• Better Know a Candidate: Chuck Jones, District 1

I recently sat down with Chuck Jones for a "Better Know a Candidate" blog. Something I've done since 2014. It's a little different now that I'm on the city council, but Wildomar Rap is still a good source of information and I know I can be fair and even-handed.

Chuck Jones

Both Chuck, and Carlos Marquez (also on the ballot for District 1) will get the same questions, not get a chance to see the questions ahead of time, but have a chance to reword a comment later if they choose. 

I'll use a red asterisk * where the question was edited later through email. My blog is about accurate information, I'm not interested in "gotcha" moments. 

UPDATE: There is now a third candidate that has qualified as a write-in candidate, Jasmine Bearden. I've asked her the same questions and will be uploading a blog about her shortly. You'll notice this blog was written when there were only two candidates. I'm not going to edit it at this point.

UPDATE 2: This comment was left by Jasmine on the "Better Know a Candidate" blog at facebook. It's my practice to NOT remove old stories. 

This was published on Facebook on September 28, 2022.

I have set questions. 

Some are serious questions, and others are fun questions just to give you a glimpse into who the candidate is. This isn't 60 Minutes and I'm not Mike Wallace, so there aren't any hard-hitting follow-up questions.

I suggest that ALL voters contact the candidates and ask directly any questions you have. This is the time to put them to the test, they want your votes, see how well they turn around your phone calls or emails. 

I'll be using photos approved by the candidates. As of the writing of this blog, I will not be publicly endorsing either candidate. Both are likable people, and I believe that I'll be able to work with whichever of the two gets elected... and that only applies if I get re-elected. 😅😁

 WR  How long have you been in Wildomar and how did you choose it to be your home?

 CJ  I've been here a little over two years. 

How I "chose it"? I guess Wildomar "chose me". During the pandemic, with reduction of train service, I didn't know what side of the furlough I was going to be on. So as a preemptive, my family had a house sitting empty out here and so I moved out here just in case I was furloughed and not stuck in an apartment I wouldn't be able to pay for. 

 WR  What type of community involvement have you been part of?

 CJ  As a member of the LGBTQ community I've been involved in a lot community outreach programs one of those being Alliance For Housing and Healing. Aid For AIDS. What they do is provide housing and medication for people living with HIV and AIDS. I participated in their big fundraising event in 2017 and we helped raise $564,000 in one night to go directly towards these programs.

And besides that, just being somebody who's in recovery, just daily working one-on-one with alcoholics and addicts in recovery. Whether they be somebody I know personally or whether it be just somebody I meet and talk to for ten minutes on the street. 

 WR  What is your day job?

 CJ  I work for Amtrak. I am a dining car steward. I work the train from Los Angeles to Chicago.

 WR  Time on the job?

 CJ  It'll be eleven years in October.

 WR  Being on city council can be very time-consuming. When elected will your schedule allow for you to be "all in"?

 CJ  Yeah! The good thing about my job is I don't have to go in 9 to 5. My job can be three days on, four days off. Five days on, six days off. There are a lot of different train routes to choose from, so I can go "all in".

Fun question time

 WR  You're at a venue with multiple entertainment options. Do you head for the stand-up comedy, the dueling pianos or karaoke?

 CJ  Karaoke all the way. I only have two songs, but karaoke all the way. 

 WR  Wildomar has changed considerably since the freeway was built in the mid-80s. What will your approach be your approach to balancing the rural areas of Wildomar with the areas that aren't rural?

 CJ  This is something that a lot of people are concerned about. I do think that there are a lot of areas that honor the rural aspect. Especially in the residential areas and I think that's probably the biggest concern for people. 

I think we need to be smart about development. Is it beneficial to the community? Is it honoring the rural roots? Development is a necessary evil. We want better roads. We want to ensure that our streets are safe, with law enforcement, and those things cost money. I think we need to be smart about it and listen to the people's concerns and make a decision based off all the information that we have. 

 WR  What are your top three concerns for Wildomar?

 CJ  One of the big ones are the roads in District 1. When talking to people that's usually one of the first things that is brought up. I get it, I drive those bumpy cracked roads all the time. 

Another one is development. My big thing, you can go to Murrieta, you can go to Temecula, you can go to Lake Elsinore and see strip mall[s] slapped down one after another.  But there are other types of development that we can do that aren't eyesores [...] that are conducive to community gatherings because that's the biggest thing that keeps me here, is the community. 

When you have a strip mall and you're just driving up to it in your car, you go out, you get your things, you get back in and you leave. Where's the community in that? I think that there are some neat concepts out there that would be really fitting for Wildomar and conducive to small mom-and-pop businesses like Montague Brothers because that's what people want. We want to be able to stay close to home and have something that's genuinely just ours. 

My third one, I want to make sure this is a place where anyone can live. Is it welcoming? I know I've had my issues, but the community at large has let it be known that this is a place for anyone. I just want to make sure that what the community has offered me continues on. 

