At the park, teaching candidates from Costa Mesa’s Vanguard University met with civil rights activist Sylvia Mendez, whose parents were among several Mexican American families who successfully challenged segregation in California schools in the 1940s — years before Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that would declare segregation unconstitutional.

“I remember we lived in a white neighborhood, so when the bus dropped us off, all of my friends were allowed to go to the school with the beautiful playground,” Mendez, who grew up in the area, shared at the event. “I wasn’t allowed to go to that school. I had to go to my dreadful school.”

In 1943, Mendez and her siblings were denied entrance to Westminster’s Seventeenth Street School because of their Mexican heritage. Mendez was 9 years old. She and other Latino students were told to attend “a nearby Mexican school” and forced to walk a half mile further to get to Hoover Elementary, the area’s segregated school.

Mendez’s parents and four other Mexican American families soon took their stories to California courts, filing a class action lawsuit (Mendez v. Westminster) against four different OC school districts — Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and what was then known as El Modena in East Orange — in 1947. Their successful case led to segregated schools being repealed in California, and built much of the groundwork to uphold Brown v. Board of Education, experts said.

At Tuesday’s event, Vanguard teaching candidates got to walk the same path, along Hoover St., that Mendez and her classmates took.

Today, the Mendez Tribute Monument Park, on the corner of Westminster Blvd. and Olive St., pays homage to the landmark case and the Mendez family’s story. A statue of Sylvia Mendez’s parents, Gonzalo and Felicitas, stands central to the park, along with a statue of two children walking to school — symbolizing the thousands of children who were represented in the ruling.

Sergio Contreras, the former Westminster councilman who worked with the community to build and open the park in 2022, said then that the Mendez family’s “fight to get a quality education… sowed the seeds of equality legislation for the nation. Who would ever imagine that Orange County would be the birthplace of desegregation in California and in our country?”

By creating the park, and the future Mendez Freedom Trail, local leaders and educators aim to preserve the ruling and its impact. Officials at Tuesday’s event say the new 2-mile pedestrian and bike trail will mirror the same walk Mendez and others took to get to their segregated school.

The trail will cost approximately $5 million, according to Westminister assistant city manager Adolfo Ozaeta.

The future Mendez Freedom Trail along Hoover St. will include interactive signs noting the history behind the desegregation case in OC schools. It will break ground and start construction in the coming weeks, Vanguard University officials said, and is currently projected to be finished by the end of the year.

Attendees also supported newly proposed legislation that, if passed, would mandate the Mendez v. Westminster case into California public schools’ history and social science curriculum. AB-1805 was filed in early January by Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana and Assemblymember Tri Ta, R-Westminster.

Mendez, now 87, hopes that the proposal goes through. She learned about the new trail getting the city’s official greenlight at Tuesday’s event. She said she was “so excited” that her parents’ legacy and family name would be honored again in this way, adding that her late mother, Felicitas, is her reason for working hard to raise awareness.

“I am just a storyteller,” Mendez told the future teachers, while giving them advice about working in education. “My mom and dad did all the hard work.”

Attendees were inspired by Mendez’s story and the history of the trail. The majority of teaching candidates said they didn’t know the story before their program at Vanguard.

Perla Gutierrez-Jacinto, 21, visited the tribute park last semester and was honored to walk the same path that Mendez walked in 1943. She said she was both “shocked” and “fascinated” to learn about the desegregation ruling only while in college.

“I have a personal connection to it just because I have grown up in a Mexican household,” Gutierrez-Jacinto, who lives in Costa Mesa, said. “Seeing how back then, you weren’t accepted because of your background, and seeing how it impacted people’s education, it made me more grateful to be able to have an education and to become a teacher.”

Gutierrez-Jacinto is in her last semester at the university, and is part of a dual enrollment program to earn both a Bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and a teaching certificate in four years.

“I think that it’s a great moment in history to share with others and reflect on how far we’ve come,” she said.

Dr. Jeffrey Hittenberger said he wanted to continue the legacy of the Mendez v. Westminster case with the Vanguard University community when he became its Dean of Education in 2023. Previously, he served as chief academic officer with the Orange County Department of Education, and helped the city around 2017, when Westminister officials reached out asking for education partners to create the Mendez Tribute Monument Park.

“For 70 years in Orange County, we had no place that people could go to learn about and commemorate the case,” Hittenberger, 62, said. “Now we have this space where the story is available to the larger community.”

For the last six semesters, Hittenberger said, Vanguard teaching candidates have visited the tribute park — even while it was under construction — and sometimes even get a chance to meet Mendez in person.

Hittenberger said that as a former history teacher, he loves when students can appreciate the “depth and complexity of our own history in Orange County.”

