Who's Got Your Vote?

There were a total of 19 candidates that attended our PLAC meeting to answer our members’ questions and seek a Council 36 endorsement. Each municipality had its own timeslot which allowed members to question candidates about issues directly affecting their communities. There were a lot of healthy conversations and our members were able to see who deserves their support.

The candidates addressed various topics, such as homelessness, police brutality, management, and pension benefits. Jeanette Barrera, who is running for Long Beach City Council District 2, stated that she has no issues with going against management to ensure that Local 3620 members’ concerns are heard. She supports mass transit by taking the bus and metro every day, and promises that she will fight for new employees and make sure that they earn a living wage. When asked about restoring trust between the community and Long Beach Police Department, Barrera made it known that she would focus on holding the police department accountable for their actions. Eduardo Lara, who is also running for Long Beach City Council in District 2, is an avid supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and wants to make sure that de-escalation policies are being consistently practiced.

 An on-going issue for our members is the threat of losing their pension. Many of the candidates addressed how they would protect our members’ pensions. Pasadena District 2 City Council candidate, Tricia Keane, believes that eliminating deficit spending and making sure that Pasadena is adequately funding its liabilities is the best way to protect the benefits that Labor Unions have fought so hard for. Current Pasadena District 6 Councilmember Steve Madison claims that he will fight to keep pensions, and when asked about Employer Paid Member Contribution (EPMC), Steve believes that the employer should pay the employer share and the employee should pay the employee share.

Steve also addressed the homelessness crisis in Pasadena. “We[Pasadena] have 6,000 affordable housing units, but our goal is 20,000, so we have a ways to go”, says Madison. His opponent, Tamerlin Godley, believes that we need to look for new types of solutions for housing. She believes that Pasadena should look into policies that would prevent homelessness. “We should never let people fall into homelessness to begin with.”

On the subject of parity, Covina Councilmember Walter Allen was called out by Business Rep Bob Adams about his preference for public safety workers. Allen let it be known that public safety workers have always been his number 1 priority and when Covina city jobs were being cut he wanted to make sure that public safety was minimally affected. David Fredendall, who is running for Glendora City Council District 2, believes that all city servants need to be valued and given the opportunity to excel. “I don’t have a hierarchy,” says Fredendall.

All of the candidates were evaluated by the members that attended, and their recommendations will be given to the Executive Board. Official endorsements will be made by the Executive Board.

Below are all of the candidates that attended the PLAC meeting:

Long Beach District 2: Cindy Allen, Jeanette Barrera, Eduardo Lara
Long Beach District 6: Dee Andrews, Craig Usury, Suely Saro
Pasadena District 2: Tricia Keane
Pasadena District 4: Charlotte Bland
Pasadena District 6: Ryan Bell, Tamerlin Godley, Steve Madison
Covina City Council: Walter Allen
Torrance District 6: Andrew DeBlock
Commerce City Council: Dave Rodriguez, Carl Baker, Ofelia Avila, Carlos Maravilla
Glendora District 2: David Fredendall
Azusa City Council: Diana Reyes Williams

Elections are coming up on March 3, so make sure you get out and vote!