John R. Echevarria
Candidate for Mayor, Colton · Councilmember / Police Officer
John Echevarria grew up in San Bernardino's westside housing projects, raised by a single mother, and worked as a field laborer picking citrus crops and at a car wash as a teenager. He graduated from the police academy at 19, joined the Upland Police Department, then transferred to the San Bernardino Police Department in 2002, rising through patrol, canine, SWAT, detectives, and community affairs to lieutenant. He holds an associate's degree in administration of justice from San Bernardino Valley College, a bachelor's in criminal justice from Cal State San Bernardino, and a master's in public administration from California Baptist University. He was first elected to the Colton City Council in 2020 and has served as Planning Commissioner and Mayor Pro Tempore, and started the city's Colton Run Club.
Positions in brief
Echevarria calls for a broader definition of public safety that includes street lighting and infrastructure, more affordable housing, easier permitting for small businesses, and a more responsive city government.
Echevarria says public safety should include not just police and fire but also lighting, streets, traffic engineering, potholes, and city services, calling it 'a team effort.' He supports building more affordable housing and keeping it affordable long-term, wants to streamline permitting and communication with small-business developers, and says he wants residents placed at the top of the city's priorities. As a council member he backed cost-of-living increases and emergency pay adjustments for city employees.
On the issues
- Public Safety & Policing
Defines public safety broadly to include infrastructure like lighting, streets, and pothole repair alongside police and fire.
“lighting, streets, traffic engineering, potholes, city services”
Source → - Housing & Homelessness
Supports building more affordable housing and preserving long-term affordability.
“I want to see more affordable housing being built”
Source → - Economy & Jobs
Supports streamlining permitting and improving communication with small businesses and developers.
“By helping those small businesses, you're helping the family”
Source →
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