Bob Harriman is one of two District 4 residents vying to serve on the Victorville City Council in November, the first by-district election in the city’s 60-year history. That change to the means by which Victorville chooses its municipal leadership came about when an attorney from Northern California, Scott Rafferty, threatened to sue the city earlier this year if it did not alter its at-large voting process. The city hastily complied with that demand by switching to a by-district voting system, drawing districts that put each of the members of the council in separate districts and sequenced the elections such that each incumbent will see her current at-large term end just as the election for the district she has now been placed into is held.
Harriman and his opponent, Liz Argulo, are vying, essentially, to fill the vacancy on the council created in March 2021, when Mayor Debra Jones, Councilwoman Leslie Irving and Councilwoman Elizabeth Becerra voted to remove Rita Ramirez Dean from her position as councilwoman, on the basis of their contention that she was no longer residing in the city.According to Harriman, “I want to graduate to the next level of leadership for our growing city. I want to be a part of the future growth in Victorville. I have a vision, unlike my opponent, since I have already served as a decision-maker for Victorville, and politics is not my motivation.”
“I have been civically active since the day we bought our home in 1989,” Harriman said. “I have been a resident of Victorville for 42 years and in this time my wife and I have raised our four boys here. I participated in all their recreational activities, coaching baseball, basketball and football, eventually serving as president of Victorville Little League. I was then appointed by Councilman Bob Hunter to the Community Advisory Committee where I was able to participate in the planning, location and development of our new parks. In 2018 I was nominated and appointed to the planning commission where I now serve as vice-chair.”
A major challenge facing the city is the rate of development that is taking place, Harriman said.
According to Harriman, “I’ve lived and experienced the growth firsthand, the good times as well as the bad. My opponent has been a resident for a very short time. Victorville is experiencing some major growing pains, crime, traffic, homelessness, long commutes to work and our streets to name a few.”
Harriman said he has concerns about how the revenue the city is obtaining through Measure P, a general sales tax measure approved by Victorville’s voters in the November 2020 election, is being spent. The one-cent sales tax took effect on April 1, 2021, increasing Victorville’s sales tax rate from 7.75 percent to 8.75 percent.
“Our Measure P funding must be used/spent responsibly,” said Harriman. “This will help fund our police, firefighters, code enforcement, animal control and wellness center above what is budgeted. Locating and ascertaining highway improvement grants will help fund our public works projects and ongoing maintenance of our streets. By spending revenues responsibly and within our set limits, our budget will go a long way.”
A graduate of San Dimas High School, Harriman has attended Victor Valley Community College, but has no degree.
“I am a small business owner as a concrete contractor,” Harriman said. “My wife and I have been married for 33 years. We have four boys, ages 38, 31, 27 and 23, and two grandchildren, ages 17 and 2 months.”
Harriman said, “I have given to my community, donating my time and services while my children grew up. I have stayed civically active through the good, bad and the ugly. I have participated in the planned development of our parks as well as the planning, zoning and future construction of our city.
-M.G.