Real estate professional Ditas Yamane, who chairs the city’s Planning Commission is running to represent District 3 on the National City dais and many of her campaign points echo her unsuccessful 2020 run.
She counts Market on 8th developer Joel Tubao and his family among her backers, with $3,000 in donations split between multiple family members as well as another $1,000 from attorney Audie de Castro who was instrumental in pushing the city toward adopting district-based elections to benefit the Asian American-Pacific Islander community.
Additionally, San Diego City Council member Chris Cate donated $500 to her campaign while Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis contributed $100 but also gave her endorsement to both Yamane as well as rival District 3 contender Marissa Acierto.
Yamane’s top three goals, if elected, are to increase neighborhood safety, provide support to small businesses and ensure affordable homeownership is available for anyone who currently rents their home.
“We have to encourage businesses to do business in National City by reaching out to them. There are some who do not want to do business here because it is hard to get permits and licenses. We have to invite corporations and present them with the beauty of what National City can offer,” Yamane said.
If she had her way, building permits and building licenses would be simplified and incentivized.
She is immediate past president of the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors in San Diego County and advocates for affordable homeownership.
Policymakers have to build relationships and look into incentives for business owners, “not just what we can get but also what we have to give” and take care of the businesses which will help the city,” Yamane said.
Specifically, the real estate professional would like to bring more affordable housing developers to the city.
“As planning commissioner, people come to me including homeowners looking to build a simple accessory dwelling unit and their permits are denied. You know, maybe we need to be relaxed and more accepting of being helpful? Maybe we could consider guiding people through the permitting process so we can build more housing developments? Nine square miles of National City are water and seven square miles are land so we need to build up,” Yamane said.
As a past president of the National City Chamber of Commerce, she said she would like to see the chamber serve as at the forefront of the marketing and public relations efforts of the city. The chamber, she said, “should be an active participant to encourage businesses to come to the city, then serve as a facilitator and a guide for getting permits and licenses” in an effort to eliminate bureaucracy and streamline the process.
“Business development should be a collaboration between the city and the chamber so it is a smooth transition to come in, build a business and create jobs. I believe it is a resource that is wasted,” Yamane said.
Repeatedly, Yamane said she would lean on partnerships to bolster the municipal government.
“We build by reaching out to those organizations that are already doing the work. Our city can’t be an island and there are experienced organizations we can bring to the table for everything from business development to reducing air pollution. We can’t put other staff members there to address things like public health because it is an expense for the city but we reach out to those organizations with experience,” Yamane said.
For example, she said, the Environmental Health Coalition has local experts who already work on the west side of the city. The county’s department of Health and Human Services is another example, she said.
“We need resources and we need to work collaboratively with organizations that have expertise,” Yamane said.
She would take a similar approach to addressing homelessness by calling on groups like St. Vincent de Paul as well as reaching out to other branches of government.
“Homelessness is an epidemic and not just in National City but the whole nation, the neighboring cities of San Diego, Chula Vista and so on. We are a small city with very limited resources so we have to reach out to the county and state to secure help, to help our situation and to build a shelter,” Yamane said.
