Council District 9 News

February 25, 2022

Hello Lydia,

There is no denying that we are facing huge challenges and the world has felt very heavy for a long time. Watching the news, scrolling through social media, or flipping through the newspaper rarely leave us feeling better these days. That is why our District 9 State of the District celebration felt so good to be a part of.

People volunteering time to prevent fires, clean our neighborhoods, and improve health and well-being. Folks who are dedicating their careers to connecting unsheltered people with resources and housing, supporting people in times of tragedy, and beautifying the community. Resilient business owners who had the skills, dedication, and strength to not only keep their businesses alive, but to thrive.

Spending time celebrating all this good left everyone who attended feeling better. It also served as a reminder that there is plenty of good happening all around us. I am grateful for everyone doing that good work – even if it doesn’t go viral or end up on the front page of the newspaper.

With gratitude,

Sean

D9 Office Hours

The District 9 Office Hours is now taking requests to meet with the Council President. These are opportunities for D9 residents to speak directly with the Council President for a 15 minute one-on-one meeting, in-person or virtual (Zoom).

Office hours are RSVP-ONLY. To be added to the interest list, please email your community representative (find yours here) the following information:

Full name
Email address
Phone number
Preferred date/time
In-person or virtual

Your Community Rep. will then follow up on your submission and the Director of Administration will send an appointment to confirm the meeting.

March Office Hours:

Mountain View: Friday, March 18, 9-11am
City Heights: Friday, March 18, 12-2pm

District 9 Office Updates

D9 State of the District Review

Council President Elo-Rivera held the District 9 State of the District celebration at Park De La Cruz Recreation Center early in the month. Our entire team is so grateful that over 100 members of the community joined us.

CP Elo-Rivera spoke about some of the accomplishments for the District in the past year and his plans to bring more funding to D9 communities. Most importantly, he honored the great efforts of community partners, volunteers, non-profit groups and artists for the great contributions they have made in the district. Everyone has benefited from community cleanups, homeless outreach, community murals, health outreach and the many other selfless acts.

Welcome, Francisco!

Francisco Peralta-Vargas | Pronouns: (he/him)

Council Representative

We are happy to introduce the newest member of our team, Francisco Peralta-Vargas, who will serve as a Council Representative supporting the neighborhoods of Talmadge, Fairmount Village, Teralta East & West, Colina Park, Castle, and Azalea Park. In his spare time, Francisco enjoys listening to “How I Built This” on NPR, learning about entrepreneurship, and one of his favorite hobbies is snowboarding.

"2022 has been quite a productive year thus far and I am looking forward to year full of challenges and growth. Most importantly I am looking forward to learning as much as I can so I can better assist our constituents in District 9." - Francisco

#WeAllCount

Annual Point in Time Count

This week, the District 9 team joined thousands of other volunteers throughout San Diego to participate in the annual Point in Time Count. Each year, the Point in Time Count is conducted to determine how many people are experiencing homelessness at a single point in time and is mandated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to determine how much federal funding is provided to address homelessness. The Point in Time Count is a crucially important event, not only to secure funding for San Diego, but to also understand and be better equipped to respond to homelessness within the region.

Council President Elo-Rivera and the D9 staff arrived in City Heights and southeastern San Diego at 4:00am and 5:00am earlier this week to begin interviewing people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. We were joined by local community members, volunteers, and representatives from organizations such as San Diego Canyonlands and the Ocean Discovery Institute.

The Council District 9 team surveyed people experiencing homelessness, learned about their personal history, and gathered important data. All the collected information will be processed over the coming weeks and will be reported out later this year by the Regional Task Force on the Homeless.

Community Partner of the Year: EDCO Residential & Commercial Waste

We were honored to bestow our Community Partner of the Year award to the EDCO disposal team for their generous support and collaboration on the many community cleanups we've hosted across our District. This ongoing partnership has allowed us to assist residents in beautifying our neighborhoods, preventing more illegal dumping in streets and alleys, and improving our quality of life by creating a cleaner environment for our families.

To date, through these cleanups, we have filled around 60 (40 yard) dumpsters with an estimated 360 tons of trash. As partners, we have saved our residents trips to the landfill, prevented illegal dumping in our neighborhoods, and helped make our communities cleaner. As District 9 residents, we must continue to show our pride in our community by putting trash and recycling in its proper place.

Congratulations, Stephanie Hernandez!

The District 9 Office is happy to announce the appointment of Stephanie Hernandez to represent District 9 on the City of San Diego’s Mobility Board! Stephanie is an environmental justice advocate and has dedicated her career to advancing mobility initiatives in San Diego’s most impacted communities. Stephanie's background as a young woman of color, daughter of immigrants, and D9 Mountain View resident, will make her a powerful and impactful asset to the board.

Stephanie currently works for the Land Use and Environment Group at the County of San Diego as a CAO Staff Officer and previously worked at City Heights CDC. She currently serves as the Alumni Board Member at Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI), Director of Professional Development for the City Heights Rotaract Club, and Facilitator with the Aaron Price Fellows Program. Stephanie is also a member of MANA de San Diego and a graduate of the Latina Success Leadership Program. In 2017, Stephanie obtained a B.A in International Security and Conflict Resolution with a specialization in Environment and Security from San Diego State University. In her free time, she likes to ride her e-bike, travels with her dog Leela and cat Tiabeanie, and support local San Diego restaurants with her partner Carlos.

The City of San Diego is Hiring

The City of San Diego currently has over 80 open positions! The City maintains a competitive merit system for hiring and promotions that provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. The City strives to have its workforce reflect the vibrancy and diversity of the community we serve. If you would like to be part of an inclusive team of public servants, bring your talents to the City of San Diego!

Available Positions: www.sdd9.info/cityjob