Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
By Wallace J. Allen IV and C. Dixon
EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—- About 150 enthusiastic residents attended a Mayoral Candidate forum on April 11, 2022 at the Woodward Leadership Academy Campus, located on Baseline Ave. in the middle of San Bernardino’s 6th Ward. Of the (7) seven candidates running for office there were (5) five in attendance. Incumbent John Valdivia, Henry Nickel, James Penmen, Dr. Treasure Ortiz and Helen Tran. (Missing were Mohammad Khan and Gabriel Jarimilo)
The forum, moderated by Channing Hawkins, Esq. maxed out seating capacity leaving standing room only for a group of concerned citizens eager to hear and meet the candidates. The candidates were presented with a list of questions prior to the forum as well as questions generated at the event by the very vocal, but polite attendees… However, there were two notable short examples of emotional outbursts… One from past 6th Ward councilman Rikki Van Johnson and the other from the sitting 6th Ward councilwoman Kimberly Calvin. Both incidents were quickly and politely handled by the moderator, Channing Hawkins.
The Northwest Project Area Committee hosted the very smooth moving event, that lasted about two hours as planned. “We are happy with what we think was a successful event for our concerned voters”, said Charlene Dixon, the Chair of the organization.
The NWPAC team provided the community guests with water and chips as they left with a better understanding of who each candidate is and what they need to make an informed choice at the ballot box on June 7, 2022.
