Feb 28, 2024

OPINION: ROGER DICKINSON FOR DISTRICT 2 CITY COUNCIL

 Sacramento City Council District 2 has been in a state of chaos for the last three years with a Council member embroiled in a variety of issues, some petty and others major, that made it difficult for business and community leaders to work with him.  His resignation in January caused many community leaders throughout the district to look around and conclude that we haven’t been left behind, as many believe.  Instead, we have found that North Sacramento possess all the ingredients for economic growth and opportunities to become a very healthy and major suburb for Sacramento proper. What we need is a leader with vision who understands the diversity of the district and how to best prioritize the immediate and long-term needs of the community. We need someone who can lead the charge at City Hall and bridge our needs in mending/creating relationships among the neighborhoods and know how to obtain much needed resources for health, wealth, and safety.

North Sacramento has a pool of 9 candidates pursuing the opportunity to become the next Council Member for District 2, which is very exciting to see so many residents wanting to be part of the political empowerment process.  Unfortunately, only one candidate can be elected and because of the district’s unusual state, it cannot be someone who will be learning from scratch what it takes to work in a public policy body that will be facing a budget shortfall beginning this coming fiscal year.  What North Sacramento needs to do is elect a seasoned public policy maker who has the experience and knowledge in identifying and negotiating for work and resources desperately needed for District 2 to grow. Of the nine candidates who are running only one, Roger Dickinson, has the qualifying experience to fill that seat and put us on a track of positive change.  

Roger Eugene Dickinson is an attorney who has spent much of his life performing public service work and has lived in the district long enough to know the challenges the various neighborhoods are facing.  He spent eight years as a member of the Regional Transit Board of Directors and was chairman of the board twice. He also served on the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Commission, the Sacramento County Air Pollution Control Advisory Board, and the North Sacramento Community Plan Citizens Advisory Committee. As a member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors he met with many of us to see how we could improve our neighborhoods and funneled resources as necessary to help North Sacramento.  As a State Assemblymember representing North Sacramento, he again ensured the funneling of resources into the district and brought some of us on board to represent the diverse communities.  District 2 cannot go wrong with Roger leading the fight to bring the resources and public policies essential for ensuring the health, wealth, and safety of North Sacramento residents.  We can no longer risk this City Council seat to be a training position for novices.  We need someone to hit the ground running and that someone is Roger Dickinson. – SacLatino Magazine

May 19, 2022

SacLatino Magazine's Voter Recommendations


The 2022-midterm elections will be held Tuesday, June 7 in California and many voters have already received their ballots in the mail.  We will be choosing candidates in a wide array of elected positions including Governor, Constitutional Officers, a U.S. Senator, Congress members, Assembly members, State Senators, city council members, and law enforcement.  But whom should you vote for?  With so much campaign material bombarding voters, it’s easy to see why many are confused.  

 

Newspapers and community groups and associations rely on candidate forums, interviews, and list of endorsements to recommend which candidate will deserve your vote.  Others rely on a local neighbor who appears to understand politics, so they follow his/her recommendations.  While yet others will vote for candidates based on gender, ethnicity, race, religion, LGBTQ status, skin pigmentation, or even their name.

 

We at SacLatino Magazine decided to make our endorsement list based on current job performance and candidate skill sets that tell us their readiness to serve in a public policy development capacity.  This is especially key considering the direction our government is headed toward along with the rough economic waters being predicted, and which groups stand to lose the most if an ill-prepared candidate is chosen.  As a result, these are SacLatino Magazine’s endorsements for the June 7th election:

 

Governor:     

Gavin Newsom.  He may not be ideal to some, but he is the best qualified from the pool of candidates.

 

Lt. Governor:

Eleni Kounalakis.  She is sharp and could easily assume the role of Governor.  Eleni continues to do lots of outreach to the Latino community.

 

Constitutional Officers

 

State Attorney General:

Rob Bonta.  Yes, some say he is too liberal, but we need to give him a chance to do the job since he was appointed and not elected.

 

State Controller:

Lanhee Chen.  He is a very trusted accountant by both parties, and although he is a registered Republican, Democrats in Southern California really like him.

 

State Insurance Commissioner

TOSS UP.  Ricardo Lara and Marc Levin are running for this post, but both have significant baggage.

 


U.S. Senate

 

U.S. Senator:

Alex Padilla.  He is a savvy politician and his selection by Gavin Newsom to replace Kamala Harris was a great one.  Once appointed, he landed on the job running and that’s good for California and the Latino community.

