San Bernardino Police Officers Association to host council candidate forums

The San Bernardino Police Officers Association will hold two city council candidate forums in the coming weeks. These forums are a crucial platform for the candidates in wards 5 and 7 to share their viewpoints on issues that directly impact the voters in San Bernardino, such as crime, homelessness, and city infrastructure.

The first forum will be held Thursday, August 15 at the Arrowhead Country Club in San Bernardino. It will feature long-time city attorney Jim Penman vs. serial campaigner and local government gadfly Treasure Ortiz.  Penman’s strict law and order approach may play well in this climate of high crime and a homelessness crisis.  Ortiz will likely try to ride her disdain for the city leadership and its policies to victory.

Penman is easily the more experienced candidate, although some voters may hold his ties to the failed leadership of the city and the descent into bankruptcy. Still, it should be noted he was one of the few voices that had publicly warned the town for years that they were flirting with financial disaster.

Ortiz has built a small but loyal following among the critics of the city and the council over the years but, despite several tries, has yet to gain a seat at the elected table.  Her campaign has also been mired in controversy due to allegations that sprung from an investigation into leaks from closed-session discussions and documents about the process of hiring a new city manager.  The report alleges that she was a conduit for leaking information to the media.

The second forum will pit former Councilmember Henry Nickel against newcomer Kim Knaus in the 5th district race. That event will take place August 22 at the First Baptist Church at 4747 N. State Street in San Bernardino.

Both events begin at 6:30 p.m.