“Ultimately, the message is that people working together can make positive change for our society; change that’s more reflective of our American ideals.”

Staff writers Kaitlyn Schallhorn and Allyson Vergara contributed to this report. 

The U.S. Department of Justice in Los Angeles said George Arizon, 28, used a handgun to threaten store employees at all of the businesses, demanding cash, and in one case cigarettes, on Nov. 1 and Nov. 8, 2022.

Among the stores he targeted were a 7-Eleven, a hair salon and eight restaurants.

In all, Arizon made off with $2,480 and two packs of cigarettes, said a federal law enforcement affidavit outlining the robberies.

Police eventually tracked Arizon to his Corona home through cell phone location data, as well as surveillance camera footage showing Arizon taking off and dumping a sweater with a NASA logo on it soon after the final robbery. Federal investigators said they found Arizon’s Facebook page with a photo of him wearing the same NASA sweater.

Arizon was sentenced Monday after agreeing in 2023 to plead guilty to one count of each of interference with commerce by robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to the plea agreement. In the plea he admitted to the robbery spree, prosecutors said.

At Arizon’s hearing, the judge and prosecutors lent significant weight to his history of drug addiction and a life spinning out of control by the time he decided to rob the stores.

U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney also considered Arizon’s admittance of guilt as a reason to accept the plea agreement.

“This is a difficult case,” Carney said, adding he was “troubled with the harm on the victims.”

But Carney said he “appreciated what (Arizon) admitted to in his plea agreement… and I think that a 12-year sentence is just punishment and does recognize the emotional harm he inflicted on these people.”

While they had asked for more prison time, federal prosecutors also acknowledged Arizon’s troubled upbringing in Monday’s hearing. The judge noted Arizon grew up in an abusive household and witnessed the stabbing deaths of two of his close friends as a teenager.

“I think there is significant mitigation in this case,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jena MacCabe said.

Carney also ordered Arizon to pay $3,658 to the victims of his crimes on top of his prison sentence.

Arizon also spoke during Monday’s hearing, apologizing for the crime spree.

“I won’t make excuses for the crimes I committed,” Arizon said. “I’m ashamed of it. It’s embarrassing to look back and know I did this, so there’s no excuses… But I need you to take a chance on me. I’m a good person.”

Federal prosecutors said Arizon previously spent significant time in prison, but did not outline his previous convictions.

Another suspect in the robbery spree, Brandon Robinson, of Anaheim, who investigators accused of being Arizon’s getaway driver, was arrested the same day in 2022. But he has not been charged in the robbery case.

However, Robinson was indicted last year on suspicion of possessing three firearms at his home, despite an Orange County Superior Court order to forfeit any weapons after he was handed a restraining order telling him to cease threatening his child and an intimate partner in 2019.

City News Service contributed to this story.

Because of a decline in enrollment and the consolidation of Spring View students with other middle schools in OVSD at the start of the next school year, OVSD has more property than is necessary, according to Superintendent Michael Conroy. The district, too, has to redraw the middle school boundary lines to reflect the consolidation.

As for the excess property, OVSD is establishing what’s called a “7-11 committee,” an advisory group required to be convened that will determine whether to sell or lease the excess property. There is no deadline for the committee to make its recommendations, Conroy said.

It’s up to the OVSD School Board, said Conroy, to make the final determination of whether properties are sold or leased. OVSD Trustee Gina Clayton-Tarvin said that the district has “a tremendous amount of unused properties that the district currently owns, and by selling or leasing the property, we could garner a lot of extra revenue.”

For example, she said, the district owns the land off of Warner Avenue and B Street in Huntington Beach, the site of Lowe’s. The district generates over $2 million annually from various properties like that ground lease, according to Claton-Tarvin, and she wants to see it lease more unused property.

OVSD will close Spring View Middle School at the end of the year, and after, only Vista View, Mesa View and Marine View middle schools will remain in the district.

The district is holding informational meetings for families of elementary students impacted by the closure of Spring View, with one planned for Wednesday, Jan. 31 and another on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

During these meetings, families can expect a forum with OVSD officials to communicate details about the consolidation and boundary changes and address any questions or concerns.

The meetings will be held at Spring View, 16662 Trudy Ln. in Huntington Beach, and more information can be found on the district’s website.

“The feedback from these meetings has been positive,” said Conroy. “Community members are giving their thoughts, views and opinions all in a very positive manner, and I have been relaying that to the board.”

Village View parent Richard Marrison said that since the decision to close the school was made in November, it has been “a whirlwind.”

“Things are being handled far better than I expected by the district,” said Marrison, “but it is still difficult to see things change so rapidly. Change is hard.”