 

U.S. Congress

 

U.S. Congress 6th District

Ami Bera. He’s demonstrated an ability to work both sides of the aisle, especially in health, a critical area for Californian’s Latino population.  If it’s not broken…

 

U.S. Congress 7th District:

Doris Matsui.  In the last six years Matsui has demonstrated strength and courage to tackle some of our toughest issues facing this region.  Had she not done that, we would be running a candidate ourselves.

 

State Senate

 

State Senate 6th District

Roger Niello.  Moderate Republicans are important in our state legislature to balance the extremes of both parties.  Niello brings that, along with experience in good public policy development.

 

State Senate 8th District:

Angelique Ashby.  As City Council member for District 1, North Natomas, she has taken rice fields and a major flood plain and converted them today into a powerful economic engine for the city.  Sharp, energetic, methodical, strong community roots, and experience is exactly what we need.

 

State Assembly

 

State Assembly 6th District

Josh Pain.  We need new blood filled with ideas and genuine concern for the community.  We don’t need a career politician who shows up only during election time.

 

State Assembly 7th District:  

Ken Cooley.  Experience and rooted in the community have made him a very well liked Assembly member.  Let’s keep him in there.

 

State Assembly 10th District:

Eric Guerra.  He has worked in the state legislature as a staffer and as Council member for District 5.  Eric has made our community proud by taking Stockton Boulevard to new heights of economic development and safety.  No other candidate can touch his qualifying credentials.

 

Sacramento County District Attorney

Thien Ho.  His experience as a prosecutor alone tells us he knows his way around the court and the justice system.  His opponent is a teacher.

 

Sacramento County Sheriff

Jim Cooper.  Cooper has really grown as a leader, negotiator, and public policy developer, giving him a significant edge over his opponent.  His opponent is a Trump believer. 

 

Sacramento County Supervisor 2nd District


Duke Cooney.  The County Board of Supervisors have been an embarrassment.  We absolutely need new blood in there.

 

Sacramento County Supervisor 5th District

Jaclyn Moreno. The County Board of Supervisors have been an embarrassment.  We absolutely need new blood in there

 

Sacramento City Council 

 

District 1:

Lisa Kaplan.  She brings a ton of public policy experience and knowledge of the district to city hall.  Alyssa Lozano is well liked in the community but lacks the inside experience.

 

District 3:

Karina Talamantes.  She is not only experienced in the workings of city hall, but she is very familiar of this newly created district.  Her youth makes her a ball of energy to deal with and is experienced in creating smart growth communities.

 

District 5:

Caity Maple.  The city needs someone that has been in the trenches and understands the conditions surrounding homelessness.

 

 



May 31, 2021

El Soldado Latino, A Unique Memorial Among All 50 States

By Adrian Perez, SacLatino Magazine

It was a typical weekday afternoon in the fall of 1944 in Los Angeles, California where the Rodriguez family lived when a hard knock came on the door. Mrs. Rodriguez opened the door to see two soldiers in uniform  of which one held an envelope in his hand. “Mrs. Rodriguez?” asked one of the soldiers, “we are from the military department and we are here to inform you…” Before he could finish Mrs. Rodriguez knew exactly why they were there. She slumped over with the heartache and pain a parent would feel knowing that her son would not be coming home ever again from war.

Thousands of parents across the United States have received that uncomfortable news in every major military conflict the United States of America has been involved in. As a result, and in their memory, Memorial Day was established as a National Holiday in 1971. Although originally established as Decoration Day right after the Civil War, there was a group of Mexican American mothers in Sacramento, California who felt more needed to be done for the remembrance of the child they lost in World War II. They wanted a Memorial Monument.

These mothers organized themselves right after WWII and formed a group called “La Sociedad de Madres” (Mothers Society) and embarked on an effort to build a unique memorial to honor their children. In 1948, La Sociedad de Madres found a carved statue of a soldier that would cost $4,000 to purchase and ship from Italy. The amount was challenging for the time period, but the members of the group were up for the challenge.

Organizing a series of fundraisers (tamale sales), La Sociedad de Madres reached their goal, obtained the statue, placed it at Sacramento’s Mexican American Center, a community nonprofit, and conducted a formal dedication of “El Soldado” on May 10, 1951 (Mexican Mothers’ Day.)


After the Vietnam War, a push was launched to relocate the Memorial onto state property to better honor all Mexican American/Latino soldiers who died in battle. The push was successful and the memorial was moved to its present location on the grounds of the State Treasurer's building, facing the west-steps of the state Capitol. It is the only Memorial of its kind that sits on State property in the United States. Its rededication was held on September 16, 1975, which is also Independence Day in Mexico and several other Latin American countries.

