The city of San Bernardino can’t ever seem to catch a break.
San Bernardino’s bankruptcy filing in 2012 and the very difficult reorganization process that followed — which included recall efforts, outsourcing, benefit cuts and a city charter reform — would unfortunately not give way to hoped for political stability in the city.
Related: Our full list of endorsements
R. Carey Davis, mayor from 2014 to 2018, oversaw the city through much of its bankruptcy reorganization. But he was ousted after just one term by 1,800 votes by scandal-prone John Valdivia.
The Valdivia years kicked off in the most John Valdivia way possible — just eight days after he was elected mayor, a robbery and shooting took place at a shuttered marijuana dispensary Valdivia held a meeting at just hours before.
Factions on the council emerged, pro- and anti-Valdivia, with the pro-Valdivia faction consistently making boneheaded calls like illegally slashing the pay of the city clerk and city attorney in what looked to everyone like retribution.
This editorial board called for Valdivia’s resignation in February 2020, just before the world as we all knew it plunged into chaos, amid reports of sexual and other misconduct on the part of Valdivia.
All the while, the same problems that always plagued the city continued on: high rates of poverty, poor economic prospects, high crime and a widespread perception that the city has insurmountable problems.
What the city needs is drama-free, competent leadership. That’s it. People who can work together like adults with the best interests of San Bernardino in mind.
On the ballot to serve as the next mayor of San Bernardino are Helen Tren and James Penman. Voters wisely denied an arrogant and foolish Valdivia another term. Tran previously served as the HR director for the city and was the top vote getter in the primary. Penman served for decades in the city, has run multiple times for mayor and was recalled in 2013 as city attorney.
On the issues, both Tran and Penman aren’t actually much different. Both are clear-eyed on the city’s crime problem and want to see the city make a concerted effort to hire large numbers of police officers to make up for the shortage of officers and to make community policing efforts more effective. Both want to look for outside of the box ideas to tackle homelessness. And both want to help guide the city to a place where city residents can feel safe, where businesses can feel comfortable investing.
While this editorial board believes both candidates have their merits and demerits, on balance we believe Tran is best suited to lead the city. Though Penman seems earnest in his wish to see the city head in a better direction, Tran would bring a fresh perspective to the role of mayor without the loaded history of Penman. She is eager to collaborate with the council on solutions to the city’s problems. And she has clearly convinced a vast coalition of current and former mayors, council members and local representatives in both Sacramento and Congress that she’s the one for the job.
The city needs all the help it can get in working toward stability. While we credit both candidates, we endorse Helen Tran because we believe she is best suited to accomplish that.
Sourcing & Methodology
To help you make decisions about the numerous candidates, measures, propositions and other races on your ballot, our editorial board (made up of opinion writers and editors), makes recommendations every election. The process is completely separate from newsroom reporting and journalists. With the exception of our executive editor, the members of our editorial board are not news reporters or editors.
, the opinion editor for the Southern California ɫ̳ Group’s 11 newspapers, heads the editorial board and guides our stances on public policy and political matters.
Every week, our team analyzes legislation, monitors political developments, interviews elected officials or policy advocates and writes editorials on the issues of the day. Unsigned editorials reflect the consensus of our , with the aim of offering arguments that are empirically sound and intellectually consistent.
We apply this same process when considering to endorse candidates.
As a practical matter, we are selective in which races we endorse in. We endorse on all , competitive , select races for the and select countywide and city elections.
We identify credible candidates through surveys and interviews, deliberate based on our editorial precedent and in light of contemporary realities, and issue endorsements accordingly.
