Two political veterans and four newcomers are looking to replace Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey and take over leadership of the city.

Riverside Unified School District board member Patricia Lock Dawson, retired taxi driver Phi Long Tran “JD” Denilofs, retired union steward Rich Gardner, taxi driver Guy A. Harrell, City Councilman Andy Melendrez and personal assistant Acea Stapler will appear on the ballot in the March 3 election.

Bailey, who’s been mayor for eight years, announced in September that he wouldn’t run for a third term and instead will lead Path of Life, a Riverside-based nonprofit organization focused on homelessness.

If none of the candidates receives more than 50% of the vote, the two with the most votes will compete in a November runoff.

Dawson and Melendrez both say they have the most experience, while the other candidates say they have fresh ideas and an outsider’s perspective.

Patricia Lock Dawson is running for Riverside mayor in the March 3, 2020, election. (Photo courtesy of Patricia Lock Dawson)

John Dave Denilofs, also known as Phi Long Tran “JD” Denilofs, is running for Riverside mayor in the March 3, 2020, election. (Photo courtesy of John Dave Denilofs)

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Rich Gardner is running for Riverside mayor in the March 3, 2020, election. (Photo courtesy of Rich Gardner)

Guy A. Harrell is running for Riverside mayor in the March 3, 2020, election. (Photo courtesy of Guy A. Harrell)

Andy Melendrez is running for Riverside mayor in the March 3, 2020, election. (Photo courtesy of Andy Melendrez)



Acea Stapler is running for Riverside mayor in the March 3, 2020, election. (Photo courtesy of Harmony Hartig)

Dawson, a school board member since 2011, owns an environmental consulting firm called PLD Consulting and has served on the city’s Planning Commission and the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

“I have city governance, state governance, private business experience and board of education experience,” she said. “In every one of those positions, I’ve held leadership roles and I’ve delivered on promises, so I’ve been effective.”

Those positions have prepared her to face Riverside’s challenges — including homelessness, housing, the local economy and the city budget — Dawson said.

To address homelessness, Dawson said, the city should continue its Housing First policy, work with county officials to get more mental health assistance and adopt diversion programs like those used in other areas to identify people at risk of becoming homeless and help them with rent or other needs.

Following the approach used to balance Riverside Unified’s budget — which she noted is larger and employs more people than the city government — Dawson advocates a budget stabilization committee that would include residents, business owners, labor unions and other representatives.

The committee would recommend programs that could be cut with the least impact.

“I’d also call for that same committee to identify a schedule or plan to ramp back up once our funding situation is stabilized,” Dawson said. “So we would know those cuts aren’t forever, that we have a plan for coming back.”

Denilofs went by the name John Dave Denilofs when he ran for City Council in 2019 and when he made comments that city, religious and other leaders condemned as racist.

The comments, mostly made in videos he posted online, included slurs and advocated death for multiple groups, including Muslims and people who wave Mexican flags.

Denilofs has used varying explanations for the comments, including that he was joking, that he wanted to stir up engagement for his Facebook page and that he wanted to expose people who agreed with the comments as racist.

In a January interview, he stood by his comments saying Muslims should be killed, falsely asserting that all Muslims wanted to kill Jews. Mainstream Muslim groups have condemned attacks on Jews, whether by white nationalists or Islamic terrorists.

Denilofs has Vietnamese ancestry and says that’s why he uses the name Phi Long Tran “JD” Denilofs on the ballot.

His ideas for improving the city include bringing in more “authentic ethnic” restaurants, although he didn’t articulate a clear plan for how to do so.

“When I’m mayor, I want everybody from every country to open a restaurant, but I don’t want them to tweak the menu to accommodate people,” he said.

Gardner said his main motivation for running is that he wants a Christian mayor.

“I think a person of high moral fiber should be in office,” he said. “I want a person of Christian beliefs in the seat … I think anyone can make an honest decision, but when you’re grounded, for lack of a better word, you make more informed decisions.”

Gardner said homelessness would be his main priority, perhaps working with a group that converts abandoned hotels into housing for homeless people.

He also wants more focus on the middle class, a group he said he represents.

Trade schools supported by city dollars and city-backed loans for residents could help the middle class, he said.

Harrell taught in the Riverside and Alvord unified school districts for two decades as a substitute, then in alternative education such as probationary schools and continuation high schools.

Burned out by changes to the profession, he opened a one-person taxi company called Harrell Transportation. He gives several rides per day based mostly on word-of-mouth as a competitor to companies that use ride-hailing apps.

His top priority is the budget, which he wants to balance, although he said he hasn’t yet studied the details or what types of changes to make.

Riverside budget officials say the current two-year budget is balanced but that rising pension costs will lead to deficits soon and the city becoming insolvent if no changes are made by 2023.

“As just a regular citizen, I’m not aware of all the ins and outs of that (the budget), but I’m telling you right now that’s going to be the main focus,” Harrell said. “What are you the mayor of, if you’re insolvent?”

Melendrez started and runs Innovative Rehabilitation Services, a Riverside-based company that specializes in career development for injured workers. He has been on the City Council since 2006.

