Printer-friendly version
By Miriam Raftery
“Fix the poverty rate and schools, then long term we will have a great city.” – Chris Shamoon
October 2, 2012 (El Cajon )—Chris Shamoon has big dreams for El Cajon. A successful business owner and recent law school graduate, Shamoon says he was approached by local business owners to run for El Cajon City Council. His platform extends far beyond the business community, as he seeks to represent needs of all people in the city—and tackle head-on the root causes of poverty, health and education problems dismissed by some candidates as unsolvable or not the role of the city to address.
Shamoon, one of seven candidates vying for three seats on the Council, shared his vision in an exclusive interview with ECM.
Born and raised in El Cajon, Shamoon is of Iraqi Chaldean descent. “I’m fluent in English, Spanish and Arabic, “ he says, adding that he can communicate with most residents in their native language.
He believes that revitalizing the business community is important – but so is building “everything around it” to create a flourishing community that will benefit residents, boost real estate values and attract newcomers.
“I’m on the Republican ticket, but I have compassion for everyone. If people need help, let’s help them. Everyone needs help at some time. I’ve seen many people turn around with a helping hand.”
Business owners asked Shamoon to run because “they were not happy with some regulations and wanted somebody to represent them on the City Council,” he said. He wants to see Council work more with local businesses instead of having them shut down or opt not to invest and open a business here. For example, he believes sign ordinance are too restrictive, citing a new gas station owner who was not allowed to use the sign left by the prior station owner. He believes “tasteful signs” should be able to convey more than just the name of the business, a restriction under current law.
Boosting local businesses and bringing new companies to El Cajon will help create jobs, in turn helping to reduce poverty. But his commitment to helping people in need doesn’t stop there.
“Fix the poverty rate and our schools, then long-term we will have a great city,” he says. “Show people that schools will educate their children, and they will want to come here.”
El Cajon has the highest poverty rate in the county at close to 30 percent. In addition, Shamoon observes, “ We have some of the worst rated schools in the county. Our elementary schools are rated 1 or 2 out of 10; El Cajon Valley Higih School is a 4 out of 10, below average. ” By contrast, Granite Hills and Valhalla High Schools in neighboring communities are ranked much higher.
Asked what a City Councilmember can do to improve public schools, Shamoon replies, “It takes leadership. It’s our city, it’s everyone’s problem.” He says city leaders could work with schools to find private sponsors for programs such as “Raising a Reader,” in which $3,000 supports a classroom for five years with items such as book bags and supplies.
He believes reopening the East County Performing Arts Center is important for both the community and local businesses. “We have a unique anchor and we’re seeing it rot,” he said. “I would love to see it open, and I would love to see it self-reliant,” he says, but adds that spending some money may be appropriate since the investment could pay off by boost business for downtown merchants—in turn increasing sales tax revenues for the city. He also believes revenues for the theater could be boosted through concessions, such as bringing in El Cajon Brewery craft beers or food from local vendors.
He also believes that arts and entertainment is an important asset for residents. “Baseball was invented to help us during tough times,” he notes, and faults the Council for allowing the theater to fall into disrepair. “Maintenance is not an unexpected expense.”
Asked about redevelopment, he offers praise for the current Council’s vision on this issue. “I would “love to see redevelopment spread further, but California cut the money. I think Council had a great vision on that.” He believes that any redevelopment funds should “not only be spent on downtown and the already pretty parts of El Cajon” but should also target other areas. “If people don’t feel comfortable walking and the street is deserted, crime goes up,” he adds.
He wants to bring his business experience to the job and run the city like a business. Shamoon owns a chain of a dozen Giant Pizza restaurants and says he has helped struggling restaurants regain profitability. “My family and friends own many businesses—gas stations, markets, real estate. Since I have a law background, I’m the guy that they go to and talk to when they need help.”
