By RAUL A. CAMPILLO

The month of May can be described in four words: Advocating for Child Care.

Early in May, I called on Mayor Gloria to include the Office of Child and Youth Success in his final budget.

I am calling for the creation of this office because we have a severe shortage of childcare facilities in San Diego, as well as a lack of a coordinated strategy relating to all child-focused programs. To begin addressing this, I passed an action through my Economic Development committee to conduct a city facilities assessment to determine where more high-quality, affordable childcare facilities could be placed. I have asked the city’s Real Estate Assets Department to report the results of the assessment back to the Committee within six months.

Another priority related to children in our community is the San Carlos Library. Libraries are a terrific resource for programming for both children and adults, for educational attainment, for building a sense of community in our neighborhoods, and much more. I have spoken with the Director of the Library Foundation and the Friends of the San Carlos Library to strategize and deliver on this important priority.

Throughout my first months in office, I have been strongly advocating for two of the priorities I hear most about in the communities I represent: utility undergrounding and road repairs.

My staff and I are in constant communication with city staff to advocate for the much-needed repairs to our roads. I am happy to report that the staff in the city’s Streets Division confirmed that there are numerous street improvements scheduled to start in summer and fall 2021 in the Navajo area.

Lastly, the City Council recently approved a new and better gas and electric franchise agreement with SDG&E. I spent considerable time advocating on behalf of District 7 residents for franchise agreements that provided ratepayers the high-quality gas and electric service at affordable rates. My top priority in the franchise process was accelerating getting utility line underground in District 7. The three things I was most vocal about during this process were accelerating utility undergrounding; subsidizing solar panel installations for District 7 homeowners; and reducing fire risk.

I am pleased that all of these were included in the new and better gas and electric franchise agreements the council has approved, especially the $10 million solar panel program for homeowners that I brought forward, and the $110 million franchise fee from SDG&E. This franchise fee will be paid by shareholders, not ratepayers, and is the highest in the nation.

It is an honor to serve District 7 families. As a reminder, you can always reach our office by calling us at 619-236-6677 or emailing us at [email protected].

— Raul Campillo represents District 7 on the San Diego City Council.