Richard Hernandez
Occupation: Retired Avalon Fire Captain
Age: 62
Number of years on Catalina: 62
Richard Hernandez
Occupation: Retired Avalon Fire Captain
Age: 62
Number of years on Catalina: 62
I am running for reelection for a couple of reasons. The first is I feel there is a lot of unfinished business and I feel an obligation to continue and see these items through. Looking back to when I started as a councilman, I see I was a little naïve in thinking that we could accomplish so many things quickly. What I learned was that despite the best of intentions, dealing with governmental actions and regulations on the local, county, and state level is many times a painfully slow process that takes far longer than anyone can imagine.
I am pleased with what this council has done in the last two years as a lot of things came at us and we had to deal with some unforeseen issues on top of the problems we all knew were expected.
This leads to my second reason for running. Right now this council is sort of balanced, but I see an effort under way to try and stack the council for the benefit of a few special interests.
I was not happy with a certain set of Chamber Board members trying to pressure certain council members and unduly influence the council’s actions. I think the council needs to have people like me who are going to protect the interest of true Islanders, people who have made their choice to live and work here their entire lives against those that come here to make some quick money, build a business, and then take their profit and run.
We need people like me to represent the working man, the renters, the middle and lower income people, the people who are having a harder and harder time just trying to get by.
We can’t have all the council represent the biggest businesses, developers, and special interests first, and be a rubber stamp for their plans. We are all in this together or we should be, but that’s not how it feels sometimes.
They have their agendas and many times that may not be the agenda we want or need. Big money, whether its individuals or corporations, means power and influence. Sometimes our only equalizer is the power of our vote to elect people to keep things in balance.
I think I have proven that I am willing to make the tough votes, to represent the average citizen of Avalon.
The council needs to be balanced and the working men and women need to have their issues heard and represented. That is what I have tried to do, and if re-elected, that is what I will continue to do.
Remember, you don’t have to have been born here to be a true Islander; you just have to love the island and want to preserve the values and lifestyle that kept all of us from ever wanting to leave. If you agree then I respectfully ask for your vote on election day April 12th.