OVSD trustees are expected to approve new boundaries for the district’s remaining middle schools during the board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

To assess how the boundary lines are going to be redrawn, the district has been following a set of “operational criteria.” Some of the criteria highlight keeping neighborhoods and tracts together, balancing the enrollment between the available middle schools, ensuring easy routes for families’ transportation preferences and minimizing the number of intra-district transfer submissions.

These criteria along with potential boundary options have been shared with families at the informational meetings.

Consolidating schools and properties “has been a process,” said Conroy. “There has been a decline in enrollment, and this will help the middle schools with its low numbers and average the enrollment out a bit better.”

After months of discussion about the future of four OVSD schools, the board voted in November to close Spring View and consolidate its students to other schools in the district.

OVSD — which serves parts of Huntington Beach, Westminster, Fountain Valley and Midway City — is home to more than 6,800 students across 15 schools. Since the 1980s, the district has grappled with decreasing enrollment and has shuttered or repurposed 11 school sites.

“Declining enrollment has continued in recent years and is impacting the district’s instructional program, facility needs and budget,” the board’s November agenda said.

In 2010, OVSD’s enrollment stood at 9,554 students, and district officials late last year predicted it will decrease by an additional 5,563 students by 2030, representing a drop of about 4,000 students. The district has had a decline of about 2,600 students since 2013.

But the district has “no plan or thought to have any future school closures at this time,” Conroy said.

Applications to be a part of the 7-11 committee are due by Feb. 23 and can be found on the district’s website.

The committee will be composed of no less than seven and no more than 11 members and must be representative of groups within the community. To be considered for voluntary membership, applicants must live within the OVSD district but cannot live or own property within 500 feet of any OVSD properties.

Approved by city leaders in 2018, Bolsa Row, a mixed-use development on six acres at the southeast corner of the intersection of Bolsa Avenue and Brookhurst Street, is approaching completion of its retail component.

Bolsa Row Terrace — a 26,211 square-foot two-story building that will house retail, five restaurants, an underground parking structure and an outdoor patio space, according to the project website — will complement the nearby 200-unit luxury apartment complex that was completed in 2022.

Tom Gioia, who oversees the sale and lease of retail properties at Bolsa Row Terrace, said he expects it to be open for customers by the end of this year or in early 2025.

“You just don’t know about the weather, you don’t know what might be in the way as far as construction is concerned, just some minor things,” said Gioia, senior vice president of commercial real estate company Lee & Associates in Irvine.

The construction for Bolsa Row Terrace has already begun, with the grading of the site underway. Residents can follow along on a live feed of the progress provided by Irvine-based contractor R.D. Olson Construction.

Once completed, the project will feature architecture with a nod to the past, according to R.D. Olson.

The two-story building is designed to recall the French colonial buildings common in pre-war Vietnam, according to the city. “Broad arcades, storefront windows and sidewalk seating” will aim to create an ambiance reminiscent of Saigon, the former capital of Vietnam, the city website says.

The retail property will also feature a French-style mansard roof and a replica of the Bến Thành Market clock tower, an iconic landmark of Old Vietnam at the heart of Ho Chi Minh City.

Separating the retail from the residential will be Bolsa Row, dubbed Festival Street, a shared vehicle and pedestrian roadway that can host up to six temporary community events and festivals per year.

Although it’s unclear yet what businesses will move into Bolsa Row Terrace, the retail space is expected to be on the higher end.

According to the website, its directory is “slated to be filled with leading names in luxury fashion and fine jewelry,” among other things. Gioia said several restaurant operators have also expressed interest in the shopping plaza.

There will be “Asian influence throughout both sides of Bolsa Row and Bolsa Row Terrace,” said Gioia.

The third and final component of the mixed-use development, the Bolsa Row Hotel, is scheduled to break ground in 2026, Gioia said.

The 149-room hotel, Westminster’s first full-service hotel, will be situated next to Bolsa Row Terrace and about five miles from Disneyland Park. The hotel will be the 10th Wyndham Grand property in the U.S., according to the Bolsa Row developers. There are no Wyndham Grand hotels in California; the closest one being in Arizona.

City leaders are working to revitalize Westminster and make it a destination city instead of one that people drive through in order to get elsewhere, said Councilmember Carlos Manzo.

Bolsa Row Terrace, as well as the Westminster Mall redevelopment and plans to convert Bolsa Avenue from a six-lane to a four-lane roadway within the Little Saigon area from Magnolia Street to Brookhurst Street, are all part of those plans, he said.

“It has always been my desire to create destination locations for our community,” said Manzo. “Our residents currently have to travel to other cities for entertainment and dining. I’m really excited for the completion of the Bolsa Row Terrace project. I’m hopeful it will attract similar projects along Bolsa.”

