Council District 9 News

December 17, 2021

Hello Lydia,

What a year! The one year anniversary of taking office and upcoming flip of the calendar to 2022 has offered me an opportunity to reflect on the past twelve months. The year was not always smooth. We took office during one of the most challenging periods of the pandemic and were handed numerous messes that will take years to pull the City out of it. Internally, we’ve had our learning moments as a team, and I certainly have learned many lessons along the way.

However, smooth or not, I look back at the past year with very warm feelings. We reestablished connection with community, made important contributions to decisions that will impact San Diegans for generations to come, and have raised the bar when it comes to accessibility for the communities we serve. Far more days than not, I ended the day knowing we’d done our absolute best to move the needle forward for the people we serve.

Moving into 2022, you have my commitment to continue to focus on the values we were committed to when I sought this role and was sworn into office – honesty, transparency, and justice. I will also continue to try to learn, grow, and be better. There is no doubt there will be rocky moments in the year ahead, but there is also a world of opportunity awaiting us in 2022. Thank you for everything you did to make this year special and I look forward to all we’ll do together in the future.

With gratitude,

Sean

Copy of D9 Budget Survey _Instagram Post_.png

A budget is a values statement. Our priorities as a City are demonstrated by the decisions we make in how we spend the community’s money.

Council President Sean Elo-Rivera wants to hear from residents, business owners and workers, and people in District 9 about your funding priorities. Council offices are required to submit budget priority memos to the Mayor’s Office and Independent Budget Analyst next month.

Please let us know what your priorities are by completing the below survey, and share with others, by January 7th, 2022. Our survey is virtual and available now: www.sdd9.info/fy23

START SURVEY

Awards & Recognitions

"Elected Official of the Year" by SD County Bike Coalition

Last week, Council President Sean Elo-Rivera was awarded the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition’s Golden Gear Award for “Elected Official of the Year.” The San Diego Bike Coalition appreciates Council President Elo-Rivera's continuous advocacy for improving safety and efficiency for San Diegans who cycle. He had the honor to share the (virtual) stage with other bike advocates and reaffirm his commitment to improving the safety of our county’s cyclists.

During the ceremony, the Council President dedicated his award to the community members we lost this year in cycling crashes, and he provided a stark reminder that still have a lot of work to do within our local bike and safe streets advocacy.

Council President Elo-Rivera currently serves on the SANDAG Board. In that capacity, he is committed to seeing an improvement in how our bikeways, and all public projects, stay within budget and are constructed on time. He commutes via bike from Kensington to Downtown San Diego. Say hello if you see him riding around our city streets!

Learn more about the San Diego Bike Coalition: www.sdbikecoalition.org

"Community Partner of the Year" by Business for Good

On December 8th, Council President Sean Elo-Rivera was awarded the "Community Partner of the Year" Award by Business for Good. This was presented at the organization’s end of the year awards party, where they recognized leaders in business, community, and government who have tackled a variety of issues with the intention of creating a better San Diego for all.

Council President Elo-Rivera was recognized for centering policy priorities around the needs of our community – and, more specifically, on ensuring those who are most impacted by decisions are at the table. Whether supporting local businesses or ensuring workforce development comes directly to the most neglected communities (through events such as an Opportunity Fair), he is committed to seeing our work as a City and region be inclusive, accessible, and rooted in lived experiences.

We look forward to continuing to work with incredible partners like Business for Good, doing the work with and on behalf of our communities, so that everyone has an opportunity to succeed and thrive.

Learn more about Business for Good: www.businessforgoodsd.com

Welcome, District 9 Interns!

Annalise Chang | Pronouns: (she/her)

Annalise is our Volunteer Coordinator Intern and is working with our Community Representatives at outreach events and building our volunteer outreach base. She's grown up in San Diego and is a junior at The Bishop’s School.

In her spare time, Annalise plays tennis and piano, spends time with family, and listens to music – her favorite artist is currently the K-pop girl group ITZY. She is excited about getting to know the D9 community and helping to build a strong community volunteer core!

Daniela Garcia Cervantes | Pronouns: (she/her)

Daniela is our Clerical Assistant Intern. She is working with our Director of Office Administration to support our team with community correspondence and outreach activities, supporting in policy, as well as general scheduling matters and data processing.

Daniela is excited to be a part of the District 9 team as she was raised and lives in the district and looks forward to being able to assist her community and neighbors by learning how to create and improve policies that benefit the beliefs of housing rights, environmental justice, and many more.

Evelyn Dominguez | Pronouns: (she/her)

Evelyn is our Environmental Policy Research Intern. She assists our Committee Consultant with administering monthly City Council Committee meetings, engaging with community-based organizations, and monitoring inquiries and requests from the general public submitted to the Council office regarding environmental policy.

Evelyn continues to be shaped by her latest education as a community college student as well as by her volunteer work and hopes to transfer to a four-year institution in 2023.

Karina Piu | Pronouns: (she/her)

Karina is our Policy and Communications Research Intern. She is assisting our policy and outreach team with policy research projects as well as preparing items for our social media outreach. She is a third year Political Science major at SDSU with a minor in Public Health.

In her free time, she loves spending time with her loved ones, dancing, and experimenting with new recipes.

Screen Shot 2021-12-17 at 11.09.14 AM.png

Business Highlight:

Tofu House College Area

Located at 6061 El Cajon Boulevard, Tofu House recently had its grand opening last month on November 18th.

Tofu House College Area is owned by U.S. Navy Veteran Tony Nguyen, who was stationed in San Diego from 2011-2015. Since then, Tony has decided to stay in San Diego working full-time as a computer engineer at NAVWAR. Tony identified a need for authentic Asian cuisine in the College Area when he began to wonder why he had to travel so far for Asian food. Tofu House aims to serve delicious Korean food to the College Area.

Be sure to check out Tofu House and their food delivery robot!