PATRICIA DILLARD, LA MESA CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE: COMMITTED TO PUBLIC SERVICE

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October 16, 2022 (La Mesa) -- East County Magazine recently interviewed Patricia Dillard, one of four La Mesa City Council candidates vying for two seats on the ballot. In our interview, originally aired on KNSJ radio, she shares her experience, priorities and goals if elected.

Her  career spans close to 40 years working in business development, customer service, and sales for large and small businesses. She’s also been an active volunteer in community service. 

View the full interview by clicking the video image above and scroll down for highlights.

“I’ve lived in La Mesa for over 27 years and we’ve always been passionate about our family, and education, and doing right by our children,” she says, adding that her children attended schools in La Mesa at all levels, graduating from Helix High School. “Now my husband and I are empty nesters. We have always given back in one way or another to our community. My husband was a pastor for almost 15 years, and so we’ve always tried ways to try and help people.  It’s just in our hearts to do so.”

As vice chair of the Community Police Oversight Board for nearly three years, she says, “We’ve worked really hard with the police department especially with the chief of police, who has really leaned in to listen to us – and we wanted to lean in and listen to him and the concerns of the police department and also listen to our community, our residents’ expectations of the police department. We’ve really come up with some really great ideas and are on a very good track with the police department to make sure that we are doing what our residents expect us to and that we’re addressing  more current issues that have arisen in the last several years…We established a very good relationship – we have some excellent police officers who are providing excellent service to our community and we’re very proud of that.”

She is also co-chair for the La Mesa Juneteenth and Friends event, which had his inaugural event this year. “We were able to establish over 40 volunteers from our community,” she says, “and when we held it we were hoping we’d get maybe 250 people to attend…we ended up with almost 1,500 people that attended the event. We really focused the event of course on family time, music and entertainment. We had the MLK choir come and we also had one of the singers sing a solo…we also involved a lot of children, and we introduced history throughout the park, Macarthur Park…our residents were so happy, our vendors were ecstatic…our residents and people from outside the city came in…They all said they couldn’t wait until next year…We also got coverage on every major network…”

She says, “It’s been all about community for me, making sure that we do things to bring our city together, celebrate our diversity as much as we can…and really focus on what is important for La Mesa – and that’s why I’m running. I want to take it to the next level, and I know that if I serve as a City Council, I will be able to do that and make cities for the city of La Mesa.”

Public safety is her number one priority, according to her website.

Asked her views on the underlying cause of the May 2020 civil unrest, she notes that the police oversight task force started before the protest and riot. “When that actually happened, I think that there were a many people who were surprised, disappointed and upset…But what I understood it to be, turned out to be a little bit different once we got more concrete information. We received an after action report…we were able to meet with that law firm to get more explanation, more clarification…I also walked, knocked and talked to voters. I got a lot of feedback from them, which I thought was especially important, especially the people who actually could see what was going on because they live up in the hills above the Vons shopping center and were able to describe to me exactly what was going on, which was a peaceful protest when on for some time and then suddenly turned into a violent situation because there were people that came from outside the city of La Mesa and were specifically there to cause problems, and cause violence…it was a super unfortunate event that happened at a time there was a lot of unrest throughout the nation. Some of those cases are still in court and cannot be discussed not that I serve as the vice chair of the Community Police Oversight Board, but I will say that working with the chief, we have worked very hard to make sure that that never happens again.”

She adds, “We do have a new police of chief…everything has been readdressed…we have done everything we can to move forward and make sure that we are working with our communities…The fact that the community is quieter, crime is down, and we’ve had a chance to meet very hard-working dedicated police officers, I feel good that the work that we have done has really helped…You don’t want to make our police officers that they’re not wanted or needed, because what would the community be without public safety? Public safety is our police department and our fire department. If we don’t have those services in our community, what in the world do we have?”

Asked what further reforms if any she feels are needed in policing, she says,”There’s been a lot of programs that have been implemented, especially with our issues with homelessness. There are other programs…for people on the verge of homelessness. So there’s a lot of services the city is making available and that has helped, but obviously we need to collaborate more and do more…especially with out outlying cities. But essentially we are on the right track. I don’t know that you’re ever done…but when I have conversations with Chief Sweeney that I see is he’s a person that thinks ahead…if you’re a police officer you certainly know things that others who don’t specialize in criminal justice or policing would ever know…I really like the way that the chief addresses issues before they become a big issue. I think the Community Police Oversight Board is important because it keeps everyone on their toes…

Asked how to solve homelessness and housing, she cites collaboration with nonprofits that specialize in homeless. “But I would like more emphasis in mental health. I believe that it is an underlying big part of homelessness. It’s something that we can’t ignore any longer…Any homeless situation, people should be entitled to get health, get counseling. I do have a brother who is homeless. It’s a struggle for me; it’s very hard, it’s very painful to see the person I grew up with who is very smart…who has always done very well in the field of construction…but now that he is homeless, I feel that when I talk to him, in his mind he feels that he’s okay…to be honest with you, he’s scared and I see this in a lot of homeless people. They’re scared to talk to you, they don’t know who to trust, they can’t find their way where it would be comfortable for a change.” She wants help from beginning to end for those facing homelessness, “not just throwing them in a motel room… We need to have more 100% affordable housing for those on the verges of homeless, who are working but still not able to make ends meet, and we also need key housing for people who want the help. They want to get out of that situation and are willing to allow professionals to work with them from the beginning to the end so that they can get up on their feet and become productive citizens…you can’t do it with just throwing them a hot meal and giving them a room for a night. It just needs to be more cohesive.”

