Michael Inzunza is running for Chula Vista City Council District 3 against Leticia Mungia being vacated by Councilmember Alonso Gonzalez who was appointed after former councilmember Steve Padilla was elected to State Senate District 18 in the March primaries. Inzunza, D, 51, began his career as a teacher in Chula Vista at Palomar and Hilltop high schools. His wife Alejandra and he were both born and raised in Chula Vista, both serving as education administrators.
“Our children attend schools in my district as we have always called our beloved Chula Vista home. I am a proud product of West Chula Vista where I grew up attending Rohr Elementary, swam at Loma Verde Recreation Center, played baseball at Max Field, celebrated birthday parties at Farrell’s Ice Cream and enjoyed $2 movies at the Vogue Theater. This is my hometown and will serve with integrity for the best interest of my neighbors to help provide a safe and prosperous quality of life for our families,” he said.
Inzunza said public safety is his top priority.
“The biggest issue right now in the city when it comes to public safety is the homeless crisis,” he said. “With homelessness comes an increase in crime. People who are in dire straits or desperate who are trying to survive on the street, a lot of that turns into crime. People living on the streets versus people living in homes, according to a report I read from the Chula Vista Police Department, it is 3,000 times higher of someone living on the street versus someone living in a home. It is a survivalist mentality. The biggest problem we are having in the city is that it is exasperating and draining police resources, response times for firefighters, and not serving the city the way it is intended.”
Inzunza said he has done multiple ride-along with the EMTs, police officers, and firefighters and learned that most cases of arson in the city is from homeless encampments. He said fentanyl and methamphetamine are still huge problems in west Chula Vista, all of which drains first responder resources.
“What is happening in east Chula Vista is that the response time from firefighters and police are much slower because of the increase of homelessness of a population where less than a fifth of them are from Chula Vista or the South Bay,” he said, adding that when the city of San Diego started kicking out the homeless, it “kicked the can down the road” making the homeless scatter to different cities along the trolley line.
“We went from having a population eight years ago with about 200 homeless to 500 now, and very few are from Chula Vista,” he said.
“We do not have regional leadership. The County Board of Supervisors, along with SANDAG, and County Health & Human Services, we should have one regional plan between all 18 cities. If we are all in support of encampment bans, we have designated camping and sleeping lots near county health facilities and nonprofits like South Bay Community Services, where social service agents can help attend to these people. Get them off drugs, provide mental health services, and medical care. And tracking case files ensuring these people are getting the best services they can while trying to get them off the streets.”
Inzunza said if we continue to allow the homeless to park around parks, schools, and homes, it is reckless and irresponsible.
“We are not doing any justice to our community or homeless folks if we are allowing them to randomly sleep and camp where they want,” he said. “I am not going to behave like the city councilman for my district, nor am I going to behave like a councilman for my city. My goal is to become a regional leader to help encourage the Board of Supervisors, and neighboring cities, so we have a uniform policy so that we are not just passing the buck with homeless folks going through the four cities in the South Bay.”
Inzunza said he was the only candidate who openly supported the encampment ban and is happy to see Chula Vista and National City pass encampment ban policies, just as he spoke against Proposition 47 resulting in increasing crime. He said the CVPD and its Homeless Outreach team is going to go through an adjustment in enforcing the ban, but in reaching out to the homeless, the point is to help them rehabilitate their lives, but if they are not in specific areas where they can be tracked and helped with the services they need, the millions of dollars being spent throughout the region and the state are “being thrown down the drain” and draining resources.
“We need to make sure that our residents are safe and that we are providing the best resources to our homeless population,” he said.
Inzunza said since Chula Vista is the fastest growing city in the state, his district is the fastest growing area. He said in other districts there are not major shopping areas like the Otay Ranch Mall, and there are four high schools in his district. He said traffic in District 3 is out of control.
“All the corridors, business corridors, are in my district. If you travel anywhere along Telegraph, Otay Lakes, Olympic Parkway and Birch, you just sit there and watch cars running through traffic lights. Cars are going 80 to 90 mph, and there is a huge increase in T-bone accidents, fatalities, kids getting hit on their bicycles on the way to school,” he said. “This area is growing so fast that we need to keep up with the demand. And Measure A adds staffing, and it looks like Measure P will pass, but we also need the infrastructure in place. We need fire stations, possibly a police substation down the line in the Otay Ranch area. We are not getting our fair share of resources because of the drug and homeless issues in west Chula Vista. There are about 150,000 to 160,000 residents in District 3. If Measure P passes it will give us additional resources like a police substation. With all the high-rise apartments and condominiums in Millenia, that area has a large increase in crime. It has one of the highest police call zones because it is so impacted. When you put that many people impacted in a small area, naturally crime increases.”
Inzunza said additional “boots on the ground” are needed in District 3, as the area is going to continue to grow with University City.
“I am not looking at the next five years. I am looking at the next 20 years of the development of Chula Vista,” he said. “With the need and affordable housing in east Chula Vista, it is going to grow by leaps and bounds, and we need to prepare for the next 20 years out.”
In District 3 is the Republic Services Otay Landfill and Compost Facility. Recently, many residents have been complaining about the smell coming from the landfill. Inzunza said he has toured the landfill to get a thorough analysis of how it functions.
“I was told a year ago that landfill would cap out in about nine to 10 years. After that, the next landfill would be in Santee and told that landfill has about 70 years of life left,” he said. “That land was dedicated for the landfill, and when it started there was absolutely nothing out there. But Council and the mayor allowed development and now there are homes within 75 feet being built right now around the landfill,” he said. “With recycling changing, I believe it will remain a recycling hub. Going out there, what people really smell is the mulch and recycling part of the landfill. In heavier months in the summer, when it is humid, and a bit of a draft, you can smell the landfill up to two miles away. Residents that I spoke with want to make sure that landfill goes away because they signed in the small print the landfill is there. Anyone who moves there, it is hard to dismiss the mess, the big trucks coming in and out all day. My goal is to expedite Republic Services to finish that landfill two to three years earlier.”
Inzunza said he is grateful for the land provided for University City, and Chula Vista is the only city in the state with a population of over 250,000 that does not have a major university.
“That is an absolute goal of mine to get a university in there,” he said. “As we know, with the CSUs, there are no plans for a university. With all the development in east Chula Vista, a few things are going to change. I want to incentivize developers to set aside properties or areas where we can develop artificial intelligence and biotech industries. Why can’t we provide both white collar and blue-collar jobs in our city so that we do not have to commute, 15 to 30 minutes, which is the average commute time for jobs. I think biotech and other major industries are looking at us as the future because we have a fast-growing middle class, a fast-growing educated class, and that we are becoming the fastest growing middle class in the county. We are asking for those good blue- and white-collar jobs so we can sustain our community. We are not seeing this enough in the South Bay and something I want to push through South Bay EDC, chambers, and developers, and I have these connections because all these organizations have endorsed me. Now, both the police officers and firefighters have endorsed me. And all the labor unions in South Bay who are interested in biotech and dying for a university have endorsed me.”
Inzunza said Chula Vista needs a mixture of housing as citizens are demanding middle class and upper-class housing, along with the need for affordable housing.
“We cannot be a city that only focuses on affordable housing. We need a market of mixed housing for people who want to move her, and the people who live here that have a child on the way and need to grow,” he said. “The best solution is to build more. The housing crisis is dictated by shortage.”
