EDITOR’S NOTE: On Friday, Sept. 6, Redwood City Mayor Ian Bain came to Summit Preparatory Charter High School for a press conference to answer student journalists’ questions about his role in the community.
Ian Bain introduces the importance of local politics in Redwood City
By Jovani Contreras, Fabiana Munoz and Rosie Esteverena
Staff Writers
Ian Bain believes that local politics are one of the most important facets of government.
Mayor Bain started his Sept. 6 press conference at Summit Prep with a long, but informative introduction; he told of his perseverance and of his campaigns that failed for years before he was finally able to sit on the council to the point of maxing out his terms.
Mayor Bain wanted students to know he had dedicated his life to being a public servant.
However, his most important point in this was the relevancy of local politics in our day-to-day lives. The government is an essential part of how things function seamlessly, and Mayor Bain believes that much more work is done on a local level than any other.
The Redwood City mayor expressed how cardinal it is to get involved in the community being that council decisions greatly impact the daily lives of people in the city. He had a lot to say about the role local politics plays the city.
Mayor Bain said, “The laws we make here locally — even the court house events — that impacts your life, and I wish more people understood that and would get involved.”
Mayor Bain’s changes in his 18 years on the council included: making great strides in the beautification of Redwood City, implementing a public dog park and leading environmental initiatives resulting in a 22% decrease in electricity since 2005.
These changes have affected the Redwood City community greatly as far as helping beautify the city and improve the quality of life for its citizens. Mayor Bain said, “When Redwood City is nice, beautiful and welcoming, think of me.”
Mayor Bain is very proud of his achievements and the effect they have had on Redwood City, and he has further plans to better Redwood City and the lives of those living in it.
Mayor Bain has created a “respectful tone for local government.” He said, “I hope you learn to love Redwood City as much as I love Redwood City.”
Mayor Bain works to better the community
By Victor Aguilar, Cristina Ramirez, Salette Vazquez and Jorge Zamora
Staff Writers
Redwood City Mayor Ian Bain reminisced about the days of bowling alleys, roller rinks and mini golf and hoped to bring family recreation back to the city.
On Sept. 6, Mayor Ian Bain came to the journalism class at Summit Prep to discuss things that are happening in the community of Redwood City.
As the mayor said in the press conference, he wants to “bring back family recreation.”
He said he wants to bring more entertainment to Redwood City, as there is zero to none right now for kids and adults to do in the community.
The mayor talked about many places that have been taken down. For example, the roller rink in Redwood City. The roller rink was taken down on Sept. 30, 2017; it was loved by many people. It was so loved by people that the mayor has teased that “they’re in talks with a roller rink operator.” He mentioned to not get people’s hope to get up, but it is a sign of change that the talks are happening in the first place.
When asked the question, “How would you improve Redwood City?” one of the places he mentioned taking his kids to was a place called Malibu Grand Prix. This place was always a mainstay in Redwood City, as it was open for 35 years. The thing is though, as mentioned in the Mercury News, it had to close down since of the rising cost.
The bowling alley, as known as Mel’s Bowl, was open for 40 years before being demolished for a 141-unit apartment. It was a staple of Redwood City, as many people that grew up around the area have said that “was the place that started my bowling obsession”.
Mayor Bain has already began making changes to the city with the building of the Main Street Dog Agility Park. He was very proud of his work and even said that whenever he drives past the park and sees dogs playing he feels proud. One of the others ways Redwood City has improved is with connecting families through the events in downtown Redwood City. There are many events there, such as the Salsa Festival that lets people enjoy the culture and the setting of Redwood City.
Mayor Bain wants to reinvent areas of Redwood City that were there before to make them feel like a more family environment, where people can engage more with their community.
Ian Bain cares about Redwood City
By Morgan Dundas, Nina Gonzalez and Elizandra Zelaya
Staff Writers
Redwood City’s Mayor Ian Bain came to visit Summit Preparatory High School to spark dialogue with the students of the Multimedia Political Journalism class. He spoke about everything from housing prices to bringing back the famous roller rink to the community.
Mayor Bain engages with the community to form a genuine connection with the people he’s overseeing. He cares about helping others, which pushes him to do the best he can to make sure the people’s wants and needs are satisfied.
Mayor Bain accomplished building the important court plaza, which stands for a large space for everyone in the community to gather and connect, regardless of someone’s race, religion, or sexual orientation. This area can be found near Redwood City’s downtown, which holds a special place in the community’s hearts.
Mayor Bain is also responsible for building the newest dog park on Main Street. He is grateful for the opportunity to complete this project and is satisfied with the work he has done. Driving by the park every day and witnessing everyone enjoying downtime with their family and friends, in turn bringing together the community, brings a smile to his face.
The mayor’s early drive for politics came from a connection to the young group in his community in which he can see himself and is proud to stand as an inspiration for many.
Mayor Bain is also proud to have helped a local group to get a street light near their home because there were many complaints of disrespect to the street due to the darkness. According to the mayor, one complaint said, “I come out every morning, and I find trash, slurpee cups, used condoms; it’s disgusting.”
Mayor Bain followed up by stating how he “made a few phone calls and was able to find the status of the street light, and a year later I got an email from him saying, ‘Hey the street light just went in, it looks great, all my neighbors are thrilled, thank you so much for helping us.’ Those are the kinds of things that really keep me going.”
Mayor Bain makes sure he has open arms to everyone, he makes everyone feel safe and welcome to the community. He said, “I talked about diversity and how we expect it here. We don’t report people who are in the country without documentation.”
Redwood City has a 32% Spanish speaking rate versus the national average of 13%, highlighting the diversity in which Redwood City holds.
Mayor Bain shows a lot of intense eagerness and enjoyment toward the projects he has completed throughout the city and is more eager to start planning the new ideas he has to add to the city. He hopes that this will bring more entertainment and attraction to Redwood City.
The mayor is trying to add some new attractions to the city, such as a new roller rink and a bowling alley. He is trying to restore some of Redwood City’s attractions due to the roller rink closing down along with other attractions.
Redwood City Mayor Ian Bain talks about gun control
By Giselle Maldonado, Hannah Murrieta and Yoeli Romero
Staff Writers
Lately gun control has been a heated issue because of all the shootings that have happened in the past year. The Redwood City Mayor Ian Bain visited Summit Prep to talk about a variety of topics surrounding the city as well as larger problems.
Gun violence is a common topic discussed in politics. Even though people usually talk about it on a national level, Mayor Ian Bain, a local politician had a lot to say about it.
The mayor believes that gun violence is a major issue and some things need to be done to stop it. Responding to a question about the walkouts, the mayor said that “we need a new president … because the one we have currently doesn’t do anything about gun violence.”
More than ever, young people like Summit Prep students have had opinions on gun control. Students from schools all over the Bay protested.
According to Summit News, on March 14, 2018, students from Summit Prep, Everest, and many more from the Sequoia District joined the walkout from 10 to 10:17 to pay respects to the 17 victims. When the students arrived at the downtown area, Redwood City Vice Mayor Diane Howard gave a speech to support the students for their safe and encouraging protest. Afterwards, the students continued to yell out their chants one last time.
On March 24, 2018 students from all over the United States walked to prevent gun violence. The March for Our Lives movement started by students to advocate for sensible gun reform.
Students are willing to take a stand against gun control since it is such a big issue in the United States. So many lives have been affected by this issue, so students are trying to make a change to make our communities a safer place.
Many people, including Mayor Bain, agree that changes need to be made to our current gun control policy. Although there are restrictions, it seems that the policies are not preventing gun violence. According to CNN, there has been about 22 school shootings so far in 2019.
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