What Does Santa Ana’s Youth Want Out of Their City’s Future Leaders?

A radical of kids successful Santa Ana privation to cognize however candidates vying to correspond them connected the metropolis assembly program to support younker programs successful 1 of the youngest cities successful the state successful presumption of colonisation age.

They besides privation to cognize however these candidates, if elected, volition forestall their peers from joining gangs, code homelessness, assistance spur the instauration of affordable housing, woody with parking shortages arsenic good arsenic support section streets cleanable and safe.

This past week, a big of Santa Ana Unified precocious schools got a accidental to occurrence disconnected pugnacious questions to candidates successful idiosyncratic astatine a pupil moderated forum Thursday hosted by Santa Ana Youth Vote, Latino Health Access and Kidsworks.

They besides got a accidental to spot which leaders volition prosecute with them and which ones won’t.

Councilman Benjamin Vazquez, who is moving for the mayor’s seat, on Councilmembers Thai Viet Phan, Jessie Lopez and Johnathan Hernandez – who are each moving for reelection showed up to reply their questions successful a country of implicit 40 kids.

Their opponents, existent Mayor Valerie Amezcua, Julie Tran, Jeffery Katz and Mario Alvarado didn’t.

The students’ questions travel arsenic officials earlier this twelvemonth pass of a projected $30 cardinal nonaccomplishment successful yearly taxation revenue with the expected alteration of Measure, a 1.5% income taxation summation approved successful 2018.

It’s a nonaccomplishment that threatens to ravage the nationalist services galore of these students attraction astir and interaction their prime of beingness and safety.

Thursday’s statement was the 3rd 1 successful 2 weeks successful Santa Ana, kicking disconnected with a lively statement betwixt the 2 mayoral candidates connected Sept. 25 wherever the abrupt departures of a longtime metropolis manager and constabulary main who assertion the constabulary national – 1 of the biggest spenders successful section elections – person a choky grip connected immoderate elected officials took halfway stage.

[Read: The Race for Santa Ana Mayor Heats Up]

Tran, who is moving against Phan, didn’t be immoderate of the debates.

City Council Candidates Weigh successful connected Youth Issues

Vazquez, a precocious schoolhouse teacher, reiterated what helium said astatine a erstwhile statement that nationalist information is not conscionable astir having constabulary but besides offering kids outlets and places to spell too the streets, adding that rent power tin assistance forestall pack violence.

“If we person places for those kids to spell alternatively of the streets oregon the alley, they could spell to a assemblage center, parkland oregon a library,” helium said.  “They could spell determination wherever they consciousness harmless and they don’t go portion of the problem.”

Vazquez besides pointed to rent power and rent protections erstwhile it comes to addressing homelessness arsenic good arsenic expanding the city’s prime of beingness teams that supply outreach to stateless people.

Lopez said with the expected alteration successful Measure X a batch of metropolis programs including those aimed astatine the city’s younker are up successful the aerial and it is wherefore students request to beryllium civically engaged.

“I cognize however important it is to person an full ecosystem astir a young idiosyncratic to assistance them win and make professionally and socially,” she said, adding that cutting younker programs shouldn’t beryllium acceptable.

Lopez besides said investing successful people’s basal needs similar lodging and acquisition arsenic good arsenic intelligence wellness is important to preventing teen violence.

“These are the dense investments that I judge our metropolis and each elected up present has a work to combat for,” she said.

Phan said that erstwhile she wins she volition advocator for a Park, Library, Zoo and Stadium enslaved to assistance money those nationalist spaces.

“Because what you’re going to spot is the archetypal happening that gets chopped erstwhile the fund is abbreviated is younker programming and parks,” she said. “We request unfastened space. We request harmless places for our younker to go.”

Like Vazquez, Phan said kids request a 3rd spot beyond their homes oregon schoolhouse to spell to larn and turn successful a assemblage to assistance forestall unit and those who bash incorrect request to look consequences for their actions.

“We don’t person capable of that present successful the metropolis of Santa Ana,” she said astir 3rd places. “We person to usage a holistic solution to code this issue, and not conscionable one.”

Hernandez said the metropolis should beryllium investing resources, amenities similar parks and libraries and programs for kids extracurricular the schoolhouse territory and to code pack unit you person to put successful the radical astir impacted by it by backing events similar the Chicano Heritage Festival.

“The Chicano Heritage Festival brought implicit 10,000 radical who are impacted by pack unit unneurotic astatine a parkland where, alternatively of them being impacted by pack unit connected that day, they were impacting each other, positively, uplifting 1 another,” helium said

“We person to normalize the city, going to areas wherever radical are experiencing hardship, and we got to telephone it what it is, and we person to assistance up our neighbors by investing successful those communities.”

What Do Kids Want Out of School Board Leaders?

Students astatine the Youth Led School Board and City Council Candidates Forum inquire Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Trustee Candidates Rigo Rodriguez, Valerie Magdaleno, and Dana Suarez (left to right) questions. Credit: Fashion Castillo, Voice of OC

At the schoolhouse committee level, kids privation to cognize however Santa Ana Unified Trustee candidates program to code inconsistent formal codification policies, amended the prime and sensation of their schoolhouse lunches, amended aged schoolhouse buildings and insure students themselves person a dependable connected the schoolhouse board.

Current Trustee Rigo Rodriguez is moving for reelection and Dana Suarez – a intelligence wellness counselor, arsenic good arsenic Valerie Magdaleno, a assemblage engagement director, are vying for seats connected the committee and showed up to reply students’ questions.

Their opponents peculiar acquisition teacher Brenda Lebsack, taxation forensics adept Lloyd Boucher-Reyes, incumbent Alfonso Alvarez and nonmigratory Tamiko Anderson didn’t be the debate.

It comes arsenic the teachers union, Santa Ana Educators Association, person been pushing for amended pay, with members routinely speaking retired astatine nationalist meetings.

It besides comes arsenic trustees connected the committee look a suit from Jewish advocacy groups alleging that they violated authorities unfastened gathering laws and created classes for its taste studies programme successful concealed to see anti-semitic content. District officials person denied the allegations.

[Read: Santa Ana School District Sued for Allegedly Creating Antisemitic Classes successful Secret]

Magdaleno said she wants to grow assemblage schools, grow dual connection and immersion programs and grow committee practice to students and much programs that volition assistance students speech astir their feelings.

Suarez said schoolhouse lunches should beryllium made from scratch, the territory should absorption connected improving student’s speechmaking and mathematics skills and bring successful Big Brother, Big sister benignant programs to assistance enactment student’s intelligence health. 

Rodriguez said the territory should prioritize counselors and intelligence wellness therapists, supported students being represented connected the committee and schools allocating much backing for schoolroom resources truthful students don’t person to wage retired of pocket.

Another Santa Ana Unified School committee campaigner statement forum is expected to instrumentality spot connected October 15 astatine 6 p.m. astatine the Santa Ana Arts Collective gathering connected Main Street.

Hosam Elattar is simply a Voice of OC newsman and corps subordinate with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him astatine [email protected] oregon connected Twitter @ElattarHosam.

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