The annual Flower Festival at the Asian Garden Mall has opened for the run up to the new year, which lands on Feb. 10 this year.

The daily outdoor market in the heart of Little Saigon offers shopping for exotic flowers and trees through Feb. 8. Each color, each flower represents a message of good tidings and good luck for the new year and are used as gifts and to decorate homes for the holiday.

Orchids, hoa mai trees and bromeliads are popular blooms this time of year.

There is also traditional apparel and other Lunar New Year decorations available for purchase and in the evening there is street food for sale during a 6 to 10 p.m. night market.

On Feb. 10, the Asian Garden Mall will host its Tet Firecracker Show.

If  you go

When: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily through Feb. 8

Where: Asian Garden Mall, 9200 Bolsa Ave., Westminster

Cost: Free admission

Information: asiangardenmall.com

The Dana Point Yacht Club announced the results of its 25th annual Richard Henry Dana Charity Regatta by awarding a $46,896.47 check to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley. The organization helps more than 1,800 youths in local communities reach their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. This is why the theme for the regatta was “Setting a Course for Great Futures.”

The Dana Point Yacht Club (DPYC), founded in 1952, has a rich and proud history of fostering a love of the ocean, tradition, competition and giving back to the local community. The charity regattas have held a special place in the annual calendar of activities for 25 years.

Over this time, DPYC has raised more than $1 million in support of local charitable organizations, including the Ocean Institute, 5th Marine Regiment Support Group, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Pancreatic Cancer Association and the High Hopes Head Injury Association.

The annual event in the Dana Point Harbor was created with the mission of bringing together business, civic and social leaders in the community with the club’s membership (and notably sailing members) to raise money to benefit charitable organizations in South Orange County. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley will continue to be the beneficiary of the charity regatta for two more years.

– Submitted by Dana Point Yacht Club

Three Orange County schools selected as state finalists in national STEM competition

Samsung named 300 public schools nationwide state finalists in the 14th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition. Nine schools in California, including three in Orange County, were selected. University High School in Irvine, Arnold O. Beckman High School in Irvine and Westminster High School in Westminster made the cut.

Each state finalist will win a package of $2,500 in technology and classroom school supplies.

The competition now advances to its next phase, culminating in April with the selection of three national winners, each receiving a $100,000 prize package, part of a $2 million prize pool.

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is a nationwide competition designed to empower students in grades 6-12 to leverage the power of STEM to create innovative solutions addressing critical issues in their local communities.

Based on this year’s competition entries, some common themes around community issues felt by students all over the U.S. include the climate crisis, mental health issues such as student anxiety and loneliness, food insecurity, cybersecurity, and aid for the unhoused and migrants.

Westminster student wins ‘Transform Your Classroom’ contest

Students at Fryberger Elementary School in Westminster are enjoying a brand-new classroom thanks to Lauren Vu-Tran, who entered a “Transform Your Classroom” contest and won the makeover.

“Updated spaces are designed to promote active learning, which involves students taking a more hands-on and participatory approach to learning,” Vu-Tran said. “This can include flexible seating options, technology integration and collaborative workspaces, which can all help students to engage more actively in the learning process.”

The HON Company in partnership with OES Office Furniture, a local commercial and education furniture provider, started the contest, which gives away a full classroom of furniture.

The goal was to transform Vu-Tran’s classroom into an inclusive and interactive learning space.

The Bravo! section highlights achievements of our residents and groups. Send news of achievements for consideration to ocrbravo@gmail.com.

MORE: Read all the candidate responses in our Voter Guide

Name: Jimmy D. Pham

Current Job Title: City commissioner + attorney

Political Party Affiliation: Democrat

Incumbent: No

Other political positions held: Westminster City Commissioner

City where you reside: Westminster

Campaign website or social media: www.jimmyphamca.com

Gov. Newsom has been front and center lately in global affairs, from a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping discussing climate action to a trip to Israel where he met with victims of the Hamas attack. Aside from the governor’s trips, what do you see as the role California should play when it comes to foreign affairs?

Foreign affairs is the business of the federal government, and the role of the governor when visiting foreign nations should be in helping to find new markets for products manufactured in California and promote California businesses and tourism to bring new visitors and create jobs in our state.

There have been recent efforts at the local level to change voting requirements — from a proposed voter ID requirement in Huntington Beach to an effort to open up voting to noncitizens in Santa Ana. What changes, if any, should be made to California’s voting laws?

The right for every citizen to vote in free and fair elections is one of the great engines of our democracy. If anything, voting access, especially with in-person vote centers and drop boxes, should be increased — especially in underserved communities to ensure every registered voter has access to materials in their native language and has every ability to cast a vote.

