John Valdivia

John Valdivia (born July 19, 1975), is an American politician serving as the 29th and current mayor of San Bernardino, California. John Valdivia defeated incumbent R. Carey Davis in a runoff election on November 6, 2018 with a 6% margin.[3] A former member of the San Bernardino City Council, Valdivia served as the Councilman for the third ward from March 2012 to December 2018, and served as Mayor Pro-Tem for the City of San Bernardino from 2016 to 2017.

John Valdivia
Mayor of San Bernardino
Assumed office
December 19, 2018
Preceded byR. Carey Davis
Personal details
Born (1975-07-19) July 19, 1975
San Bernardino, California, U.S.
CitizenshipUnited States
Political partyDemocratic[1] Republican[2]
Spouse(s)Bethany Valdivia
Children2
Alma materEvangel University
Fuller Theological Seminary
Azusa Pacific

Early Life and Education

John Valdivia was born on July 19, 1975 in San Bernardino, CA. Valdivia grew up in San Bernardino, attending city schools from K-12. He received his bachelor’s degree from Evangel University. His graduate studies include a Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary and a Master of Business Administration from Azusa Pacific University.

San Bernardino Councilman

From March 2012 to December 2018, Valdivia served as the Councilman for the Third Ward in San Bernardino. San Bernardino's Third Ward is the breadbasket of the City of San Bernardino. The ward includes the Auto Center, the Inland Center Mall, Hospitality Lane business corridor, the restaurant row, and the entertainment corridor.

In November 2011, Valdivia was elected with nearly 70% of the total vote, he was sworn into office March 2012.[4]

In February 2014, Valdivia announced his candidacy for California's 31st Congressional District with the Republican Party.[5] Valdivia dropped out of the race one month later citing timing issues and a desire to work on city issues.[6]

Transient Occupancy Tax during his tenure increase from $2.2 million[7] in 2012 to almost $5 million[8] in 2018 by the end of Valdivia’s term as Councilman. The transient occupancy tax is a crucial revenue source for the City's general fund as it pays for San Bernardino's police officers and firefighters.

Voters in his third ward district elected him for another term in November 2015.[9]

Mayor of San Bernardino

Election

On July 6, 2017, with over 50 supporters in attendance at the Inland Center Mall Valdivia announced his intention to run in the 2018 election for Mayor of San Bernardino against the incumbent R. Carey Davis.[10] In the June 5, 2018 primary election Valdivia finished first place with 36 percent (35.8%) of the vote; Davis was the runner up with 28 percent (27.8%).[11] As no candidate received a majority of the primary votes to be elected outright Valdivia and Davis advanced to a November 6 runoff election. In the election held on November 6, 2018, Valdivia received 19,155 votes (52.5%) to Davis’s 17,327 (47.5%).[3] Valdivia was sworn in as mayor on December 19, 2018.

Priorities

Mayor Valdivia’s four main objectives as mayor are “pro-growth, pro-development, pro-safety, and pro-business”[12]

Since becoming mayor, Valdivia has advocated for the revitalization of Downtown San Bernardino. In July 2019, the City of San Bernardino released a request for qualifications for interested parties to develop the former Carousel Mall.[13] Valdivia has also pushed to reduce the red tape to encourage and expedite the process of establishing new businesses and homebuilding.

In Mayor Valdivia's first year he was able to bring a $25 million full service Hilton Hotel to San Bernardino's Hospitality Lane corridor, this project is proposed to generate more than $500,000 a year in transient occupancy tax alone, with an additional $250,000 annually from property and utility taxes.[14]

Valdivia championed the success of community-focused policing, in March 2019 the Mayor and City Council voted to reorganize the police department into a five-district policing structure, paving the way toward reopening police substations in the future.[15]

Boards

John Valdivia is currently the President of the San Bernardino International Airport Authority (SBIAA), he was originally appointed on February 27, 2019[16] and was re-appointed on October 23, 2019[17] Valdivia’s focus as the president of SBIAA is to increase economic development in the area surrounding the airport resulting in more jobs and revenue for San Bernardino. Valdivia’s other goals are to bring a commercial passenger airline to the airport, and encourage more cargo and logistics operations.

Valdivia is a member of various other boards these include:

  • Inland Valley Development Agency (IVDA)[18]
  • San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) - Board of Directors[19]
  • San Bernardino County Transportation Authority - Metro Valley Study Session[20]
  • San Bernardino County Transportation Authority - Transit Committee[21]
  • Omnitrans Board of Directors[22]

Scandals

In February 2020, former city employees filed complaints against the City of San Bernardino claiming that Mayor John Valdivia had subjected them to a hostile work environment and would direct sexual comments and innuendos toward them. Valdivia rejected the claims and said they were "politically driven."[23]

In March 2020, a field representative for the city filed a complaint stating that Valdivia had instructed his chief of staff to falsify performance evaluation forms, giving negative reviews to the two former employees that filed sexual harassment claims against Valdivia in February.[24] On March 12, 2020, Assemblymember Eloise Reyes called on Valdivia to take a leave of absence until the claims were proven to be true, and, if they were proven, to "resign immediately."[25] As of June 2020, Valdivia has not taken a leave of absence.

