Vote Through Tuesday Nov. 5

By Dianne Anderson

In the last stretch of the race, Black candidates are thinking ahead to tackle the issues that they’re hearing loud and clear on the street, which sometimes comes knocking at the front door.

MARLA MATIME – RUSD Trustee Area 4

For Marla Matime, a lot of what she hopes to accomplish hits close to home.

Her child is in a district where Black students make up about 3%, where discrimination is almost daily. She co-founded the African American Parent Advisory Committee that soon caught the attention of staff.

The motivation was not only for her own children, but other Black parents also joined forces to figure out the next steps to stop the bigotry.

“When you have parents knocking on your door on weekends to tell you their child has suffered a grievance with their teacher, it’s very disheartening,” she said.

In attending a recent RUSD Excellence through Equity Conference, she was disturbed by reoccurring themes, like how to combat microaggression. As a Black woman, she said it’s hard to see how little has changed in schools today.

“There’s so much pushback when it comes to including children of color in certain circles, it boils down to race, it’s unfortunate,” she said. “To think that in 2024 we’re still having these conversations.”

But she said parent involvement is critical to move the system. When they started AAPAC, she said the district heard the demands and made changes.

RUSD increased mental wellness centers, increased staff and counselors to help the children, but she emphasized Black students need to get beyond surviving to thriving to a sense of belonging.

If elected, Matime, a small advertising business owner, wants to offer opportunities to graduates seeking marketing experience through her business. As president of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, she also wants more Black students interested in the broad impact of social justice in environmental issues.

Financial health and wellness education is also important. Students should learn how to pay bills, budget, or save for a rainy day.

“What are the steps to become a homeowner, save for college? What opportunities to access top schools? How can we empower our Black and Brown students to take care of those things first,” she said.

As a volunteer and serving on the PTA Board, she hears the parents’ concerns. When she started AAPAC at her children’s schools, she said a lot of these issues came to the surface.

“Being that strong advocate for students to have a safe inclusive environment is one of my top priorities,” she said. “When you do something for a child that has been marginalized, it benefits the whole.”

Daryl Terrell — Moreno Valley Mayoral Race

Daryl Terrell, a city planning commissioner, has lived in Moreno Valley for 36 years, and his biggest concern is homelessness, which has increased countywide and in the city.  As a County Behavioral Health commissioner, he has advocated for a crisis management team to deal with mental health and substance abuse within homeless pockets.

To move forward, he said the city needs a strategic plan and collaborations to help secure more funding. Right now, he said the city only collaborates with the Salvation Army Homeless to Work program.

“To effectively address homelessness you have to have a strategic plan and performance management. Collaboration makes it more effective for nonprofits, faith-based and schools, where you have a lot of homeless families,” he said.

He wants programs to deal with the whole person and expand wraparound services to reduce recidivism.

“It’s not enough to say we house people,” he said. “What we have now is a whack-a-mole program.”

More youth centers could also help the city. He said one youth recreation center and soccer fields are not enough, but indoor basketball courts and state-of-the-art facilities are needed.

When he’s out knocking on doors, he hears public safety concerns.  One woman told him she’s moving out because her grandson was robbed and the neighbor across the street was robbed and pistol whipped in front of her house.

He said a retail suppression team within the police department could help reduce some crime.

“I want to have a storefront or substation to patrol both sides of a common border. We have prevention out there, but I think we have to hold people accountable,” he said.

Not long ago, he suggested the city council decide on a homeless outreach team, similar to one implemented in a nearby city along with the County Behavioral Health. For homeless veterans, he also looks to March Air Force Base’s potential for its vacant land, where volunteers could help veterans within a resource center.

“Not to use the barracks, but there’s space there and a U.S. Vet homeless facility, they will fit right in. They have transportation. We can work with other cities. Collaboration equals more federal money,” said Terrell, who has served as Traffic Commissioner, and is a graduate of UC Riverside.

In the past, some of his advocacy focused on keeping local jobs for residents. In 2009 when a big warehouse outlet moved in, he said they only hired one employee from the city.

He went before city council to present a local hire policy.

“If businesses come into the community, you can’t force them, but if they get any direct assistance that costs taxpayer money, they have to do a good faith to hire from MoVal. It passed,” he said.

Terrance Stone – Victor Valley Community College District Governing Board Trustee Area 3

Victor Valley College is growing fast, which would be a good thing, but Terrance Stone said he hears how financial support is not keeping pace with enrollment and growth because of a state cap on funds.

He feels they must get beyond the cap ban, and not dig into the reserves if students and staff are going to be served well on campus.

“We don’t have to have overpopulated classrooms. We don’t want our staff stressed out with the strain of trying to educate all these people coming on campus,” said Stone, founder and CEO of Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy.

Infrastructure must support incoming students, which takes more money. The key, he said, is connecting with state and federal representatives, and having pointed conversations about getting real resources to the college — not just photo opportunities.

“Let them know it’s not just a friendly relationship I have with you. We need more support for our schools, how can we get $10 million back into our schools right now, where can you find those dollars at?” he said.

As Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce, High Desert Chapter President, Stone works closely with the college BSU to help them increase capacity.  Even though the Black community represents a larger demographic in the area, he said the numbers are still not reflected at the local college.

Victorville is about 19% Blacks and 18% whites, representing a significant gap in Black student enrollment, retention and matriculation.  And, there are no Black board members.

“For the Black community, we’re less than 20% of the population, but if you look on campus, there are 5,000 people on campus and less than 10% are Black. That’s only 500 on campus,” he said.

Stone said decades of service on numerous boards show that he is a team player. He served on a charter school board for over six years, on county boards for over a decade, and sits on foundation boards and community-based organization boards.

“I know how to work well with others, with the board of directors of schools, the county or nonprofit foundation boards. I know how to get stuff done,” he said.

Getting all students in the door means education must also keep up with technology to attract students already working and making money on AI and social media. He said they should be supported with entrepreneurial classes to give them an edge.

“People already think we’re behind because we’re the High Desert. If people are learning technology here, outside businesses will know we’re giving opportunities to create technology jobs and a workforce here. Technology is moving in a fast-paced direction.”

To see the California Secretary of State – Find your Polling Place
https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/polling-place/

Search Early Voting and Vote-by-Mail Ballot Drop-Off Locations at https://caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov/
For local voter information, see Riverside Registrar of Voters at https://voteinfo.net/

For San Bernardino ROV, see https://www.sbcountyelections.com/