At the time of its move and rededication, little consideration was given to the Memorials design regarding it being “visitor friendly” and a place for visitors to share a moment. However, as other memorial monuments were built around the Capital grounds, it became evident the El Soldado Memorial needed an upgrade and in 1980, a group of Latino Vietnam veterans decided to beautify and build out the Memorial to make friendlier and informative for visitors. But that group soon found out that the State of California would not fund a renovation since it was not a State memorial. To accomplish that task, they would need to raise private funds.

They worked toward raising money and even obtained an artist rendition of the renovation from world-renowned muralist and Vietnam Veteran Juanishi Orozco. Although the private efforts were admirable, after a decade and a half of trying to raise funds they fell short, and some of the members of the group decided to work with the California Department of Veterans Affairs and several members of the California State Legislature to obtain public support.

In 2007, the State Legislature created the Mexican American Veterans' Memorial Beautification and Enhancement Committee housed within the Department of Veterans Affairs to help secure private funding to complete the project. The estimated cost of the memorial restoration project was over $1.1 million. After a decade of work, enough donations were obtained to beautify El Soldado and placed on a new mount.


“What remains to be completed is the cement plaza on which El Soldado will be permanently located, the sidewalks leading into the plaza and a ‘Mothers’ Garden,” says Robert Ruiz, former Chairman of the California Mexican American Beautification and Enhancement Project. “Other enhancements will be in the next phase of the project.”

To complete the project a new nonprofit has been established called the El Soldado Latino Memorial whose goal is to raise the $650,000 necessary to complete the project. Their mission is to have the project completed and a formal rededication by September of 2022. Any and all support is welcome. - SacLatino




Mar 18, 2021

Natomas Unified Creates New Department To Connect With More Families

New Department is charged with listening and adapting outreach efforts to connect with more families.


Lisset Mijares
Making deeper connections with families that influence positive outcomes for students will be one of the primary focuses of a newly created department in the Natomas Unified School District. Communications and Family Engagement will provide families with education, resources, tools, and a variety of opportunities tailored to meet the unique needs of our diverse school community. 

 

“Although feedback has been positive about our communication efforts, and we’ve had good attendance at our workshops and other offerings through Parent University, this is an opportunity to expand our current actions and target families that have been at times harder to connect with,” said Chris Evans, superintendent.

 

One of the first steps in that effort will be learning the barriers and challenges that limit some parent’s ability to engage and participate. Whether it’s work schedules, mistrust from an experience, or tough circumstances, staff wants to listen and adapt their outreach efforts to connect with more families. This work will be critical as the district implements an 18-month recovery plan to get students back on track who experienced learning disruption because of the pandemic.

 

“We’ve been looking at research and lessons learned from other districts who had to rebound after a disaster, and what we’ve seen repeatedly and specifically with Hurricane Katrina is that it’s imperative to get parents engaged and empowered immediately to return to some form of normalcy,” Evans adds.

 

This new department is an exciting addition in support of the district’s vision that “all NUSD students graduate as college and career ready, productive, responsible, and engaged global citizens. Although the department will officially launch July 1, preliminary work to start making those connections has already begun.  Updates will be shared with the community along the way.

 

The team that will be leading this effort has a diverse set of skills that make a perfect combination to lead this work. Meet the team and their new roles in the link below.


https://natomasunified.org/new-department-to-focus
-on-deeper-connections-with-families/

Aug 10, 2020

California Redistricting Commission Complete


CalMatters Reports:

The final six Californians who will redraw the Golden State’s electoral map — defining its legislative and congressional districts for the next decade — were selected Friday by the eight other members of California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission. Four of the new members are Latino, which didn’t satisfy advocates who called for all six to be Latino after none of the first eight randomly selected members were Latino. California’s population is about 40% Latino.

  • Sonja Diaz of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative: “(Friday’s) decision brought more diversity to the redistricting commission, especially the voices of women of color … Yet, the diversity of the final commission does not go far enough to ensure Latinos have a full seat at the table in shaping the state’s political future.”

Of the 14 commissioners, five are Democrats, five are Republicans and four have no party preference. Eight are female and six are male. Three are white, three are Black, four are Asian/Pacific Islander and four are Latino. Seven are from Southern California, four from the Bay Area and three from the Central Valley.


Jun 19, 2020

CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL SEEKS REACCREDITATION

The public’s input is one component of a three-day virtual visit in June by a team of assessors from CALEA.

