Consejo Municipal — Ciudad de Santee

Fire Department

In Santee, we live in an arid climate and we are surrounded by land and vegetation that is susceptible to wildfire at any given moment. Drought-conditions have exacerbated this problem.

In addition, when it comes to medical emergencies, a quick response time can mean the difference between life and death.

That’s why it’s critical that our firefighters and first-responders have adequate staffing, resources, equipment, and policies in place to ensure swift response times and to combat against a number of fire possibilities.

As your Councilmember, I look forward to doing the following in order to maintain a strong fire department:

• Multiple meetings per year with our department supervisors and the Santee Firefighters Association to ensure I hear from direct stakeholders regarding the issues they face.
• Regularly spend time at our city’s fire stations and participate in ride-alongs to absorb information, gather input, and anticipate issues.
• Look for opportunities to utilize new or outside funding sources to procure equipment or upgrade infrastructure at our fire stations.
• Work collaboratively with our fire department and public services department to ensure we reduce debris and bush throughout our city that could be a fire hazard.
• Ongoing examination of our fire department staffing and morale to ensure our firefighters are able to consistently provide the fastest response times possible.
• Constant review and consideration of changing national policy standards that are dedicated to maintaining adequate response times and protecting firefighter safety.
• Study the wisdom, practicality, and community willingness of sharing our fire protection services with other local agencies with the hope of gaining greater efficiencies and improved services.

Deputy Sheriffs

We are fortunate to live in a relatively low-crime city, and we can attribute much of our good fortune to the fine work of the men and women who patrol our streets as Deputy Sheriffs.

However, if a resident is the victim of a crime, they don’t care what the crime rate is – for them, it’s 100%.

That’s why it’s important that we continue working hard to ensure our city is adequately staffed when it comes to our deputy sheriffs. We not only need available deputies to address crimes as they happen, but we need adequate staffing to address quality-of-life issues and engage in community policing – both of which are critically important to the prevention of crime.

As your Councilmember, I will implement the following strategies in order to strengthen public safety:

• Regular meetings with rank-and-file deputies and supervisors to ensure our city is doing everything possible to support efforts to reduce crime and keep neighborhoods safe.
• Continuing to fully fund law enforcement efforts in our city budget and ensuring public safety remains the largest portion of city expenditures.
• Ongoing research on new developments in public safety approaches, strategies, and tools utilized throughout our region to determine if our city can find new ways to address public safety issues.
• Placing a dedicated focus on the local homelessness issue, particularly along the San Diego River, to ensure that our law enforcement partners have the necessary resources and strategies to address this issue.
• Continuous examination of our local crime rates to determine if new strategies are needed to address the consequences of new state laws that have provided for early release of those who have committed crimes.
• Gathering input directly from the community on public safety issues to ensure our deputies are aware of increases in criminal activity in specific neighborhoods.

I believe these steps will play an important role in ensuring Santee remains a safe, family-friendly city. Additionally, as your Councilmember, I will be constantly open to new ideas on how we can protect public safety.

I am proud to have earned the endorsement of the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of San Diego County, the San Diego County Probation Officers Association, San Diego Police Officers Association, the Deputy District Attorneys Association of San Diego, and San Diegans Against Crime. These organizations have endorsed me due to my strong commitment to protecting public safety and my clear vision for doing so.