JESSYKA HEREDIA, CANDIDATE FOR LEMON GROVE CITY COUNCIL: THE TOWN WE WANT IT TO BE

By Elijah McKee

September 20, 2022 (Lemon Grove) — “The squeakier wheel gets the oil, right? If you come out and say ‘Hey, this is what we need,’ and you’re persistent, things start to change, remarked ” Jessica “Jessyka” Heredia about virtual access to city meetings. She personally live-streams Lemon Grove City Council meetings on Facebook, while calling for an investment in an official video record.

In an interview with East County Magazine, Heredia reflected, “I get lots of views so I know it’s something that should be done and could be done. And I believe it will be done as a result of me coming and doing that. I’m going to continue to advocate for that regardless of whether I’m elected or not.”

Heredia officially qualified for the ballot last month, and is now one of five candidates vying for seats on the Lemon Grove City Council this election year. She runs a business in El Cajon that has been in East County for 24 years, sat on the City's Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and the Business Improvement District, and runs the Lemon Grove Support Local social media pages.

Given the four-year term lengths for councilmembers in Lemon Grove, Jennifer Mendoza is the only current official whose seat could be challenged this year. However, Councilmember Jerry Jones decided to retire after nearly 20 years as a councilmember, creating an open seat and the possibility for two new faces to join the dais.

For elections within San Diego County this year, every active registered voter will automatically be granted a mail ballot. They will begin being sent out on October 8, and early voting via ballot drop boxes will begin October 10. All in-person poll centers will be open from November 5 through Election Day on November 8.

In the Lemon Grove field, Councilmember Mendoza has announced her bid for reelection and is the only incumbent in the race. The other four candidates include Heredia, as well as Blanca Brown, Stephanie Klein, and Alysson Snow. East County Magazine sat down with all five women for in-depth interviews in order to learn more about them and their campaigns. Watch for profiles of all five candidates to be posted in our Communities section for Lemon Grove.

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HEAR OUR INTERVIEW: JESSYKA HERREDIA AND CHRIS WILLIAMS, LEMON GROVE IMPROVEMENT COUNCIL

By Miriam Raftery

Hear audio of interview

Update: After this interview aired, the City Council voted to reopen the Lemon Grove Recreation Center one day a month, on Saturdays, in a win for citizen activists. Watch for an in-depth story on the Council action soon.

July 19, 2022 (Lemon Grove) – The Lemon Grove Improvement Council , a nonpartisan organization, was founded by citizens eager to help to fulfill needs of the community, a city with limited revenues. A key goal of organizers is to see reopening of the city’s recreation center, which has been closed for more than a decade.

Jessyka Heredia and Chris Williams from the Lemon Grove Improvement Council sat down for an in-depth interview with East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery, originally aired on our radio show on KNSJ.

Heredia hopes to partner with the city. “If we collaborate together as a team, we can get it done….We’re here to help.”

The group held a Lemon Grove Citrus Festival on July 9 with family-friendly activities such as sack races, tug-of war, ball pitching, bounce house and slides as well as vendors, food and lemon-themed items galore.