This Article was edited on March 11, 2024 to express the concerns of residents who suffered storm damage and to better show the timeline of events and relationships between council members and Borderlands for Equity.
March 7, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – Tuesday, the Lemon Grove City Council members were presented a chance to pass a resolution “calling for an immediate, and permanent ceasefire and a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis affecting Gaza and Israel.”
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By Miriam Raftery, based on interview by Henri Migala
October 6, 2022 (La Mesa) – In an interview with East County Magazine’s Henri Migala originally aired on KNSJ radio, La Mesa City Council candidate Mejgan Afshan shared her experience as a civil rights leader and her goals to build a more equitable La Mesa if elected. She is one of four candidates running (a fifth, Kathleen Brand, has dropped out); ECM will be publishing interviews with all of the candidates over the next several days.
Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.
October 15, 2021 (La Mesa) -- Four candidates participated in a lively forum last night hosted by East County Magazine on Zoom and streamed live on Facebook. Mejgan Afshan, Kathleen Brand, Patricia Dillard and Laura Lothian participated. (Note, Lothian joined a minute late due to techincal issues and is not shown in the screenshot)
shared their diverse views on issues including homelessness, equity/police reforms and public safety, affordable housing and development, the downtown district and neighborhood revitalization, the potential for a new library and/or community meeting space, public health mandates, the role of the new Arts and Culture Commission, and candidates' endorsements.
Each candidate gave a two minute opening statement and a one minute closing statement. (Two other candidates, Jim Stieringer and Michelle Louden, did not participate in the forum but Stieringer sent candidate information. Read more about the candidates at https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/ecm-host-la-mesa-city-council-candida... .
Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.
Photo: Participating candidates, left to right: Mejgan Afshan, Kathleen Brand, Patricia Dillard, and Laura Lothian
October 13, 2021 (La Mesa) – East County Magazine will host a virtual forum for La Mesa City Council candidates running to fill the vacancy left by Dr. Akilah Weber’s election to the state Assembly. The candidates will be Thursday, October 14 at 7 p.m. It will be recorded via Zoom and livestreamed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EastCountyMagazine. A podcast will also be posted at www.EastCountyMagazine.org after the forum.
Six candidates are running and four have agreed to participate: Mejgan Afshan, Kathleen Brand, Patricia Dillard, and Laura Lothian. A fifth, Jim Stieringer, provided detailed information on his experience and goals if elected.
Find information on these five candidates below.
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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.
Photo, left to right: Mejgan Afshan, Letitia Dickerson, Patricia Dillard, and Laura Lothian
July 20, 2021 (La Mesa) – So far, the lineup of candidates seeking to serve on La Mesa’s City Council have one thing in common: all are women who filed papers to run for a vacancy on the Council left when ex-Councilmember Akilah Weber won election to the state Assembly. Dr Weber, a Democrat, was the first Black woman to serve on the Council.
The filing deadline opened July 12 and will close on August 6, so more candidates may yet file. The candidates who have filed to run so far are:
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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.
Tuesday, the Lemon Grove City Council members were presented a chance to pass a resolution “calling for an immediate, and permanent ceasefire and a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis affecting Gaza and Israel.”
By Miriam Raftery
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