In April 2020, a fourth complaint was filed by another former employee, also claiming Valdivia created hostile environments and accused him of sexual harassment. Valdivia was accused of insisting that he and the employee develop a personal relationship outside of work or he would fire her if she denied.[26] This was the third sexual harassment claim filed by a former city employee.

Also in April 2020, Mayor Valdivia requested $50,000 from the City of San Bernardino to go toward the legal fees incurred from the claims against him. At the April 15, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council, the City Council voted 4-3 in favor of tabling the decision to fund legal representation to Mayor Valdivia. Council Members Theodore Sanchez (Ward 1), Fred Shorett (Ward 4), Henry Nickel (Ward 5), and Jim Mulvihill (Ward 7) voted in favor of tabling. Council Members Sandra Ibarra (Ward 2), Juan Figueroa (Ward 3), and Bessine Littlefield-Richard (Ward 6) voted against tabling.[27]

Additionally, the City of San Bernardino has paid $50,000 since February to an independent investigator over the claims brought forward against Valdivia. In May, the investigator requested an additional $30,000 to continue the investigation.[28]

Personal life

Valdivia resides in San Bernardino with his wife, Bethany and their two children.

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References
  1. Folmer, James. "Democrats reflect on local elections".
  2. Hagen, Ryan. "John Valdivia drops out of race for Rep. Gary Miller's seat in Congress".
  3. "San Bernardino County | Registrar of Voters | Current Elections | Election Results". www.sbcounty.gov. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  4. "Poll results". San Bernardino Sun. 2011-11-09. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  5. "San Bernardino Councilman John Valdivia announces bid for Rep. Gary Miller's seat". San Bernardino Sun. 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  6. "John Valdivia drops out of race for Rep. Gary Miller's seat in Congress". San Bernardino Sun. 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  7. "City of San Bernardino FY 2012-13 and FY 2013-2014 Proposed Budgets and Cash Flow Transmittal".
  8. "City of San Bernardino Annual Budget Fiscal Year 2018-19".
  9. "Puny turnout decides San Bernardino's future". San Bernardino Sun. 2015-11-05. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  10. "Councilman John Valdivia announces he's running for San Bernardino mayor". San Bernardino Sun. 2017-07-06. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  11. "San Bernardino County | Registrar of Voters | Current Elections | Election Results". www.sbcounty.gov. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  12. "'It's our turn,' San Bernardino, Mayor John Valdivia proclaims". San Bernardino Sun. 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  13. "San Bernardino gives developers 6 weeks to submit plans for Carousel Mall redevelopment". San Bernardino Sun. 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  14. "$25 million Hilton-branded hotel planned for San Bernardino entertainment corridor". San Bernardino Sun. 2019-08-31. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  15. "San Bernardino 'is not safe,' so city will reorganize its police department". San Bernardino Sun. 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  16. "San Bernardino International Airport Authority | February 27, 2019 Minutes" (PDF).
  17. "San Bernardino International Airport Authority | October 23, 2019 Minutes" (PDF).
  18. "IVDA Minutes - February 12, 2019" (PDF). IVDA JPA.
  19. "SBCTA Board of Directors Agenda - February 6, 2019" (PDF). SBCTA.
  20. "SBCTA Metro Valley Study Session Agenda - February 14, 2019" (PDF). SBCTA.
  21. "SBCTA Transit Committee Agenda" (PDF). SBCTA.
  22. "OmniTrans Board of Directors Agenda Minutes - February 6, 2019" (PDF). Omnitrans.
  23. "Claims against San Bernardino detail mayor's alleged abuse of power". San Bernardino Sun. 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  24. "Field rep alleges San Bernardino mayor instructed top aide to fabricate records". San Bernardino Sun. 2020-04-04. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  25. "Assemblymember Reyes' Statement Concerning San Bernardino Mayor John Valdivia". Official Website - Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes Representing the 47th California Assembly District. 2020-03-12. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  26. "Third sexual harassment claim filed against San Bernardino mayor". San Bernardino Sun. 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  27. "Error". edocs.sbcity.org. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  28. "$30,000 needed to continue investigation into San Bernardino mayor". San Bernardino Sun. 2020-05-18. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
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