SACRAMENTO, CA
– The California Highway Patrol (CHP) will seek public input later this month as part of its assessment from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), an internationally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to improving law enforcement and public safety services.

The primary purpose of CALEA is to improve the delivery of public safety services by maintaining a comprehensive body of law enforcement standards, establishing and administering an accreditation process, and recognizing professional excellence. The CHP, which has been accredited since 2010, is the largest state law enforcement agency in the United States to be accredited. The CHP Academy and Communications Centers are also accredited.

As a part of this assessment, members of the public are invited to comment by calling (916) 843-4398 on Tuesday, June 30, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Additionally, the public is invited to participate in a virtual public hearing on Tuesday, June 30, 2020, beginning at 1 p.m. The virtual public hearing, which will be conducted via Webex, will give members of the public an opportunity to interact with CALEA assessors, to provide commentary about the CHP, or ask questions about the accreditation process. To participate in the virtual public hearing, please e-mail chp-accreditation@chp.ca.gov no later than Thursday, June 25, 2020, at 5 p.m.

The public’s input is one component of a three-day virtual visit in June by a team of assessors from CALEA. During their visit, the CALEA assessors will verify the CHP’s overall compliance with a set of standards designed to ensure the Department’s policies and procedures are consistent with law enforcement industry best practices. The assessors will remotely examine CHP Headquarters, the CHP Academy in West Sacramento, and various administrative and field commands to examine all aspects of the Department’s policies, procedures, administration, operations, and support services.

“We welcome the accreditation process,” said CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley, who has led the Department since 2017. “The input we receive from the public and the assessment team gives the CHP direction and helps us continuously improve. The CALEA assessment is a valuable resource for the Department.”

The CALEA accreditation process is an additional avenue in which the CHP ensures it is upholding its mission of providing the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security to the people of California.

Feb 11, 2020

SacLatino Voting Recommendations Primary 2020

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This year’s California primary lands on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. What this means is that ballots have begun to arrive to registered voter’s homes already.  It also means you can go to the Voter Registrars’ Office and vote.  Why the big push to vote?  Unfortunately, Latinos typically doesn’t turn out to vote in big numbers, which affects our ability to get public policies that benefit our community.  Only you can fix this!  Don’t let the many sacrifices our historical leaders went through go to waste by not voting.

Latinos are the most populous group in the state at nearly 40 percent of the population.  In the Sacramento region, we are nearly 30 percent, or close to one out of three residents.  Our children make up the majority of students in the school districts, making voting for school trustees especially important.  What we have done is reviewed public information on candidates and public referendums to assess those we believe would be in the Latino community’s best interest.  Here are our recommendations.  Not all local races or referendums are included.

City Council Races:  Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8
District 2 has four candidates running for City Council and they include:  incumbent Alan Wayne Warren, who has been in this seat since 2012; newcomer Sean Loloee, who is owner of the Viva Markets; Ramona Landeros, who is currently a Trustee for Twin Rivers School District; and, Lamar Jefferson, a small business owner.  Of the four candidates, only Warren has the inside experience in city government, and is a life-long resident of North Sacramento.  Since being elected, Warren has learned how to maneuver city hall to make District 2 issues a priority, which has resulted in major street and walkway safety, increase in jobs, and more investment for housing developments.   A friend of the Latino community, which is now almost 40 percent of the population, Warren has overseen the most improvement in North Sacramento in nearly 50 years.  The other three candidates are nowhere near ready to lead North Sacramento.  VOTE FOR ALLEN WARREN, SACRAMENTO CITY COUNCIL.

District 4 has the fastest growing economy, comprised of midtown and downtown.  There are two candidates running for the Council seat, incumbent Steve Hansen and Katie Valenzuela.  Hansen has been doing an incredible job of bringing investors for housing development, pushing RT to cut fares and promoting less use of cars.  Valenzuela is criticizing the construction of the Golden 1 Center and the new professional soccer stadium and is taking a novice’s approach at city government.  VOTE FOR STEVE HANSEN, SACRAMENTO CITY COUNCIL.

District 6 is going through a major transformation behind the energy of incumbent City Council Member Eric Guerra, who is being challenged by newcomers Kevin Rooney, a plumbing contractor, and Waverly Hampton III, a college student.  Guerra has kept a humble yet straight forward approach in improving business districts and develop housing.  Moreover, he has made strong alliances among fellow city council members, an essential ingredient to get good public policy passed.  His opponents should sit back and take notes.  VOTE FOR ERIC GUERRA, SACRAMENTO CITY COUNCIL.

