Damon Alexander says he is running for city council in San Bernardino’s Seventh Ward “to halt the dysfunction and to provide leadership where there is currently a vacuum in City Hall. The council is so busy fighting each other, no one is concerned about taking care of the city and its residents. I am a servant-leader, with my only agenda being to focus on making my city better, respectable and safer for all.”
The challenges facing the city are substantial, Alexander said. “The issues in my city are numerous, beginning with the city council,” he said. “Leadership starts at the top. Let us begin with the lawsuits. That we have encountered lawsuits over petty revenge tactics that have cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars is not only disheartening, it is a threat to our city’s viability. The council collectively has not seen fit to settle what suits we can reasonably bring to a close, so we can stop the bleeding. We have the former city manager suing us, we have two former mayor employees suing us, we have the cannabis industry suing us, etc., etc., and all this could have been avoided with simple leadership.”
Alexander continued, “We have other issues like the deteriorating road conditions of the city, again which cost the city money when residents’ vehicles are damaged and the residents sue the city. The poor road conditions are also a public safety issue. When drivers are avoiding potholes they could possibly, or in fact have, hit other vehicles. There is the added chance that drivers could even hit pedestrians when avoiding those potholes. Let’s repair the streets.”
Alexander vowed, “The homeless crisis is problem that I will address immediately, and it only requires leadership.” His formula was simple, he said. “Call all the city, county and state officials, the churches, and non-profits together and sit them down at the table and focus all those resources, target all that energy, with a unified plan with benchmarks and achievable goals,” he said. “I would also ask Dignity Health to sponsor a mobile health vehicle to go throughout the city, dealing with the homeless population to help slow the spread of diseases. The incentive for them is that will ease the overcrowding of their emergency room and that will save Dignity Health money when the homeless are treated early. ‘A pound of prevention is worth a ton of cure.’”
A dose of common sense is in order, Alexander said.
“The solutions are complex to say the least, but some issues are 101,” he said. “Treat your city staff with dignity, and deal with them in a professional manner. Stop trying to get over on one another and stepping on each other. If you are elected or hired to work for the City of San Bernardino, then do the job you were hired to do. If not, you’re fired.”
Alexander said he was committed to the constituency he is asking to elect him.
“I will be responsive to the citizens I represent and to the city as a whole,” he said. “I will hold a monthly meeting to keep the citizens that I represent informed no matter how few show up. I will be the leader, speaking to all and not just in election season. I have an open door policy. I will listen to people, because in the end it is our community to make better or worse.”
The city’s financial challenges can be overcome, he said.
“As our revenues decline, we need to be open and innovative on bringing in new streams of income for the city,” he said, by facilitating entrepreneurship. “We need to be a YES city. YES, to unorthodox projects and ideas that turn project concepts into reality. The answer is YES.”
Furthermore, Alexander said, “We must promote our city’s rich history and culture, and stop letting others define who and what we are, and we must do this aggressively. The arts and culture cannot be forgotten in the midst of all of our issues. Remember, it is the arts that make a city’s reputation. Route 66 here we come-again.”
Alexander said, “I have heard wonderful stories throughout my days canvassing, and we need to share them. Our history is long and beautiful. Let’s share it with the rest of the world, our sister cities, and southern California.” He listed out a litany of entities to prove his point that “Our city is not all bad. We have great events/clubs/organization like the SB Airfest, SB Turkey Trot 5K/10K, SB Symphony, the National Orange Show, the regional swim team at Arrowhead Country Club, wonderful non-profits: Young Visionary, Time for Change, 100BMIE, the 66ers, Assistance League, Kiwanis, Rotary, San Manuel Stadium, Masons, Social Lites, Inc. and others. We have the SB International Airport which is growing every day. Let’s stay on the good side of hope,” he said. “In the Marines, we learned not leave any of our fellow Marines behind! Work together, we struggle together and we achieve together! That is what I will bring to the council, the honor, integrity and pride of being a San Bernardino resident. Be that change!”
Alexander serves as the president of the North End Neighborhood Association, as a commissioner on the City of San Bernardino Public Safety Commission, and as a member of the City of San Bernardino Veteran’s Committee.
A retired federal agent who was employed with the Department of Justice, Alexander has a bachelor of science degree in political science from the University of La Verne, a masters of public administration degree from from National University and a master’s degree in Theology from Sacramento Theological Seminary & Bible College. He is a graduate from Harvard’s Leadership Institute. With his wife,  Felicia, he has five children.
-M.G.