By Councilman Ruben Valencia
ONTARIO – The City of Ontario is facing trying times and I am honored to have been chosen by the residents to represent them on the dais. I raised my two daughters here and am proud to call Ontario home, but the main reason I desired to be a Councilman is because a lot has changed since we moved here 20 years ago.
Both violent and property crime is up – like it is across California and San Bernardino County – our businesses are struggling, and our children are having a difficult time finding quality jobs once they graduate. These represent the status quo and the reason that my experience as a seasoned law enforcement veteran will be an invaluable tool in helping move the city forward.
After speaking with residents from across the city over the past year and a half, I have compiled a comprehensive list of issues that need to be resolved. During my first term, I am going to do everything in my power to take care of the entire list; however, I will outline the first three here:
Revitalizing Downtown – A city’s downtown area should be its crown-jewel. It should be a place that attracts residents to not only conduct business, but also to relax and build the sense of community. Ontario’s downtown has become plagued by increased crime and loss of jobs. Where there were thriving businesses in downtown Ontario, it’s more common now to see empty storefronts and our police stopping suspicious people.
We need forward thinking on the Council and I look forward to working with the residents of Ontario, as well as my colleagues on the Council, to attract new developments and businesses to downtown. I will fight to make sure we have a downtown worthy of Ontario’s residents.
Promoting Ontario Airport – After a long and arduous fight we finally won control of Ontario International Airport (ONT). Local control is exactly what the airport needed and what the residents of Ontario wanted. Now we need to look to the future and to making ONT the busiest and best airport in Southern California.
To do this, we must incentivize the carriers to create more flights in and out of ONT. I look forward to working with the newly formed Ontario International Airport Authority to analyze the fees being paid by passengers and carriers in hopes of reducing them. It’s simple economics – when you give companies or individuals more money, they will spend it, which invigorates the regional economy further.
Create Youth Programs – Our youth are our future and we’ve been failing them. Youth unemployment and underemployment is disastrously too high and our kids aren’t learning the skills they need to achieve success once they graduate. It’s up to us to make sure they have a quality education and that there are real jobs waiting for them.
I will work with local businesses to set-up privately funded programs that benefit our youth before and after school. Specifically, providing subsidized or free sports and technical programs for underprivileged youth in our community. Growing up, I learned invaluable lessons from playing team sports – it’s one of the main reasons I have had a successful career in law enforcement.
We need leaders who are going to put the safety and needs of those they represent first. I will do whatever is necessary to improve the lives of Ontario’s residents over the next four years. Together we will be a force for change in Ontario.
Councilman Ruben Valencia is a 28-year veteran of law enforcement in Southern California. He was recently elected to the Ontario City Council, coming in first place, and has lived in Ontario for over 20 years.
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