Editorial:
The City of National City has two open seats for city council with four candidates running. In looking at all four candidates, Mona Alvarado-Rios, Frank Lopez, Ditas Yamane, and Luis Natividad, on policy and issues very little distinguishes one over another. It will be businesses as usual.
Natividad has experience on his side. He served six years on the city council before quitting in the middle of his term, with two years to left to go, to work full time with the Census Bureau. All of the other elected councilmembers had the ability to juggle a professional job and an elected position, with the council meeting only twice a month, so we question his original resignation and why he’s running again. There was also the question if he fully understood all the issues and all too often seemed distracted on the dais. Natividad has had his opportunity to serve on the city council and now it is time for a fresh perspective on the council.
If hard work, focus, and determination mean anything, and we believe it does, then Mona Alvarado-Rios is our pick to represent the community on the city council. Rios ran for city council two years ago and came up a little short, coming in third. Ever since that day, Mona has had a laser like focus on this year’s election and has been working overtime for the past two years to win this seat.
Mona comes from a family of politicians and spent her career as a librarian. She knows the bureaucratic system inside and out. She is a lifelong resident of National City, a community volunteer, a mother, and a grandmother. When elected, if Mona brings just half the determination, focus and energy to the council as she has done in her campaigning, the citizens will be well served.
Ditas Yamane, a long time political figure in the city, is not a fresh face to the local political scene, and would be a good representative for the rather large Filipino community in National City. Yamane would make a good second choice for the city council of National City.
Ron Morrison is running for re-election as Mayor of National City. While we have not agreed with all of his policies –like the 1% sales tax- we cannot deny the fact that he has the city on the move and has brought about change to the city.
Mitchel Beauchamp, city council person Alejandra Sotelo-Solis, and Darryl Gorham are the other choices for mayor.
Gorham is a perennial candidate who early on in his political adventures represented an alternative voice that now has become old. We don’t want to discourage his role as political watchdog, we just don’t believe this is enough to take him as a serious candidate for the seat.
With Beauchamp, National City’s treasurer and former councilman, we expected to see a vigorous campaign from him. But all-in-all it has been pretty lackluster considering his background and experience.
Alejandra Sotelo-Solis is highly ambitious. This is her second run at becoming mayor, after serving only two years in her first term as city council person. Evidently she has big plans for her political career and does not want to wait too long to get there. While we applaud her ambition she does not have much of a track record to recommend her as mayor. And what we have seen from her has not exactly impressed us on several issues. Recently, the city chose to do business with an Arizona company as other cities chose to boycott Arizona over the anti-Hispanic, racist legislation, SB1070. Solis stood silent and allowed the city to move forward with a red light camera contract, no less.
In the race for mayor we select experience over ambition and support the re-election of Ron Morrison.