The latest state budget projections show California’s deficit has swelled to a record $68 billion, leading to calls for spending cuts. Give us two specific ways California could address the deficit.

The state legislature was late to recognize the coming shortfall, and if elected, I would be vigilant in ensuring our budgets are balanced each year. As a business owner, attorney and city commissioner, I know what it means to keep a ledger balanced — as do families throughout Orange County who don’t have the luxury of running a deficit. Although California has record reserves that should help soften the blow of the upcoming deficit, to help put us in a stronger position for the future, more of the state’s spending, especially on homelessness and social programs, needs to come with accountability to ensure those programs are effective and leads to people getting off the streets.

In addition, a fairer corporate tax rate that ensures the wealthiest corporations in California are paying their fair share would help balance the state’s budget.

Speaking of the budget, what are your top three budget priorities?

– Ensuring our schools have the funding to make certain every child has access to a top-quality education.- Ensuring essential government functions are met with no layoffs or job cuts as we weather the budget shortfall.- Ensuring our hospitals and healthcare system have adequate funding for everyone to have access to quality and affordable healthcare.

The legislature garnered national headlines when an effort to increase penalties for child sex trafficking initially stalled. How would you, in the legislature, balance criminal justice reform with public safety concerns?

As an immigration attorney, I see every day the need to reform a broken immigration system and stand up for those seeking justice and humanitarian rights. I deal with human trafficking as part of my work in helping T visa (trafficking) victims and assisting non-citizen immigrants to apply for green cards and citizenship through the U visa and VAWA federal programs.

In addition, public safety is certainly a high priority lately, especially with the rise in smash-and-grab robberies and the release of criminals from prison due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a candidate for Assembly District 70, keeping criminals off our streets and reducing crime in the district would be one of my top priorities.

Homelessness continues to be a concern for Californians. While there is no simple solution, what is one proposal you have that could reduce homelessness in our communities?

We as a state and as a society need to re-prioritize mental health and getting help for those with mental health or substance abuse issues — who make up a high percentage of those who are homeless. State, county and local governments need to all work together to make getting help for those in need a top priority — not just off the streets and into shelters, but real help that leads to lasting treatment.

Furthermore, the affordability of housing and inflation in our economy has also made the homelessness epidemic worse. Tackling these collateral issues will contribute to reducing homelessness in our communities.

The governor recently signed a law that set a first-in-the-nation minimum wage standard for healthcare workers. Should minimum wage standards vary by industry? Why or why not?

Healthcare workers are the frontline of our healthcare system, and they and their families underwent a massive strain during the COVID-19 pandemic that led to staffing issues and burnout industry-wide. These workers were called “heroes” and saved and extended many lives as society owes a great debt to them and all who worked in the face of adversity during the pandemic and beyond. I believe each industry should be considered on a case-by-case basis, but I vehemently agree that healthcare workers deserve a higher minimum wage standard.

What is one environment or climate policy you’d champion if elected?

California has led the way on the environment and climate policy, and if elected I would continue this tradition and work to ensure that we’re doing everything possible to reduce emissions through renewable energy programs and protecting our precious natural spaces. I believe other forms of energy such as solar, wind, nuclear, hydrogen energy and other newer renewable sources may be the answer to lessen society’s dependence on fossil fuels for energy consumption.

What is one capital improvement project you’d like to see financed and completed in your district?

I would like to begin the preparation, installation and construction of a foot-traffic bridge over Bolsa Avenue at the Asian Garden Mall and work with the cities of Westminster and Garden Grove and Caltrans to finally complete the 405/22 interchange freeway project.

The state recently began rolling out the CARE Court program in some counties, the state-funded effort that allows first responders, family and other designated people to petition a court to have someone with untreated severe psychotic disorders receive treatment and services. What other ways can the state prioritize mental health care for its residents, including those with less severe disorders?

Delivering a real community mental health system in our country and our state is a way the state can prioritize mental health care and treatment, with community clinics, partnering with non-profits and proven pilot programs and localized outreach services to ensure quality care for those who need it. There are many state and community organizations, like OC Autism Foundation, that with enough funding and sponsorship, can attack and help resolve the mental health epidemic head-on.

Describe your political philosophy in 10 words or less.

Committed to service and putting working families and our community first.

What is your go-to campaign trail snack or drink?

Water, lots of vegetables and protein bars.

MORE: Read all the candidate responses in our Voter Guide

Name: Tri Ta

Current Job Title: State Assemblymember

Political Party Affiliation: Republican

Incumbent: Yes

Other political positions held: Former Westminster mayor

City where you reside: Westminster

Campaign website or social media: www.TriTaForAssembly.com

Gov. Newsom has been front and center lately in global affairs, from a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping discussing climate action to a trip to Israel where he met with victims of the Hamas attack. Aside from the governor’s trips, what do you see as the role California should play when it comes to foreign affairs?

