driving them to support people who don’t know or haven’t been there for our community, just because they are part of a system that has failed us for over three decades despite their promises,” Lopez said. “I hope people wake up and prepare for these elections, looking beyond just an image and political parties, and really study the facts of who has stood with us and who has not.”
Sean Rivas
From his campaigning, Rivas said that one of the top concerns brought up by residents is the issue of public safety. With the break-ins in the city between late July to mid-August, Rivas said there needs to be a plan to support local businesses. He attended the community meeting held by Valdez at the Bodevi Wine and Espresso Bar in August to hear what the SFPD is doing and to aid in their efforts.
“My hope is … to support our police officers and their efforts to ensure that they maintain visibility and they can address and get to the public safety needs of our residents and our businesses,” Rivas said. “My hope is that we continue to build on those efforts.”
He wants to see the SFPD meet its 35-officer threshold that the city is budgeted for but is open to budgeting for more. When it comes to addressing the drug problem, Rivas said that part of it involves education. He explained that the City Council needs to work with local partners, including nonprofits and parent centers, to provide workshops on these topics for parents to be educated and have the tools to talk with their children.
Rivas wants to advocate for increasing public safety funding and for the advancement of the small business community, which he said is what ultimately drives people to the City of San Fernando. He would also want to create a more transparent process when it comes to spending on city projects.
“My hope is that, if elected, we will bring these things to the council,” Rivas said. “I am able to be that person, that bridge builder, … to bring some positive things to the City of San Fernando. … I want to be able to continue the great things that we have been able to achieve in the city.”
In the presidential election, Rivas indicated he was supporting Harris.
Jason Strickler
Being a “fresh face” in the City of San Fernando has its unique challenges, Strickler said, but he believes he’s overcoming them. With local voters deciding on the future of the City Council, as well as the presidency, in the November election, Strickler said he’s been educating residents on the importance of this election and using those conversations to build a rapport.
Among the issues he’s heard from residents – including parking, theft and homelessness – has been the subject of crime. Strickler said that in the past year, a convenience store near Pueblo y Salud was robbed at gunpoint. He suggests that the neighborhood watch be provided with more support, resources and training.
One of the things Strickler has been advocating for is a crisis response team to respond to cases of mental health crises and substance abuse. As someone who works in substance use prevention, he said that addiction is a disease and people who have it should be treated, not criminalized.
He was reminded of the break-ins that affected numerous businesses in the City of San Fernando from late July to mid-August, where one individual broke into Teriyaki Madness to steal cash from the register, leaving behind a note that said they needed money for drugs.
“It’s really important that … we are addressing the root causes and really focusing on prevention and what we are going to do to prevent this stuff from moving forward,” Strickler said. “I really want to protect the businesses. I was a business owner myself.”
As a former business owner, Strickler sees small business development as one of his priorities, providing microloans or grants to businesses in the San Fernando Mall and surrounding area. And lastly is youth development, as his goal is to create a youth advisory council where young people can voice their concerns on policies that will affect them in the future.
“A lot of people think it’s just adults, but the youth really do have a voice,” Strickler said. “The city does a really good job of providing employment opportunities, but I would really love for them to be more involved in the civic and political field, especially here in San Fernando.”
Strickler said he is supporting Kamala Harris for President as he is aligned with her values for representation and social justice.