Voters in Riverside’s 5th Ward are in for a rematch this March between incumbent Councilmember Gaby Plascencia and business owner Sean Mill.
Plascencia has truly had a distinguished time on the council. Just a year after her election, the City Council voted to confirm the findings of the city’s Board of Ethics that Plascencia had violated the city’s ethics rules. Six months later, the council unanimously voted to censure her for those ethics violations.
As found by the council, Plascencia used her office for personal gain and used her power to engage in discrimination.
For these reasons alone, Plascencia should be booted from public office. Public office is no place for those
Fortunately, there is an obviously better alternative in Sean Mill, who, incidentally, was the target of Plascencia’s retaliatory and discriminatory effort to remove him from the city’s planning commission and the Arlington Business Partnership after she beat him in the last election.
Mill is running on a back-to-basics platform. Instead of drama and abuse of power, Mill wants to work toward a more prosperous Riverside.
Mill asks voters to consider whether the city is in a better place now than it was four years ago. “Our roads are not being taken care of, city services aren’t up to par, trees not being trimmed,” he notes. “I’ve seen the general quality of life across our city decline.”
“This is my home, this is where I choose to live with my family,” he told us. “I chose to live in Riverside and really the answer to why I’m running is: When I open my door in the morning, I want my community to be better.”
To tackle the city’s housing needs, he is a proponent of mixed-use development as a means of revitalizing core areas.
To deal with homelessness, Mill understands the need for a regional approach and engaging with the non-profit and private sector to get people off the streets.
Instead of virtue-signaling, Mill wants the council to focus on making sure Riverside residents get the services they deserve at the best possible cost.
That sounds like common sense to us.
Sean Mill is the obvious choice. He deserves your vote in Ward 5.