While California policies often have a global impact, the U.S. Constitution clearly defines foreign affairs as the domain of the federal executive and legislative branches of government. In the legislature, I have spearheaded initiatives related to foreign affairs, such as calling attention to human rights abuses committed by the communist regime in Vietnam. State government, however, should be focused first and foremost on the challenges faced by everyday Californians and should assume an advisory role when it comes to foreign affairs.

There have been recent efforts at the local level to change voting requirements — from a proposed voter ID requirement in Huntington Beach to an effort to open up voting to noncitizens in Santa Ana. What changes, if any, should be made to California’s voting laws?

We need to ensure our elections are secure, fair and produce accurate results. We should follow the Constitution and not allow noncitizens to vote.

The latest state budget projections show California’s deficit has swelled to a record $68 billion, leading to calls for spending cuts. Give us two specific ways California could address the deficit.

Just two years ago, the state had a $97 billion surplus. Last year, when I was sworn in for my first term in office, it had already dropped to a $24 billion deficit. California must return to abiding by the Gann spending limit, which was overwhelmingly supported by California voters, to moderate spending increases during boom years and protect our state from the boom and bust cycle we are currently facing. Our state desperately needs to bring back a limit on massive spending increases during boom years. We should also prioritize state spending on critical programs.

Speaking of the budget, what are your top three budget priorities?

– Public safety- Increase local control over tax dollars- Audit state spending and increase accountability

The legislature garnered national headlines when an effort to increase penalties for child sex trafficking initially stalled. How would you, in the legislature, balance criminal justice reform with public safety concerns?

I am a proud co-author of SB 14, a bill that ensures child trafficking is a felony in our state. Justice reform cannot be done by ignoring the plight of the victims. California has moved too far in protecting criminals, even violent ones. The impact on victims must be taken into account. Our laws should be fair, but they must also be enforced.

Homelessness continues to be a concern for Californians. While there is no simple solution, what is one proposal you have that could reduce homelessness in our communities?

I am currently working on legislation with cities in my district to ensure that they are able to properly fund local homeless outreach programs.

The governor recently signed a law that set a first-in-the-nation minimum wage standard for healthcare workers. Should minimum wage standards vary by industry? Why or why not?

In a state as large and economically diverse as California, a top-down approach will have some disastrous effects. Rural healthcare clinics and hospitals will have a hard time meeting this mandate and healthcare will become even more inaccessible for many Californians.

What is one environment or climate policy you’d champion if elected?

I was glad to see that the governor finally streamlined the approval process for the Sites Reservoir project. This important project will store enough water during the wet season to provide for 3 million Californian households. This should not be a one-off, and I will strongly support streamlining similar projects.

What is one capital improvement project you’d like to see financed and completed in your district?

Last year, I was able to deliver $1 million in additional state funding to build an accessible park in my district. I will continue to champion similar projects that provide a community-wide benefit and increase the quality of life we enjoy.

The state recently began rolling out the CARE Court program in some counties, the state-funded effort that allows first responders, family and other designated people to petition a court to have someone with untreated severe psychotic disorders receive treatment and services. What other ways can the state prioritize mental health care for its residents, including those with less severe disorders?

My focus will be on the implementation of the CARE court program. While this initiative could be key in ensuring individuals suffering from mental health disorders receive necessary treatment, it will only work if properly rolled out. The next year could be detrimental to California being able to treat the suffering we see on our streets every day if it is not done right.

Describe your political philosophy in 10 words or less.

Government should work for the people, not against them.

What is your go-to campaign trail snack or drink?

Pizza.

Ground will break on large-scale development in Westminster within the next several years, including a complete revamp of the area, a large triangular property off the 405 Freeway at Bolsa Avenue and Edwards Street, meant to create a downtown feel for visitors and the community alike with places for thousands to live.

Four companies control parcels that make up the 100-acre mall property: Shopoff Realty, True Life Companies, Washington Prime Group and Kaiser Permanente, and so far, only two, Shopoff and True Life, have submitted draft proposals of what they’re looking to build on their chunk of land.

These early plans show how the mall will transform into a mixed-use walkable community with up to 3,000 residential units and at least 600,000 square feet of retail throughout the property. They detail how the city’s vision for new office and medical buildings, homes and park space will come to life.

In December 2022, city leaders approved rules and guidelines for everything from how tall buildings can be to how much park space has to be included, as well as how the land can be used and where traffic should be directed. Those guidelines are used to evaluate proposals from the property owners and ensure their plans are cohesive.

