JOHN MCCANN: I WILL USE COMMON SENSE, FOCUS ON COMMON GOALS
Q:Rate outgoing Mayor Mary Casillas Salas. What was her biggest accomplishment? What did she most neglect? Mayor Salas’ biggest
accomplishment was working with the City Council to create the Homeless Outreach Team and then approving the homeless bridge shelter.
Mayor Salas’ biggest disappointment was leading efforts to tear down a decades-old historic statue and renaming Discovery Park because some people felt it was an offensive name. Prioritizing issues that happened hundreds of years ago has only worked to divide our diverse community.
A:As mayor, I would work to unite the community by bringing common sense to the office and focusing on our common goals of public safety, creating jobs, maintaining our streets and infrastructure. We need to remember our history, or we are doomed to repeat it.
Q:
How would you rate
the Chula Vista Police Department? What are its strengths and/or weaknesses? Would you favor increasing or decreasing its budget and why?
A:
I would give our Police
Department a 10 out of 10.
As a City Council member, I have worked to provide the correct tools and resources to our Police Department.
Chula Vista is now the second safest city in San Diego County, according to a September 2021 report from the San Diego Association of Governments on crime in the San Diego region.
The Chula Vista Police Department’s biggest strength is its officers, who truly care about our community.
The weakness is that we have several police officer positions open that need to be filled.
The “defund the police” movement has deterred many good people from
pursuing a career as a police officer.
I am in favor of increasing funding for the Police Department in the city of Chula Vista.
Public safety is my No. 1 priority.
Q:How would you approach police use of surveillance such as drones and license plate readers? A:
Chula Vista police
have done a good job of balancing the use of drone and license plate readers while protecting citizens’ privacy.
Drones are only used when there is a police call. The drone is dispatched to better protect our citizens and our officers.
License plate readers are an effective tool in combating car theft, kidnapping and child abductions. The privacy of our citizens is safely guarded.
There are several checks and balances in place to protect citizen privacy during the license plate reader process.
Q:
The median home
price in Chula Vista is $732,500. How would you approach housing development in Chula Vista and encourage affordability amid the housing crisis?
A:
I support affordable
home ownership. As Chula Vista’s new mayor, I would work with home builders to increase their first-time buyer programs, decrease fees, and streamline the process to build homes for ownership and during the upcoming general plan update to make home ownership a priority.