Council member calls for deeper background check on council candidates

A member of the San Bernardino city council wants to implement stricter background checks for city council candidates.

Councilman Juan Figueroa is proposing holding council candidates to the same level of scrutiny that applicants for boards and commissions are held to, all of whom must fill out a three-page application before being considered for an appointment.

“Ideally, city council candidates would be required to submit the same information commission candidates are required to submit,” Figueroa said. “Both should be held accountable to the same standards.”

Currently, city council candidates only need be a San Bernardino resident and run to represent the ward in which they live.

“We know a lot more about commissioner candidates than we do about council candidates,” Figueroa said. “We’ve also had people running who had criminal backgrounds, but the voters didn’t know that.

“I think we need better background checks.”

Figueroa, who represents the third ward, made the proposal during the June 5 council meeting. So far, no ordinance has been drawn up, but Figueroa – a council member since 2019 – says he will still pursue the matter.

“The city clerk’s office said they will speak to the city attorney, but we haven’t heard anything,” said Figueroa, who admitted that none of his six fellow council members, or Mayor Helen Tran, expressed support or opposition for his proposal. “But I think it’s important. It’s something we should look into.”

The issue is transparency, and that involves more than looking for a possible criminal record.

A criminal record, a history of financial misdeeds or a spotty employment history, are things that might influence a voter’s decision and so they should be made public well before election day, according to Figueroa.

Conversely, a more detailed vetting of a candidate’s background could reveal positive information that could help a voter make up his or her mind: A prospective candidate could possess a strong financial background, an outstanding business record or a distinguished record of public service.

“There’s really no argument against providing the public with more information about the people who are running for office,” Figueroa said. “I’ve never heard any opposition to that idea. But it’s probably too late to make any changes in this election cycle.”

That cycle started in March, when council members Kimberly Calvin, Ben Reynoso and Damon Alexander were all defeated in the primary. All are scheduled to leave office at the end of this year, with their replacements to be decided in the Nov. 5 general election.

Of the four incumbents who were up for reelection, only Figueroa kept his seat, receiving more than 60 percent of the vote.

Figueroa’s proposal to conduct more detailed vetting of city council candidates is a good one, but it lacks the one element that might make it successful, said one local businessman who has done business with San Bernardino on multiple occasions.

“I would certainly like to see commissioner candidates and city council candidates held to to same standards,” said Alan Stanly, owner of the seven-story Enterprise Building at 320 N. E St. in the heart of downtown. “I think that would definitely help people who are trying to decide who they’re going to vote for.”

Stanly, who owns several downtown office buildings and who recently tried to buy the former Harris Department Store building at 300 N. E St., said a more detailed background check of city council candidates should have a penalty attached to it, Stanly said.

“It’s the honor system, so if you aren’t honest and someone finds out nothing happens to you,” Stanly said. “I don’t think that will work.”

Perjury would be the most appropriate penalty for any council candidate who intentionally lies on a background form, particularly if it regards something significant, according to Stanly.

“Perjury is a felony,” Stanly said. “If that was the penalty, I think that would be enough. I don’t think you would need anything else for a deterrent.”

A more detailed vetting process for council candidates could, in the long run, produce a more business-friendly climate, something San Bernardino is trying hard to achieve as it faces one of the most momentous decisions in the city’s history: bringing a mixed-use retail, office, and residential project to the 46-acre site once occupied by Carousel Mall.

“They should look for anything in a candidate’s background that might impact how that person represents the public trust,” said Stanly, who dropped his plans to buy the 100-year-old Harris building when he could not secure enough parking for the four-story structure, a downtown landmark. “If you had more honest people on the council, it might be easier to conduct business with the city.

“People on the council might not be leaving all of the time.”

While it’s true that no action has been taken, Figueroa’s proposal is not necessarily dead, said council member Theodore Sanchez, who represents the first ward.

“San Bernardino’s government, like all city governments, moves slowly,” said Sanchez, who conceded that some people with “checkered pasts” have been elected to the council over the years. “It could take a month, or a year, but I won’t be surprised if some a stronger vetting program happens at some point.”