James (Jim) Westheimer
Why you want to be a candidate for EACPC
Relevant qualifications
Having resided in El Cerrito for over 36 years, first as a renter and since 1992 as a homeowner, I have seen the city and our immediate neighborhoods transformed for the better and sometimes for the not so good. I was one of the original board members of the El Cerrito Community Council and served there in multiple roles for most of the organization 25 plus years of existence.
As a retired State employee, I have the time and desire to apply my life experiences and professional skills in service to the EACPC.
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Emily Perez
Why you want to be a candidate for EACPC
I have been serving on the EACPC for the past two years as a resident from Rolando Village. I am interested in helping shape the future of our neighborhoods to ensure that growth and change benefits the residents of the Eastern Area.
Relevant qualifications
I have been a Rolando Village home owner and resident for 10 years and am deeply involved in my neighborhood.
I am also a licensed Architect in the State of California for over 13 years now. For the past 15+ years, I have focused my career on designing public facilities such as public schools and libraries. I have seen first hand how the renewal of a place can have an effect on the surrounding environment, neighborhood, and the people who frequent it.
I hope to bring my knowledge and experience in design, urban planning, public spaces, and neighborhood concerns together to inform decision making within Eastern Area.
Sonia Lang
Why you want to be a candidate for EACPC
To represent and be the voice for Rolando Park and the surrounding communities. To ensure that the city, county and state representatives hear the needs and wants of the community. That they understand how decisions and changes made in the city/county/state can affect our residents’ lives.
Relevant qualifications
Lynn Edwards
Why you want to be a candidate for EACPC
I’m a long-time Rolando Park resident who cares about both my community and the eastern area communities in San Diego. I devote my time and efforts to community-based groups that work to maintain and improve quality of life for our residents and businesses and ensure equitable services and infrastructure for our communities.
Relevant qualifications
Amertah E. Perman
Why you want to be a candidate for EACPC
I want to be a candidate for one of the Oak Park seats for EACPC because I believe the EACPC is a great avenue to ensure the needs of our community are heard, valued, and invested in. While my day job requires focus on broader regional needs, I am personally interested in focusing more locally. I’ve been wanting to increase my involvement in our community for quite some time and now seems the perfect opportunity to do so! I am eager to show my support for our diverse neighborhoods through service on the EACPC.
Relevant qualifications
I have lived in the Eastern Area Community for ten years - residing in Rolando for five years and then purchasing a home Oak Park in 2021 (our family’s first home!).
Since 2017, I’ve work within the San Diego Community College District (includes four colleges: City College, Mesa College, Miramar College, and the seven campuses of the College of Continuing Education). I currently serve as the Dean of Career Education and Workforce Development at the District Office, where I support districtwide and college-specific efforts to increase the number of students attaining a living wage, to expand student access to paid work-based learning opportunities, and to strengthen industry alignment of academic and technical training programs.
I bring an interdisciplinary approach to my work, drawing from a diverse background in research, planning, education, and advocacy. I have extensive experience participating on, and leading, local, regional, and statewide committees.
Outside of my professional career, I maintain a studio art practice and am connected to the San Diego arts community. My primarily textile and fiber-based art pieces have been shown throughout the United States (San Diego, New York City, Richmond, Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland) and internationally (Germany, Cambodia, and Taiwan).
Originally from the Northeast (Maine and NY), I love going on adventures (desert camping!) and try to get outside as much as possible to take advantage of the diverse ecosystems San Diego has to offer..
Richard Diaz
Why you want to be a candidate for EACPC
When we first bought our house in Oak Park, we expected to stay for 3 years, build some equity, and then move on. Now, 30 years later, we are still in the same house and recall the plusses of living here: An open-air shopping mall and bowling alley in OP, a movie theater and popular China Buffet in Redwood Village, a youth karate spot and 2-level Salvation Army resale store in Rolando Park, open tennis courts at Crawford HS, … and not to forget Chollas Lake and its parks. The family character and feel of that time still exists but is in danger of being swept up in a flurry of “affordable housing” and its attendant businesses by developers and City staff who do not live here but whose decisions can impact communities and change their character.
When it comes to “checking off the boxes” re: proposed projects, the impacted communities need to be involved in the creation and oversight of those “boxes” from beginning to end.
Relevant qualifications
Jen Eastman
Details to come
Jessica Arreguin
Why you want to be a candidate for EACPC
I have been a resident and homeowner in Webster for 6 years. I have seen that there are lots of wonderful things happening in our area, but I also hear desperate calls for improvement that are not being answered by the city. I would like to be more involved in my community, and hopefully at a level to have a positive impact.
Relevant qualifications
I have been an active member of Friends of Webster neighborhood group, as well as being involved with the Webster Community Council. I am currently a parent of a TK student at Webster Elementary. As a parent, I started organizing families towards the shared goal of getting a grass field in the modernization plan. The school district has already responded and added a field to the design plans!
I have experience serving on a board of directors for my union, where I worked to increase the voice of my members, and ensure everyone was being represented at the table.
I think I will bring a balanced perspective to the Eastern Area Communities Planning Committee. I am a parent of a young child, a teacher in the community, and a resident who is ready to help make change happen.
Joseph Yorty
JOEHNS Coffee, Webster
Why you want to be a candidate for EACPC
I’ve lived in Webster since 2017. If elected as a board member on the Eastern Area Planning Committee I hope to represent the best interests of the residents of Webster and the surrounding communities with regard to land use and future development. The neighborhoods that make up the Eastern Area have specific needs and face unique challenges that, as a representative on the Planning Committee, I believe I can speak for the hopes and concerns of our neighbors.
Relevant qualifications
I’ve owned and operated a small coffee shop in Webster for two years. In addition to active involvement in the Friends of Webster community organization, I engage, on a daily basis, with the neighborhood through direct contact with my customers, most of which are also area residents.
From 2006 to 2024, I worked at the University of San Diego as the Department of Art, Architecture + Art History’s Facilities Manager and occasional adjunct faculty in Photography and Sculpture.
I started and currently operate a non-profit contemporary art gallery and project space in Logan Heights that has been in operation for over nine years.
I served in the U.S. Navy from 1995 to 2006 as both an enlisted sailor and a Surface Warfare Officer.
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