Meeting Calendar and Speakers

Meetings are Fridays at 12:15 PM at Juan Pollo Restaurant, 1258 West 5th Street, San Bernardino, California.

AUG 21 Our speaker is Alex Vara, Candidate for San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools. From 2016 to 2025, Vara was a member of the Redlands Unified Board of Education. He was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in the vibrant neighborhood of South-Central Los Angeles. He and his wife have been living in Highland for approximately 25 years, and they have been happily married for 34 years. They have three children, Briana, Julian, and Emma. With 30 years of experience in education, he serves as a Middle School principal. “My mission is to provide students with opportunities I never had, empowering them to reach their full potential.”

 

 

AUG 28, Candidate for Rialto City Council Ana Gonzalez speaks. Gonzalez is a mother, educator, nonprofit executive director, volunteer, and community advocate. She attended public schools in Rialto.

“My first priority is to promote equal access and services to all residents. With a 76% Latino population, it’s important to provide bilingual agendas, minutes, and everything else so that the Spanish population can get involved,” said Gonzalez.

“My priorities are infrastructure, housing, health & safety, and small business advocacy.”

She also shared that one of the biggest challenges is Rialto’s unfunded pension plan liabilities—currently a $130 million deficit. “We need a plan to start paying those down. Our city can go bankrupt,” Gonzalez says. “That debt is expected to increase dramatically within the next five years. City council must prioritize making these payments instead of taking on new projects.”

Gonzalez has lived in the city of Rialto for over 27 years. “I see the needs of our residents,” says Gonzalez. “Working for an environmental justice organization, I see the needs of our communities every day and have served to bring people together and find solutions.”

California Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes and Councilman Joe Baca Sr. have endorsed Gonzalez in her run for city council. For more information, please visit voteanagonzalez.com.

SEP 4 & 11: DARK

TBA: City Manager Eric Levitt’s vist has been postponer to a future date to be arranged. Levitt brings more than 20 years of city management experience, having previously served in Alameda, Simi Valley, Janesville, Wisconsin, Sedona, Arizona, and most recently Fullerton, where he developed an economic development plan, improved infrastructure funding, and cut staffing vacancies. Levitt started as San Bernardino City Manager just this month.

 

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