Seghers Calls For Entrepreneurial & Caring Ethos On The Redlands Council

Brian Seghers, who is vying in the election being held to determine who will complete the last two years of the council term to which the late Pat Gilbreath was elected in November 2016, said, “I am running for city council because I do not want our kids having the same conversations about change that we are having now in another twenty years.”
Seghers said he is qualified to serve as a city councilman “because I love this city and the history. I want to take what is here and make it the best it can be.”
In sizing up how he can be distinguished from his competition, Seghers said, “I own multiple small businesses. I work with a lot of the nonprofits in town. I work with both the north and south side. I work with the police and fire departments and at risk youth. I have come from nothing, made it through a lot and now I am where I am. More people can relate to me than anyone running.”
The major issues and challenges facing Redlands, Seghers said, are “division within the city, lack of support for small business, lack of police staffing, unfunded pensions and our youth.”
Those challenges can best be redressed, Seghers said, through “equal opportunity for all, supporting all businesses equally throughout the city and promoting our city outside of Redlands. We literally have thousands of people driving right by us weekly that could help our economy grow instead of our raising taxes to pay for new projects and the pensions. We have to think outside the box a little and look at new possibilities and sources of revenue.”
Seghers continued, “A lot of people talk about the homeless but no one is really talking about our youth. If we do not start mentoring more of our young people and leading them in the right direction, then we will have a whole new generation of homeless in a few years. We need more activities for our youth that will bring them together in a positive manner.”
The city can defray the cost of effectively redressing its problems “by taking advantage of previously untapped revenue,” Seghers said.
Redlands is in a state of flux politically. Among other things, Redlands is changing back to a by-district election system, a quarter of a century after the city abandoned choosing its elected leadership in that fashion. In 1989, Redlands voters passed Measure Q, which established a by-district voting system for the city council. For the 101 years previous to that, Redlands held at-large municipal elections in November of odd-numbered years. In 1991, the first vote under a district system was held in two of the city’s then-newly established districts. Under that system, residents were authorized to vote only with regard to a candidate representing their district, where one-fifth of the city’s population resided. Candidates were restricted to running only within the district in which they lived. Two years later, the city’s voters elected council members from the city’s three other districts, but also voted in the same November 1993 election to end by-district voting and go back to selecting members of the city council in at-large elections once again beginning in 1995. Under the re-established at-large suffrage, voters throughout the city for more than two decades participated in all of the elections and the only residency requirement for candidates was that they live within the City of Redlands. During that span, the city moved its elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years.
Last year, however, the city moved to return to holding its elections by-district. This year, the city is slated to hold elections in District 1, District 3 and District 5. The city will have a council elected entirely by-district after the 2020 election, when races in District 2 and District 4 will be held. In 2016, Gilbreath and Eddie Tejeda were elected to four-year terms. Tejeda yet remains on the council. After Gilbreath’s 2017 passing, Toni Momberger was temporarily appointed to take her place. This November, a contest to determine who is to hold Gilbreath’s at large post until it gives way to the city’s fully by-district reality in 2020 is being held. Momberger is competing to remain in the post, challenged by Seghers and Michael Ten Eyck.
Seghers, who grew up in Las Vegas and has lived in Redlands for the last 15 years, acknowledged having no previous experience in government and no post high school education. He asserted, nonetheless, that his status as a self-made entrepreneur positions him to serve Redlands residents in a way that could not be replicated by others who adhere to a more conventional approach to orienting themselves to the world and ticket punching their way into a position of authority. “I do not have any government experience or college,” he said. “On paper every candidate is far more book smart. I have life skills and experiences that help me to make decisions that better the community as a whole. I respect everyone that goes to college and has the discipline that it takes to see it through. A lot of people go to college and never get to do what they want and live out their dreams. I knew what I wanted and went after it.”
Seghers said, “I own two businesses and work at both of them, Rendition Tattoo in Redlands and 454 Tattoo in Encinitas.”
Seghers has been married for six years and has three children.

I want to do what is best for the community,” Seghers said. “I am only doing this for the community. I have nothing to gain from this but I will guarantee that I will make sure the community grows in ways that it never has. We need a leader who is showing up and supporting all over the community and I already do. I have been called confrontational and not a team player. My team is the community, so if asking questions and confronting the issues that prevent us from coming together is confrontational, then so be it. I will never compromise when it comes to the well-being of the people in our community. I understand the urgency at which things need to be done and I will not waste a day.”
-M.G.

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