Meet the candidates for Salinas City Council District 4, how they plan on tackling the city’s issues
SALINAS, Calif (KION-TV) - This election season, three candidates are vying for the Salinas City Council District 4 seat. Those candidates include teacher/Navy reservist Albert Lomeli, retired nurse/former city councilmember Gloria de la Rosa, and incumbent and current city councilmember Orlando Osornio.
KION spoke with each of the three candidate ahead of election day asking them what they have to offer for the position.
Why are you running for the Salinas City Council District 4 seat?
Albert Lomeli
"I'm a social studies teacher, and I majored in government, and I've always appreciated learning more about the local, state government, of course, the federal government, even my time in the military, I've been in some way or another I've been in the capacity of working for the government since I was 17, right after high school, and since I teach it in class. I also want to participate in the in the governing process, and I've even been an elected official for the Moss Landing Harbor District, and I've used my U.S. Navy background to assist me improve my breath and scope of governance in that area."
Orlando Osornio
"So one of the reasons that I'm running for city council and District Four is because when I first got elected, there was a really bad problem with lack of investment in East Salinas and the Alisal, and since then, we've been able to really improve that and and make sure that we're getting resources allocated to be able to help out with the Alisal Vibrancy Plan. But also, when I was first elected, homelessness was a really big issue that had been going on in Chinatown for decades, just like the prostitution that was going on in in District Four that once it was in Chinatown, and then it was moved to Rianda Court behind CVS, and then it was moved to Kern street. So these are challenges that have been going on in this district for a really long time, and it was about time that we saw some change. So that's the reason that I ran in 2020 and we've seen some improvement, but there's so much more work to do. So that's why I'm really running for city council."
Gloria de la Rosa
"Why am I running is because residents from District Four came to me, knocking at my door, thinking that I was still a Councilwoman, and when I informed them that I wasn't, they were very displeased at the current council member for not returning phone calls at a timely manner, and they didn't know who the council member was. So I started zooming into the council meetings, and I started seeing and getting very disappointed at what I was seeing and hearing that was occurring at that time, especially with our mayor, Kimberly Craig, I was very disappointed with, you know, it appeared that it was very dysfunctional, and so I had to come back and ask my family, you know, Do I have your support if I go back? And so here I am retired, fully retired, I have the time. I have the experience. I am a truly public servant. I served this community for over 20 years. I accomplished a lot of low and affordable housing in District Four. Library, Gavilan Library, Rabobank, stadium, Boys and Girls Club. I mean, I can go on and on on a lot of things that I was able to accomplish. And again, I have a passion for the city of Salinas. I want to see this city. I want to see this city thrive in economic development. I want to continue to support small businesses, bring in other businesses that are going to pay good paying wages. And also, we have to think about the future, the future of our youth and the rest of the community, we have to think about ag tech. And I'm a big supporter of our ag community. The ag community is the biggest employer in this city and county, so we need to work together as a community and support each other, and it's he homelessness. I want to touch that point, because right now, as I go out to the community, they're very concerned about what's happening right now, what the council is currently doing there, they keep moving them from area to area. We need to think out of the box and think about what other cities have been doing, the tiny home. The tiny homes, okay, we need to house them, because it's not enough just getting them into rehab. Some of the programs, okay, get them well, but then after they get well, where are they going to go if you don't provide some type of housing? So we need to work and have a plan for that, and we also need to hold the service providers accountable."
What would you say is the single biggest issue affecting the City of Salinas and how do you plan on tackling it?
Orlando Osornio
"In my opinion, we need to do a better job of promoting Salinas. We don't have enough champions that are going out there and really showing all of the work that we're doing, sometimes in mainstream media and folks that aren't too informed of what's going on at city hall, they use taglines, or they talk about things that sound like they should be made into big deals, but we're not talking about all the really great work that we're doing. We're not talking about the $1 million that's going to Gavilan Park. We're not talking about the almost $7 million in Alisal Vibrancy Plan that was funded where in prior years there was only, I think, $60,000 we're not talking about the $2 million that we're putting into state, state of the art equipment that is now being installed at every single one of our parks. We're not talking about all of the roads, all of the sidewalks. We're not talking about the different types of ordinances that we're creating, updating the arts ordinance, helping out in creating ordinance on current street that will help and combat those types of issues. So we're really not talking about all of the great murals that we're doing on all of the entry points going into the Alisal. We're not talking about all of the different types of investments, like Amor Salinas that the city is doing that I was championing a couple years ago. We're not talking about the really great things that are happening. We're not talking about the downtown we're not talking about how a lot of folks that are coming in from other cities are now coming here. We need to be our best spokesperson, if you will, or we need to be the biggest cheerleaders for our city, because this city has great, hard working people, and we're making strides to really change the way that Salinas is being represented, and we need to broadcast that all over. So that's the biggest issue, in my opinion."
