What’s New in District 2?

This year, City Council approved a 5-year contract with SAPOA. Councilman Jalen voted “No,” citing that the reforms our District has asked for were not included, such as an independent citizen oversight board.

Every month, City Council votes on hundreds of items ranging from contracts, to appointments, to major ordinances and policy changes. In an effort to ensure the Councilman is as prepared as possible before he casts his votes, Joleen Garcia, in coordination with Denise Hernandez, schedules and prepares briefings, and provides notes for his various committee meetings, board meetings, and Council sessions. The goal of our policy team is to ensure that every single vote cast is one with the working-class people of our District’s best interests. This led to our “No” vote on the CPS Rate Increase, a “Yes” to an increase in our homestead exemption, and the inclusion of our District amendments in both of the annual budgets we’ve passed. We also proposed 9 Council Consideration Requests aimed at addressing our District’s greatest issues including crime prevention, animal care services, and health. In 2023, we will be strategic in all of our endeavors to serve.

Students in our Eastside Content Creator Program used profession equipment to create 6 short films in 6 weeks! So far, one student has been recruited for an internship, another has signed to a talent agency, and one of the films has been accepted into a local film festival.

Frankie Trynoski serves as the Councilman’s Chief of Staff. He and Councilman McKee-Rodriguez often brainstorm creative ideas to use tools in a way that will best benefit and serve D2 residents. One of Frankie’s ideas was the Eastside Youth Content Creator Program, which connected eastside students with Alamo City Studios to create and showcase 6 shortfilms. Frankie and Jalen worked with the studio team to flesh out the curriculum and goals of the program. Students used the same film and editing equipment used in our favorite blockbuster films and the results were spectacular. Seeing the students walk the red carpet and be embraced by a packed theater of members of our community was one of the brightest moments of 2022. In 2023, We look forward to finding ways to connect young people in our District with gems like Alamo City Studios. When you provide District 2 kids with tools like this, they produce inspiring results.