Fun question time

 WR  When you get a break in the action, how do you unwind/hobbies?

 CJ  How do I "unwind"? I'm wound up pretty tight, so I don't know if there's any "unwinding" (said with a smile and a laugh). My brother teases me, he calls me a hoarder, but I'm a collector. I collect antiques, vintage items, a lot of vintage artwork. I collect California pottery [...] and usually, most of my stuff is found at thrift stores [...] It keeps me busy. It's a distraction. It's [like] my head is spinning, it's like the thrill of the hunt [after finding a new item]. 

 WR  What's your understanding of the job of city council members and/or what your job would be after you're elected?

 CJ  The number one job of somebody who's on city council is to represent their district and listen to the needs of their district. We all may have certain political ideologies or views on how we want things. There may be things that I want personally or that somebody else wants personally, but is it what the community wants? Is it what your district wants? 

One of the most frustrating things is hyper-partisanship and parsing people into teams, and focusing on the differences rather than focusing on our common goals and what we all want.  Listening to the voice of the community and finding that common ground and making sure that people are heard. 

 WR  Currently each council member appoints a planning commissioner. What's your approach to future growth and how heavily would that factor in when choosing a commissioner?

 CJ  First and foremost I want to make sure the person knows what they're doing. Second, is their vision in line with the vision of the community? And third, are they doing things to help build community-based businesses, or are they doing things to serve others outside the community? I want to make sure that we're starting from within rather than from without. 

Softball question alert

 WR  Are you more of a dog person or a cat person?

 CJ  Dog person. I have two dogs. I love cats but my dogs probably love them even more so I have to be very careful having a cat. 

 WR  What got you interested in running for city council?

 CJ  *Running for public office has always been on the radar for me. I always thought I’d make a run in my hometown but when the universe lays things out and presents you with an opportunity you take it. With all the things I’ve been through since living here —dealing with harassment, living next to a health and safety hazard, seeing nefarious activity in my neighborhood— the choice was pretty clear. There were a lot of missed opportunities across the board in regards to my situation and I could continue to just vent about what should have been done or I could take real action to make a difference. That’s what I’m choosing to do. As the old saying goes, be the change you want to see in the world. 

Fun question time

 WR  What is your car radio usually set to?

 CJ  Anything with dance music. I'm usually listening to Apple Music of some sort, Diana Ross is currently in rotation pretty consistently. 

 WR  Social media can be a great tool. It can be a great way to communicate with residents, but it can also lead to headaches for those that partake too much. Do you have a plan on how to use it after you're elected?

 CJ  Social media is a great tool, and generally a lot of people who are active within the community use [it]. A lot of people use it to get information to see what's going on within the community, like The Locals page. But I think it's more so a good way to get the pulse on the community and see what's going on. So you have an idea of what people are saying.

Social media is a good communication tool. It's good communication that goes both ways. For you to get your message out, information out, and also to give people access to you.

As of the time of publishing, I didn't receive a caption for this photo.

 WR  What strengths do you have that you think will help you as a city leader?

 CJ  I'm a fighter. I'm persistent. Some may call me stubborn... but I care. People can say a lot about me, but the one thing they can't say is that I don't care. 

Softball question alert

 WR  What is your favorite meal?

 CJ  Fried chicken. Easy, fried chicken. Preferably Pioneer fried chicken. 

 WR  How available to District 1 residents do you plan on being?

 CJ  I keep my phone on 24-7. If they have a concern I want to hear it. I don't want people to feel dismissed (after a lengthy pause) like I did. 

 WR  If you had the attention of the Wildomar voters, what would you tell them are some key factors that a voter should be looking for in a city council member?

 CJ  Do they care? Are they genuine?  Do you trust them? And, do you believe their heart's in the right place? 

Last of the easy-peasy lemon-squeezy questions

 WR  Any go-to phone games that you indulge in (mine is Words With Friends, my mom's is Candy Crush)?

 CJ  No, no phone games, but a lot of Facebook Marketplace and Offer Up purchases happening? 

 WR  Any closing thoughts that you'd like to share with the voters?

 CJ  Stay involved. Make sure your voices are heard. I think there's a unique opportunity in District 1 to vote for someone who's going to advocate for real change, and that change isn't necessarily about what's going to be developed in the city or the direction the city is going, but really that change is: do the citizens have somebody who is going to listen to them and is going to fight for them and who is going to generally address their concerns, and I think there's a real chance for that to happen in this election; especially for District 1. 

 WR  What's your contact info, the best way for the voters to reach out to you?

 CJ  By cell, area code (310) 999-5095. Or they can reach me via email at charlesmjonesiv@gmail.com. 

Chuck's Official Facebook Page

link to Carlos Marquez blog 

Link to Jasmine Bearden blog