Gloria de la Rosa
"I think the biggest issue right now is public safety. Public safety. I mean, this council voted to defund them. And the community is saying, "we want those services." We want the services that we used to have. We want a police officer to come if we have, if we have a party going on. Right now we don't have enough officers, so we need to totally look at the police and fund them. Fund the police. Our community needs public safety. We need to feel safe in the city. There's a lot of issues going on. Sometimes we don't hear about them. Some right now, what's happening? They're not reporting a lot of a lot of robberies and things that are going on vandal vandalism, because the community knows that an officer may not respond to their calls. That's what I'm being told. So that's the number one issue. We need to feel safe in the city, and we need to support our police."
Albert Lomeli
"I'd like to focus on two. First, seeing that we're in East Salinas right outside Foods Co, and El Sausal Middle School. I'd appreciate to talk about safety. We currently have one police officer monitoring and assisting the safety process around our schools. We need more police officers. I'd like to see all the positions being filled within the department, but also the city government in general to assist the people of Salinas. And another one is housing. We have three to four generations all living in the same house. The streets are packed with vehicles we Salinas really needs to start pushing into developing in in the descendant areas off of Boronda, so our young professionals have a chance to live in Salinas instead of moving elsewhere, because it's just too expensive here."
You’re no stranger to running for public office, what’s different this time around?
Gloria de la Rosa
"What's different? I'll tell you social media. It's all about social media. Now that is a difference, you know? And like I said, I I have had a lot of cafes in the past and and yes, this is totally different. But you know what? You still have to get out there and talk to your residents. And I'm glad because I'm going out there, I'm walking and I'm hearing them, and I'm hearing their concerns, and I want to be their voice. I'm very supportive of neighborhoods, your neighborhoods, those are, those are strong. You know, they're strong neighborhoods, and we need to listen. They want to be listened to, and they want you to take action. So I am here to do that absolutely."
Albert Lomeli
"I believe that because of my experience now as a commissioner for the Moss Landing Harbor District, and also I'm a Commissioner for the Behavioral Health Commission for Monterey County, I believe that background has assist me bring the importance of requirements of the task to Salinas. I believe that the time I spent around individuals of the both commissions have encouraged me to seek out more opportunities to help other citizens and the residences."
Orlando Osornio
"What's different is that we're finally starting to see great investment. That's the biggest difference is that in the past District Four voters were telling me we're not being represented in this area. We feel like we're been forgotten. We need change, and we need it now. These are all different conversations about folks that I represent now and going to their doorsteps three years later and them telling me, Wow, look at all the change you guys are doing. You guys really did listen to us. We do see the change. That's what's different from last time in 2020 and now in 2024 that we're starting to see results. You know, think about Carr Lake. Carr lake was trying to set up a park here in the city for almost 30 years, we had a dump in East Salinas. We literally had a dump in East Salinas that this city council got right to work, and we relocated that over to Madison lane. So think about that when you have folks that have been working on projects for years and years and years and years, you have to really have a strong conversation with your colleagues, with city administration and your voters, and say, What can we get done? So one of the biggest things is seeing all of the projects that are getting done in sidewalks like Maryal, like Sanborn, like Tapadero, like like Pearl Street, like Madera, like Roosevelt Street. I mean, I could go on, but when you talk about streets like Tampico, you think about streets like Pacheco, Tout Street, Eucalyptus Street, those are all factual things that have happened. So that's the biggest difference between when I ran in 2020, and 2024, that there's actually things that are starting to happen in District Four."
How do you think your past experience will help in serving the community?
Albert Lomeli
"My current position as a social studies teacher, not even talking about politics or elected positions, but as a member of the school site, I had a chance to talk to not only my students, but their parents and other community members, and finding ways to to narrow the gap between all the all the stakeholders, to better address the needs of Salinas, I believe that ultimately it's it's all about networking, communicating, collaborating with others. You're not always going to agree on the overall goal, but it's still important to come to the table and discuss the matters that needs to be addressed."
Orlando Osornio
"So when we talk about past experience and we talk about being fiscally responsible, this council increased our the money that we put down to our reserves, we've increased that from 8% to 12% so not only are we being more fiscally responsible and updating the way that we are putting money aside for people like to think think about it and call it a rainy day fund, but think about that. That's being fiscally responsible. Here's the other thing we've we've balanced four budgets now. So you can say what you would like about this council and and and leadership and experience. We're doing exactly what we were voted in here to do balance the budget, set priorities and see changes in Salinas. But the reason that that's possible is because folks like myself, folks like some of the other council members, have experience with running a business, managing a business, serving customers. Serving customers is the same thing as serving voters, you have to have good customer service, and you have to give them something that they're asking for. And so my past experience in banking and financial careers with 10 plus years is really what's helped me be fiscally responsible and use taxpayer money the way that it's intended to be used."