She adds, “The thing with La Mesa is we have the highest trolley stops per capita in the county of San Diego. So you have people coming in from El Cajon and Santee and Lemon Grove and Encanto…they can ride in, stop over for a while and then go to another city, so we need to collaborate with other cities that have specialties in different areas because it could be spousal abuse or just abuse…there are a lot of reasons that cause a person to be on the verge of homelessness or homeless. We need to collaborate on a regional basis so that…we’re reducing homelessness and getting help for people want to get help.

Asked how to balance the need for more homes versus concerns about preserving community character and parking issues, she says, “I think there a couple of different ways….We can’t stop people from coming to La Mesa…it’s a great place to be…There is a struggle with median household, because when you talk about affordable housing it’s really supposed to be so you don’t pay more than 30% of your median income.” She says this is a struggle for a household earning $50,000; “you still don’t qualify for affordable housing in La Mesa. So that’s why I mentioned having 100% affordable housing as an option. However when it comes to new builds, we can do things that address several issues – our environment, public safety, and our ability to have more walkable and bikable spaces, use less cars and lower our emissions…Since we have to build, if we build more along trolley lines we eliminate more of the traffic issues….if you can only have one car per unit, that encourages people to move into that apartment unit…but also encourages the to walk and catch the trolley….In addition, include affordable housing in those builds; some can be 100% and some can be a percentage.

She adds, “Another thing is thinking about first time homebuyers; I did loans for a long time. It was always a dream for my husband and I to build a home. We bought our first home in another area, lived there long enough to accumulate appreciation” to use it to buy in La Mesa 27 years ago. She adds, “We can now build condos and townhomes to address walkability. Yes, downtown La Mesa is a great place to go, but it shouldn’t be the only place. We have the ability to build on vacant lots and dilapidated buildings on vacant lots or lots not being used at all, where we could build townhomes or condos and make another walkable neighborhood…I would like to see another area for people to live and have walkable, bikeable spaces supplied with charging stations…don’t break what’s not broken. We have a great downtown location for people to go, but we have over 63,000 people who live in La Mesa, so we need more places for people to go. We need more businesses here, to thrive here, so that we can offer everything that people who live here would like to have….So I think we can do it all.”

Dillard has talked about supporting good paying jobs. Asked how, she says, ”The way that I envision doing it is to work through educational avenues like our schools, our libraries.” She wants ways to educate people “especially through unions” that offer benefits such as healthcare, eyecare, and pensions. “You can actually get your training while being paid with a lot of these unions and get certified in different fields, apply for these jobs, get these jobs, and have a working family wage where you can afford to pay your rent or mortgage, put food on the table, care for your children and buy a car or whatever is needed for yourself and your family. So there are ways to help connect unions to people, not just here in La Mesa but throughout the county…Not everybody can go to college,” she notes, “but there are still people out there that pay living wages where they can still do well and provide for their families.”

She says there are jobs in La Mesa, too, for people to apply for such as Kaiser, local businesses, and more. “There’s a lot of businesses that need to hire people, and there’s ways to use network media to get the word out about those businesses and tag other businesses through Instagram or Twitter…and also there are groups in places like Facebook, business groups where you can join those networks…talk to businesses that are here…If I want a job I’m going to do everything I can to get it and not take no for an answer…everyone has to work to get what they want in their life, and I believe that we can encourage them through local public schools and through out networks that we already have.”

Education is a key issue for her. She says children lost a lot during the pandemic. Asked how the city can fill the gap between school and home, she replies. “There are grants to help students who for whatever reason did not have internet connection…even having the ability to do school online wasn’t available for many children.” She adds, “We have ways to communicate with educators to make sure we are filling the gaps” to “use grants to help subsidize people in need.”

She is endorsed by Dr. Akilah Weber, the former La Mesa Councilwoman and now Assemblywoman.  “I do promise to continue the work that she did, to focus on the people of La Mesa and continue to help them in any way that I can.” She is also endorsed by Mayor Mark Arapostathis, other Councilmembers,  Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, State Senator Toni Atkins, and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, PhD, as well as other local leaders.

“I am a person that cares about people,” she concludes. “I want to continue to take care of the people of La Mesa as best that I can, and I will work very hard to make sure that I can do the best that I can.  I am not a perfect person, but I am a hard-working one. I will stay dedicated and focused to taking care of our community,” she says, adding that her roots and her family’s roots are here in the La Mesa community.

You can learn more at her website is https://patriciadillard.com/.

 

 

 

 



 

 


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