But it’s unclear yet when plans will be finalized and work will get underway.

The four companies don’t have a deadline to submit their draft proposals, and they could always sell their portion of land, said Westminster’s city manager, Christine Cordon. That means redevelopment on the parcel of land owned by a company that doesn’t submit a draft proposal to the city could come to a standstill, to some extent.

But Cordon said it’s not in an owner’s best interest to stay stagnant when the rest of the mall is moving along.

“We hope it can remain a collaborative effort because there are shared components within the property such as traffic flow in and out of the property,” she said.

The city is still deep in the planning and review phase of the development, Cordon said. She said she expects the review process to see more rapid movement in the next couple of months and she hopes there would be some dirt moving within the next five years or so, although Shopoff anticipates breaking ground sometime next year.

“Malls take a lot to develop,” she said. “This is a work in progress, this is about getting the owners through the planning process, which takes a while.”

The draft proposals are not being made available to the public, Cordon said, but some companies have publicized their plans. Here’s a brief look at what we know is being proposed for the Westminster Mall.

Shopoff Realty

Irvine-based developer Shopoff Realty owns two parcels of land: the Macy’s building, the shuttered Sears building and the surrounding parking lots.

It has proposed 25,000 square feet of retail and food, a 175-room hotel off of Bolsa Avenue, 1,065 contemporary-style rental units and 102 three-story, single-family townhomes for sale on its 26-acre share of the mall.

If approved, Shopoff’s proposal, dubbed “Bolsa Pacific,” would also place a 2.5-acre park near the townhomes, within it a dog park, pickleball courts, an amphitheater and a water feature like a fountain, pond or waterfall.

According to its project website, Shopoff anticipates breaking ground on Bolsa Pacific in 2025.

Aside from the website, there’s no further information about the company’s plans, said Bill Shopoff, its president and CEO.

“We continue to work with the city of Westminster on the redevelopment of the Westminster Mall, and as we are still refining specific plans for the project amenities, we do not have any new updates to provide at this time,” Shopoff said.

True Life Companies

True Life Companies, a real estate investment firm headquartered in Denver with several offices in California, submitted an application for housing units on and surrounding the former Babies R Us property, Cordon said.

If the plan is approved, a five-story, multi-family structure will be built on 3.6 acres of that retail property, separate from the Shopoff housing. Cordon said the city is also in the review process for True Life and its draft proposal.

True Life representatives did not respond to requests for comment. (Real estate broker Connie Sillen’s family trust, represented by True Life, owns the parcel of land planned for the housing units, Cordon said.)

Kaiser Permanente and Washington Prime Group

Kaiser Permanente, which owns 10 acres of land on the north side, mainly where Best Buy is located, and Washington Prime Group, which owns the largest chunk of Westminster Mall’s buildings and land, have not submitted proposals to the city.

For Kaiser, there’s no definitive timing of when the company might submit its draft proposal because of new leadership in the Southern California region and continued reassessment of business post-pandemic, said its OC-based planner, Tony Smale. Still, the company hopes to break ground in a few years on its portion of the project, Smale said.

Smale said Kaiser plans to develop a big, multi-specialty medical office building on its parcel of land. It will have both primary and specialty care, he said, and built in several phases.

“The first phase is going to be roughly on 85,000 square feet, and it will include 16 doctors’ offices for primary care and 32 offices for specialty care,” he said. “We’ll have ancillary services like lab, pharmacy and X-ray to support that.”

Future phases are still fluid with less definition than around the first phase, he said.

“I can’t really be more specific than that because there are a lot of variables, and that decision is not made just locally,” said Smale.

Melissa Gomes, the general manager of the mall and a spokesperson for Washington Prime Group, declined to comment regarding when it will submit a proposal or what it might propose.

Cordon said she expects Washington Prime Group’s plans to be a mixture of residential and retail as well.

What’s open now?

The mall, which opened in 1974, these days resembles something closer to a ghost town. Even on a recent Friday afternoon, the mall — where rolling security doors in front of shuttered stores and liquidation sale signs are easy to spot — is nearly empty.

Once the second most popular shopping center in Orange County, it joins a growing number of aging shopping centers in Orange County and beyond that are being converted into mixed-use development.

While many stores have not renewed their leases, hence the shuttered storefronts and liquidation sale signs, four of the larger stores that are part of the mall area — Best Buy, Macy’s, JC Penney and Target — are still open as well as many stores and temporary pop-ups, such as the Pumpkin Factory, a pumpkin patch that opens during the Halloween season.

The existing Target is expected to anchor the “Bolsa Pacific” area while Macy’s will be torn down, according to Shopoff.

Cordon pointed to the shuttered stores as the attrition process of “clearing out the stores for potential construction.”