Gloria de la Rosa
My past experience, because, number one, you have to use wisdom. You have to think before you act. That's a big one, and fiscally responsible. And people want to see transparency. Don't just say the word transparency, but you need to do it. We need to show it to the our community. And there's some issues that they were not transparent, yeah, so that, and then also, because I was able to work with different consoles and, you know, I was able to make things happen in this city, not just sitting there and all this back and forth, you know, very dysfunctional, I'll use that word. So we need, we need to work when we're in that dais, and not this back and forth and back and forth arguing, because that's what it appeared to be, argumentative. Quit arguing and get the things done. Measure G, which is a committee that was set up that. Measure G is about money, you know, and those monies are supposed to go to positions. They boycotted us so that they wouldn't have a meeting. We haven't had a meeting, and Aurelio and I were appointed to that meeting. Can you believe that physically, positions and money, that's awful. I'm worried about about once they're out and we're in the fiscal part of the city. Right now, a lot of positions are being created. Are they really necessary? And then the other one, not only are we losing police officers, how about there was 90 positions in the city. We've never had that many.
What makes you different compared to your other two opponents in this race?
Orlando Osornio
"I think it's important to know that, that both the candidates that are running against me are are great folks that do great work in the community. Gloria has had over 22 years of being a council person, and Albert is a school teacher, and he served our country. What I would say about about me is that I have proven to be able to get things done. I have proven to be able to work with the community, and I have proven to be able to come to a consensus with my colleagues. Those are things that are very important when you vote for your elected representative, being able to work with people to get things done, and being able to work with. The community and find out what their needs are. That's the most important thing. I'm a leader that can get results for this district. I've proven it, and I would humbly ask for folks to vote for me on November 5"
Gloria de la Rosa
"Well, I have the experience, and I'm retired. I have the time, and I was a public servant before, and I call myself a two public servant because I had the passion. Okay, I never asked for a race, but one of my opponents did 400% raise in January."
Albert Lomeli
"Well, when I look at the two members that are my the my my opponents, when I look at my opponents, I have one member who has been in the seat for a really long time, and she retired, and she's ready to come back, but we need some new, new ideas and concepts. We also have the current incumbent, who's had the position for four years, and neither of them have actually left Salinas in a long time. I am a young I'm still a young professional after attending, after leaving for a few years to to serve the military and coming back and also attending college in San Francisco Sate, I believe that I'm coming up. I'm coming to the table with new ideas that they probably haven't seen, they haven't really imagined, because they're just so focused on the current, the current state of Salinas when they need to also broaden the horizons and examine what else is out there."
What would you like to community to know about you before they cast their vote?
Gloria de la Rosa
"Well, do you want a person that do you want to be represented and your voice heard, and someone that has the time to get back to you. And I mean, my track record as a as being involved in the community, it's always been there when, when I left the city council, I didn't stop being involved in my community. I mean, I can go on and on and my involvement right now, and I'm proud of that, and I will continue. Let's say I lose this election. I won't stop being involved in Salinas as I am right now. I love this city, I love the people in this city, and I will continue."
Albert Lomeli
"Id like members of my community to look at all three of members in a multi-faceted way. Look at our Instagram, look at our websites, discuss matters in our neighborhoods, talking, talk to the candidates when they come to your door, but also make sure to research, research, research. We have Google at our fingertip, a fingertip, and we have a chance to look at every single individual. Look at my background. Look at the individual the current house position. Look at Rosa, and why Rosa, and also of New York, are currently vying for the same spot, even though one was the the protégé and the other one was the master who retired and passed on the take to somebody else. It's important to look at all stakes, do all research that's required for the position.
Orlando Osornio
"What resonates with voters? One is, does the representative that will be representing you, represent your values, represents your lifestyle. Is a good representative, is a knowledgeable representative? I am 35 years old, born and raised in East Salinas. I have a background in banking and financial careers. I have the experience of being able to work with folks I volunteered for many years. I have a young family, a four-year-old daughter. I have a three-month-old baby and a wife, and we all love Salinas, even my four-year-old does. We want what's best for Salinas? We're a working family. We come from the working class. We know the issues that face Salinas and as a family, we want to see a solution for that. So what I would say is, voters, do your research, look into the candidates, but also whatever decision that is vote early. Don't wait till November 5, get that ballot, and I'll be submitting my ballot this weekend, on Saturday, and so I encourage everybody else to be able to submit their ballots early."