If elected, Melendrez would be the first Latino or person of color to serve as mayor in the city’s 135-year history, he said.

He points to accomplishments such as helping found the Riverside Arts Academy and Youth Opportunity Center as examples of what he could do in the rest of the city.

And he says his experience on the council is more directly applicable to being mayor than any other candidate’s.

“The race for mayor, I believe, really needs to be based on experience and knowledge of city government, and I have 14 years of that,” Melendrez said. “I think the difference is that, if elected mayor, I would be able to jump right in and keep moving forward.”

To address homelessness, Melendrez would continue housing efforts but would work more with the county, surrounding cities and nonprofit groups to get help for mental health issues, he said.

He also wants more alternatives to cars, particularly improving the “last mile” of a trip, the distance between the closest stop available on current public transportation and the traveler’s home or destination.

“I’ve always thought the city needs a transportation director who would connect horse trails, sidewalks, with public transportation, trains, and create alternative forms of transportation,” he said.

Stapler wants to bring more music festivals, which she said would help other businesses.

“We need stuff like the Festival of Lights, but year-round,” she said. “Use those proceeds to help with mental health or maybe put back into the pensions.”

Stapler wants to focus on mental health, particularly the mental health of students. Each school should have at least one full-time counselor, she said.

Schools are run by school districts, which pay for counselors, but she said she would find a way to accomplish the goal.

“I don’t know (how). That’s part of being new,” she said. “But I don’t take no for an answer. It’s like when people ask why I’m running for mayor — no one has shown I can’t.”

ABOUT THE CANDIDATES

Name: Patricia Lock Dawson

Age: 54

Residence: Riverside

Occupation: Small business owner

Education: Bachelor of Science, biology, UC Riverside; Master of Science in forestry/wildlife, University of Washington

Professional and Community Activities: Riverside Unified School District trustee; chair and member, Riverside Planning Commission; gubernatorial appointee, California Board of Behavioral Sciences; member, Riverside Art Museum Board of Directors; member, UCR Alumni Association Board of Directors

Top 5 Concerns: Reducing homelessness, building quality housing, growing Riverside’s economy, protecting and enhancing Riverside’s quality of life; balancing the city budget / stabilizing pension obligations

Campaign information: www.patriciaforriverside.com, Facebook: Patricia Lock Dawson for Riverside Mayor, Instagram: pldforriverside

Name: Phi Long Tran “JD” Denilofs

Age: 54

Residence: Riverside

Occupation: Retired taxi driver

Education: One year at Riverside City College

Top five professional and community activities: Give out tents to homeless

Top five concerns: Drug addicts and mentally ill people, Riverside not having a “center,” not getting money from marijuana businesses, city too divided, laws not enforced

Campaign information: JD Denilofs for Mayor of Riverside on Facebook

Name: Rich Gardner

Age: 59

Residence: Riverside

Occupation: Retired union shop steward, Stater Bros.

Education: Associate’s degree, Riverside City College

Top five professional and community activities: Founder, Dementia Friendly City Riverside & Corona; organizer of Night of Hope and Joy, a monthly support group party for those with dementia

Top five concerns: Aggressively addressing homeless issue, public safety, city budget, job growth, affordable housing

Campaign information: 951-567-8469, richgardner1960@yahoo.com, http://www.richformayor2020.com,

Name: Guy A. Harrell

Age: 48

Residence: Riverside

Occupation: Small business owner, retired public school teacher

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Law & Society, UC Santa Barbara; master’s degree in educational administration, Cal State San Bernardino

Top five professional and community activities: Taught 22 1/2 years in public schools, mostly in Inland Empire; member, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Citizens on Patrol; past vice president and president of Jurupa Valley Democratic Club.

Top five concerns: City budget; citizens’ involvement with city governance; equal justice and pay for all; opportunities for youths for entertainment, housing and employment; seeking permanent solutions to homelessness

Campaign information: 951-505-7289

Name: Andy Melendrez

Age: 66

Residence: Riverside

Occupation: Riverside city councilmember/business owner

Education: Graduate of Riverside Poly High School and Riverside City College. Bachelor’s degree in sociology and master’s degree in educational counseling from Cal State San Bernardino.

Top five professional and community activities: Four terms on the Riverside City Council, local business owner for 37 years, helped found Riverside Arts Academy and Opera Program, ex-oficio board member of Riverside Downtown Partnership,member, Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Zone

Top five concerns: Homelessness and the cost of housing, public safety, climate change and air quality, responsible budget management, improving services that maintain neighborhoods

Campaign information: 951-203-6678, www.AndyMelendrez.com, Andy@AndyMelendrez.com

Name: Acea Stapler

Age: 45

Residence: Riverside

Occupation: Personal assistant

Education: Pursuing bachelor’s degree in business administration

Top five professional and community activities: Activities to help animals, veterans, and children.

Top five concerns: Mental health, city’s financial future, government transparency and accountability, the environment, animals

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Correction: This article has been updated to remove the incorrect number of people employed by Andy Melendrez.