CITY'S COUNCIL CONTEST GUARANTEES NEW BLOOD.Byline: James Nash Staff Writer SAN FERNANDO San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. - With three of the five candidates younger than 35 and four who have never held elective elective non-urgent; at an elected time, e.g. of surgery. elective adjective Referring to that which is planned or undertaken by choice and without urgency, as in elective surgery, see there noun Graduate education noun office, the March 4 election for the San Fernando City Council promises to bring fresh blood to the five-member body. Voters in this small, northeast Valley city will choose three people to represent them on the City Council. The candidates are incumbent Councilwoman Beverly Di Tomaso, 69; Maria Cano, 32, a nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. legal adviser and political activist; Julie Ruelas, 47, a professor of child development; Steven Veres, 27, a teacher and president of the San Fernando Friends of the Library; and Nury Martinez, 29, the district director for state Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys. While the city's previous city councils often clashed over the size and details of redevelopment in San Fernando's downtown area, the candidates in this race generally agree on a measured approach to attract businesses while preserving historic buildings. They also stake out similar positions on other issues. Instead of highlighting their differences, the candidates are touting touting the making of personal representations by a veterinarian to persons who are not clients in an attempt to solicit their business. their credentials, their roots in San Fernando, their experience or youth, and their endorsements. Cindy Montanez, who was San Fernando mayor before she was elected to the state Assembly last November, is backing the two youngest candidates. Montanez, 29, said the election represents a watershed watershed, elevation or divide separating the catchment area, or drainage basin, of one river system or group of river systems from another system or group of systems. The term is also often used synonymously with drainage basin. for young, well-educated politicians in San Fernando. The race for campaign funds has been competitive, with Martinez leading with $14,149, followed by Cano, Ruelas, Veres and Di Tomaso. Di Tomaso, who has served one four-year term on the council, said she has been among the council's most consistent advocates for business. She said she played a key role in luring a Starbucks Coffee shop - the only one in the Northeast Valley - to San Fernando with a $125,000 self-forgiving loan. Di Tomaso said San Fernando needs a variety of small and larger businesses to bring in sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. revenue for police, parks and after-school programs for children. She said she supports small hometown home·town n. The town or city of one's birth, rearing, or main residence. Noun 1. hometown - the town (or city) where you grew up or where you have your principal residence; "he never went back to his hometown again" shops in the city's core and larger businesses around the periphery periphery /pe·riph·ery/ (pe-rif´er-e) an outward surface or structure; the portion of a system outside the central region.periph´eral pe·riph·er·y n. 1. . She said she would push to restore the position of economic development director, which the City Council eliminated two years ago in a cost-cutting move. ``The community wants the city to go forward,'' Di Tomaso said. ``At the same time, we don't want to lose the historical flavor.'' Veres, a member of the city's Historic Commission, said preserving historic homes has been among his top priorities. Although he has lived in San Fernando only four years, Veres said he appreciates its historic flavor and has immersed im·merse tr.v. im·mersed, im·mers·ing, im·mers·es 1. To cover completely in a liquid; submerge. 2. To baptize by submerging in water. 3. himself in local causes such as building a new public library and a satellite of the Latino Museum of History, Art and Culture in San Fernando. ``I've given a lot of time and a lot of effort over the past few years,'' Veres said. ``I'm not one of those `born and raised' folks, but I'm involved in a lot of the activities that `born and raised' folks are.'' As the youngest candidate running for the San Fernando City Council, Veres said he supports businesses and programs that appeal to teens and people in their 20s. San Fernando needs a movie theater, he said. Veres said he supports more diversity among businesses downtown and would push for development of empty lots on the edges of the downtown. Veres said San Fernando should review its traffic management plan to relieve traffic in neighborhoods, possibly using speed humps A speed hump (sometimes colloquially called a speed bump) is a rounded traffic