He supports a change in the law to allow people to own a limited number of chickens and says he empathized with a woman who repeatedly asked council for this, only to be rebuffed. “They are restricting people too much,” he says.
Shamoon adds, “I also want to see more community gardens, where you see seniors partner with kids. This teaches kids science and nutrition, and people learn from each other.”
El Cajon’s demographics have shifted dramatically in recent years, with an influx of Iraqi Chaldean refugees, other Middle Eastern immigrants, Latinos, Asians and African-Americans; together these newcomers are now the majority of El Cajon’s population. But Shamoon believes that many of their needs are not being addressed by the current Councilmembers.
“We have so many languages in El Cajon,” says Shamoon, who wants to see more help for students to learn English and do better on test scores in schools. “Parents need to learn English, too, as they help their kids and learn to help themselves.”
He also wants to help improve the health of people in El Cajon through some innovative programs. “I volunteer with Health and Human Services on the Building Better Health program,” he says. “It comes back to the poverty issue.” For example, some don’t have access to fresh produce, and some stores don’t accept EBT (electronic benefit transfer, formerly known as food stamps), he notes. “If people are not eating right, there is more healthcare cost.”
He wants to educate people on healthy foods with recipes, improved accessibility and walkable communities. “I helped build the El Cajon Healthy Foods Initiative,” he says, adding he plans to bring it before Council this week. “We’re presenting data,” he says, adding that supporters hope to see improved access in places like Second Street, which has “high traffic and not enough crosswalks” to make “everyone more comfortable.”
Shamoon believes public safety needs to be a budget priority. “The cuts need to stop,” he says of police and fire funding. “They are the ones protecting us.”
He wants to examine the budget and make sure that “people receiving benefits really deserve them…some people take advantage so we need to make sure that we are giving benefits to the right people.”
He cites the El Cajon Collaborative as a positive example of an effort to help those in poverty. “There are great programs out there to help those in need. If you see someone in a destitute situation, you need to help them,” he maintains. “We need education, so people know what we have.”
He has been actively volunteering on the Yes on Proposition 35 campaign to crack down on human trafficking—an issue that’s on the rise in El Cajon and East County. He views the issue as rooted in poverty as people are driven to desperation—including girls as young as 12 years old who are lured into prostitution. “They are drugged up, pimped, taken to Mexico and back up here…We need to put the fear into those who are responsible and offer sanctuary to victims. She’s scared for her life; if the police won’t help and he (her pimp) tells her `I’ll kill you if you leave’ then she has no choices.
He makes a case for bringing diversity to the Council. “Council members should be a connection between the community and the city. If the Council is city staff, we lose that connection,” he says, noting that multiple Councilmembers previously served on the Planning commission.
He views some issues as based on misunderstanding, not discrimination. “Some in the Chaldean community don’t understand how politics work in El Cajon. The staff doesn’t explain.” For example, reasons behind restrictions on smoking, alcohol sales and card playing have been misunderstood. “Too many liquor stores bring crime up; when Council limited alcohol sales I supported it.”
As for card room restrictions, he says, “We don’t want vacant lots to turn into places where gambling is occurring with blacked out windows.” He believes an initial outright ban went too far, but that a new ordinance requiring windows to remain clear so that activities can be viewed from outside is a reasonable compromise.
Shamoon is endorsed by the Neighborhood Market Association, the East San Diego Association of Realtors, and local business owners.
“We’re trying to unite the community,” says Shamoon, who has held meetings with Chaldean business owners and others on a variety of issues. “I want to be a bridge, a bridge for health and human services, communications, the poverty community, and the business community.”
He concludes, “ When you’re stuck in the same loop that isn’t working, you need an expert from the community to come in. It’s not just the Chaldean community, it’s the whole community. I want to represent everyone who feels that they are not being represented.”
To learn more about Chris Shamoon’s candidacy, visit his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/electshamoon and the Smart Voter website at http://smartvoter.org/vote/shamoon
Recent comments