But people are still welcome to shop at Westminster Mall, open seven days a week, said Gomes.

“The mall is still open for business. Nothing will change until corporate (Washington Prime Group) notifies us otherwise,” she said.

“It’s the path out of poverty,” Contreras said. “And that’s why every student in Orange County deserves an opportunity to succeed and thrive.”

A recent report from the Orange County Business Council indicates a person needs to earn $40.63 an hour to afford a one-bedroom apartment in much of the county, he points out. So getting students through high school and onto the path to sustainable careers is especially important for Contreras because the cost to continue living in their community is so high.

“Housing is not getting any cheaper,” Contreras said. “We want to make sure students have options and opportunities that go from college and career.”

He develops programs through the United Way to help students navigate the often Byzantine process of accessing college and get them exposed to well-paying careers they might not know about, whether a degree is required or not. Just this year, more than 3,000 high school students participated in the nonprofit’s programs and, today, more than 90% of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds graduate from high school in Orange County.

Contreras has been with the United Way since the nonprofit set its goal 10 years ago to cut the county’s high school dropout rate in half. With Contreras’s efforts, the United Way hit the mark in five years, said CEO Sue Parks.

In 2016, just 84% of students in the communities the United Way targets were graduating. Now the nonprofit is closing in on a goal of 95%.

“Sergio brings his whole being into his work,” Parks said. “He’s focused. He’s driven, but he has a huge heart that comes through.”

Showing opportunities

There’s not one approach to guiding students in going to college or finding their career path. The United Way focuses on partnering with schools in cities where it’s needed most, including Anaheim, Garden Grove and Santa Ana, but its work extends beyond those into Orange, Fullerton, Costa Mesa and Tustin, Contreras said.

For colleges, the nonprofit will host events to “demystify” higher education. Everything from parent workshops focused on financial aid to guiding students to find good schools to apply to and careers they might be interested in.

The nonprofit’s Youth Career Connections exposes students to industries they can get into without necessarily having a college degree; they visit workplaces, hear from professionals and get mentors at businesses they’ll temporarily work at.

Many of the companies that participate are based in the county, including ViewSonic, Edwards Lifesciences and the Automobile Club of Southern California, he said. This summer a couple dozen teens spent a day at the U.S. headquarters of Falck Mobile Health in Anaheim trying on a career as an EMT. Falck awarded scholarships to several of the students to pay for a formal training course with hopes of hiring them at the end.

Contreras has had to coax some employers through their anxieties over letting high school students into their workplaces, but it’s a “sweet challenge,” he said and, “they all come back with the same story. ‘Wow, these kids are brighter than some of our college students. These guys are super smart.’”

“But it takes time,” he said. “It takes a really long time to break down those assumptions.”

But before students can take advantage of the career and college opportunities the United Way’s programs are introducing them to, they have to earn that high school diploma that is so important in opening doors.

United Way officials estimate almost 3,000 students aren’t graduating in Orange County each year.

So Contreras and the United Way connect with high schools as well.

But you can’t waltz into a school and tell its people  what they should be doing, Contreras said, rather they ask the educators what they need to encourage students so they can achieve. With that information the United Way provides support such as tutoring, student engagement training for teachers and mentorship.

“I think his secret sauce may be his ability to work with the schools and understand their needs,” Parks said. “Not being cookie cutter, ‘Here’s what we are going to do for you’ but, ‘What do you need? How can we help help you uplift students and so that they can achieve?’”

Needing a push

Born and raised in Westminster, Contreras attended Westminster High School. He earned his associate’s degree from Orange Coast College and got bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cal State Long Beach as a first-generation student.

At one point, Contreras almost didn’t finish school, he said. He had been at Orange Coast College for years and didn’t see an end in sight. He went to talk to his counselor, Alex Guillen.

Guillen showed Contreras what he had to do to finish and that he really only needed a few more classes to graduate and then he could transfer.

Contreras credits Guillen with giving him the push he needed to keep going and finish school – keeping open the door to more opportunities. Guillen, who retired from his job at Orange Coast College eight years ago, said Contreras worked hard for a long time and had a vision, and believes there’s still a lot more he’ll do to uplift the community.

“He is a person of the people,” Guillen said.

Contreras said another important push came from his dad, who worked as an overnight janitor at Disneyland for 44 years.

During college, Contreras worked at the theme park as well. There, seeing his father working hard late one night to clean rubber mat flooring used at restaurants, working hard for so long to provide for his family, Contreras said he was also inspired to push on and continue his education “so his work would not be in vain.”

“So just seeing him struggle the way he did to provide for his family,” Contreras said, “gave me the energy and passion to move forward and build off his work.”