District 8 is the most interesting of the city council races. Larry Carr a long time public servant and friend of the Latino community, is not seeking reelection creating an opportunity rarely seen in City Council races.  The candidates are:  Mai Vang, a college scholarship director and teacher at Sacramento State University and University of California, Davis; Les Simmons, a Pastor and known leader from South Sacramento; Ronald Bell, a retired Pastor; Daphne Harris, a real estate broker, and, Santiago Morales, a program analyst.  Of the candidates, only Vang brings elected office experience having been a Trustee in the Sacramento Unified School District.  This alone makes her the strongest candidate, but she also brings more diversity to a male dominated City Council.  VOTE FOR MAI VANG, SACRAMENTO CITY COUNCIL.

Mayor, City of Sacramento
Sacramento has three individuals running for mayor. They include incumbent Mayor Darrell Steinberg; challenger Mac Arteaga; and newcomer Jrmar Jefferson. Darrell Steinberg was elected mayor in 2016 and has done a number of really good things to improve living in the city of Sacramento. More recently his push to develop the Rail Yards will not only bring business to the area, but much needed jobs and housing.  Steinberg has also taken a strong leadership role in addressing the growing homeless crisis.  The other two candidates have absolutely no relevant experience. VOTE FOR DARRELL STEINBERG, MAYOR, CITY OF SACRAMENTO.

Trustee For Twin Rivers School Board
Twin Rivers School District is geographically the largest school district in the Sacramento region, and based on news clippings and attending School Board meetings, it is extremely disjointed.  Those Trustees representing suburban and rural Areas rarely support the needs of the schools in the Sacramento city limits.  And, the Trustees representing the Areas within the Sacramento city limits are weak or disconnected with the schools and school children they represent. 

Area 3 - This year, Area 3 will have a new Trustee, Christine Jefferson, who is running unopposed.  Her activities and commitment to especially Grant High School, which has a 52% Latino student body, will be a breath of fresh air over the outgoing trustee, whose troubled legacy included not living in the Area. 

Area 7 - There are currently three candidates running to represent Area 7, they include incumbent Linda Fowler; Planner and consultant Daniel Savala; and community activist Sasha White Vogt.  Linda Fowler was initially elected in 1971 and she doesn’t appear to know or understand that the neighborhoods she has been representing have changed.  In addition, she has been under investigation for numerous questionable activities including paying herself for helping launch a private school.  More recently, Fowler was not vocal about the school closures nor the parents concerns in this Area, which will still face some challenging proposals being considered by the Board of Trustees.  What Area 7 needs is a fresh new Trustee who sees the needs of the children and understands the demographic and economic changes that have occurred since 1971. Daniel Savala and Sasha White Vogt bring those perspectives as well as advocacy experience on behalf of the disenfranchised.  Of these two, Savala brings the additional experience of creating alliances, a much-needed tool to bridge the District’s division between city versus rural and suburban.  VOTE FOR DANIEL SAVALA, TRUSTEE TWIN RIVERS SCHOOL BOARD.

Measure E
Measure E is one of those essential Bond issues that are critical for the economic development of our region. Without proper classrooms or learning environments for students to grow, the Sacramento region will be unable to produce the workforce that is essential to attract big businesses or stimulate entrepreneurship. The best thing about Measure E is that it will not increase property taxes, a concern expressed by many homeowners and renters early on and by tax groups. As a result we recommend:  VOTE YES ON MEASURE E. 

Measure G
Measure G is an interesting idea but very ill conceived. To believe that taxpayers would rather have their money spent on raising someone else’s child versus protecting their home or their neighborhood leads me to believe that the framers of Measure G gave no thought to ask taxpayers if this even made sense. Nonprofits are established by individuals who have a vision of improving things in the different aspects of our busy lives. The state and federal laws allow nonprofits to exist by giving them rights to raise nontaxable money through contributions, activities, or events. This Measure takes taxpayer monies to accomplish the mission of those nonprofits, which essentially equates to raising a child.  Taxpayers already flip the bill for schools, workforce development, youth employment, gang prevention, parks and recreation, libraries, etc., but this Measure implies City government is failing in these areas, therefore nonprofits should be paid to duplicate these functions.  Moreover, in addition to the City funding existing programs, a total of 2.5% of the City’s budget will be committed to fund these nonprofits.  Why not have the nonprofits petition to work with the existing City programs and add value to them versus functioning independently?  Measure G appears more like a money grab than a legitimate effort to address the City’s future.  VOTE NO ON MEASURE G.