calming device used to address issues of excessive vehicle speed and volume on residential streets. on residential streets. He also said he would try to get more police officers on motorcycles to enforce traffic laws. Cano proudly calls herself one of San Fernando's ``born and raised.'' As a native, she said, she understands the need for housing and recreation options for all generations. Cano said San Fernando lacks affordable housing for senior citizens and a variety of entertainment and dining options for younger and middle-aged residents. The city's business-recruitment efforts have been scattershot scat·ter·shot adj. Covering a wide range in a random way; indiscriminate: "his habit of scattershot comment on whatever issue catches his eye" Howell Raines. , Cano said. Instead of spending $125,000 to woo a specific business - Starbucks - Cano said San Fernando needs to develop a Business Improvement District that would encompass the entire downtown. ``There's never been a concerted effort,'' she said. ``The end result affects the residents because we're not getting the products we want; we're not shopping here.'' Cano said she would seek more input from San Fernando residents about their wishes for the downtown area and on city issues in general. Ruelas, who teaches child development classes at Mission College in Sylmar, said she would work to ensure that San Fernando weathers the current state budget crisis, which threatens revenue to cities. San Fernando should hire someone to tap more state and federal grants, as well as explore a bond measure for major public-works projects such as street paving, she said. Ruelas said city officials generally do a good job providing services to residents. But she said the city needs a staffer to track requests for service from the public and ensure that their needs are met. ``As council members, we need to improve responsiveness to the public,'' she said. Ruelas said San Fernando police have kept crime in check but should focus more on traffic safety. Ruelas also advocated more recreational programs for older teenagers and senior citizens. Martinez has lived in San Fernando for less than a year, but her political activism dates back to her high-school days. As a student at San Fernando High School San Fernando High School, located in San Fernando, California, is a secondary school that is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school colors are black and gold. All girl teams are referred to as Lady Tigers, all boy teams simply as Tigers. in 1989, she led a series of student walkouts to support striking Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. teachers. In 1996, her family took part in protests to prevent the faucet manufacturer Price Pfister Price Pfister is an American manufacturer of faucets and other plumbing products since 1915. It is known most by its odd name, and its advertisements which make note of its "pfaucet with a pfunny name". from moving from Pacoima to Mexico. The company closed its Pacoima facility in 2000. Martinez said she has been active in efforts to develop guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. for the aesthetics of businesses in downtown San Fernando. She also is working on a proposed Cesar Chavez Noun 1. Cesar Chavez - United States labor leader who organized farm workers (born 1927) Cesar Estrada Chavez, Chavez memorial at the gateway to San Fernando on Truman Street. Martinez said San Fernando needs a strong advocate in Sacramento to make sure the city, one of the smallest in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County, isn't seriously harmed by state budget cuts. ``I'm the only candidate with the experience and knowledge to make sure resources and money come back to San Fernando,'' she said. SAN FERNANDO CITY COUNCIL MARIA CANO Age: 32 Occupation: Nonprofit legal adviser Residence: San Fernando E-mail: mgcano(at)hotmail.com Money raised: $12,767 BEVERLY DI TOMASO Age: 69 Occupation: City councilwoman, secretary Residence: San Fernando E-mail: none Money raised: $3,775 NURY MARTINEZ Age: 29 Occupation: District director for state Sen. Richard Alarcon Residence: San Fernando E-mail: nury2002(at)hotmail.com Money raised: $14,149 JULIE RUELAS Age: 47 Occupation: Child-development instructor Residence: San Fernando E-mail: jruelas(at)prodigy An online information service that provides access to the Internet, e-mail and a variety of databases. Launched in 1988, Prodigy was the first consumer-oriented online service in the U.S. .net Money raised: $10,982 STEVEN VERES Age: 27 Occupation: Teaching associate Residence: San Fernando E-mail: sveres(at)mac.com Money raised: $7,701 CAPTION(S): 5 photos, box Photo: (1) MARIA CANO (2) BEVERLY DI TOMASO (3) NURY MARTINEZ (4) JULIE RUELAS (5) STEVEN VERES Box: SAN FERNANDO CITY COUNCIL (see text) |
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