Meet Jordan Valenzuela For Redding City Council

This story is part of Shasta Scout’s citizen-powered election coverage. For the November 8, 2022 general election, we’re focusing on three races: the Redding City Council, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors, and the Shasta County Board of Education. View all of the Meet the Candidate interviews.

Ten candidates, including one incumbent, are running for three open seats on the Redding City Council this fall. Our elections reporting flips the script by asking candidates to answer questions from the community. We’re conducting long-form, in-person interviews that last about an hour each and utilize questions drawn from you, via our Scout reader survey. Candidate responses have been curated and paraphrased for this format.

10/24/22 5:54 We have updated Valenzuela’s biographical information to correct a minor inaccuracy.

What should we know about you?

I’m a third-generation Redding resident and I have a three-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl. I went to the same local school district my whole life: attending Columbia, Mountain View, and then Foothill. I went to massage school, completed my AA at Shasta College and started my own business in 2014, doing free chair massages as part of community events. Since then, I’ve build my business, Shasta Strong Wellness Spa, through ongoing partnerships with nonprofits and businesses. I began as a sole proprietor, then became an LLC with a couple of employees and was eventually able to expand into a day spa. I had to really persevere during the pandemic period but Win-River Resort and Casino has been an amazing partner. I rent space from the Rancheria for my spa and they gave out funding to more than local 60 businesses during the pandemic, including mine. I think my business has excelled because I began by giving generously to my community and the community has always generously given back.

Why did you decide to run for city council?

In 2021 I was awarded Rising Star of the Year at the Legends and Leaders Gala, and that helped me to understand that people have come to see me as a local leader. Now that I’m feeling more secure with my business, I’ve been reflecting on what I can continue to do for my community. I have a lot of friends in the local business community who also have families, and I want to make sure that my community is taken care of. We are expanding so quickly in Redding right now, it’s bigger than I’ve ever seen it. There’s a lot of opportunity but I want to make sure that we’re still keeping the same small community feel and ability to care for each other like we always have. Through the pandemic, the Carr Fire, and everything else, we’ve always flocked to each other and supported each other. So, as we’re making these big development decisions, I want to make sure we do that the right way and that I am communicating with people in the community and really listening to them.

Do you think the city needs to be more open and transparent? If so, how would you work towards that?

I’m still figuring that out. I’m meeting with the many people I know in town and seeking to understand what they think. And I’m also meeting with city leaders. I would love to make sure the city is open and honest. At the moment, I’m coming from the perspective of a regular community member, so I don’t yet know how much transparency is a problem. I have a lot of business experience. I know profit and loss. I know HR development. I know communication. But I don’t know exactly what’s going on, currently, behind closed doors in the city. As I get farther into the system, I can find out what is happening and I can communicate that to the people. 

What is the City of Redding doing well? What can they do better?

There have been some issues with information either not being shared or not being distributed widely. Good communication with the public is really important. I know that recently we’ve had some of our homeless population come to meetings and say, ‘Hey, where are our resources? You say that there’s resources? I’m trying to find them, but I can’t find them.’ It seems like maybe not everyone is understanding how to get resources or what’s happening with city transactions. So I think we need to be clear with expectations and put our best efforts towards better communication. 

If you are affiliated with a religious community how would that affect your role on the City Council?

My religion has nothing to do with the work I want to do on the city council. My work with the council will be about taking care of families, taking care of community values, and making sure that we maintain our small-town feel.

What is the Redding Police Department doing well? What can they do better?

The Redding Police Department is pretty much fully staffed now. That’s important and I want to keep it that way so that we can have great response times and the city can feel taken care of. I love what the police have been doing proactively, like the way they’re adding park rangers to regulate the parks. I want to make sure the police have enough vehicles, enough staff, and that things are going well with dispatch. Those are the kinds of questions I’m going to be asking. 

What do you see as Redding’s most important issue or issues right now?

Homelessness and crime. As far as homelessness, I think we need to reduce or even eliminate the homeless issue by having resources for people that are on the streets. There are both temporary fixes and long-term fixes to homelessness. We need those fixes because reducing the homeless situation will reduce crime. I also really believe in affordable housing. If people are off the streets, there will also be less environmental pollution.

Hopefully, we can also support our nonprofits with funding for mental health programs and drug rehab programs and make sure that not only are people with mental health or drug issues in their own area being housed, which they may need for a transitional period, but that they will be able to stay in a mental frame of mind where they can come back into society and be reintroduced. Sometimes people don’t understand how to get better, so we have to address those issues so we can reintroduce them into society. 

Housing people is going to take a mixture of temporary housing and long-term affordable housing. But we all want to see an immediate impact so I think moving forward on pallet shelters is a good idea. 

How would you address concerns about our community’s access to water during a historic drought?

I did meet with (City Manager) Barry Tippin and he said that water isn’t necessarily an issue in the city. But this is an area where I need to get smarter. There are a lot of people in Redding like those in Bella Vista, with different reductions.

How would you address land use and development in our community?

When it comes to the Redding riverfront, a lot of people don’t want change. I understand that because I have lived in the same zip code for almost my entire life, so I know what it’s like to be wary of change. But I also welcome healthy change. So when I see a place like the riverfront, which needs some maintenance, I think we should invest in it, but we need to do so in a way that is transparent and involves clear communication so we don’t blindside people. Change is scary, but maybe if we know what is coming, it will be easier to accept. With the right communication, hopefully we can have faith in the process. But as a community we definitely need to make sure we know what we’re getting into. 

How would you address the need for housing in our community?

There’s a lot involved in this issue. My husband is a mortgage lender and he’s feeling the repercussions of both social issues and economic issues in housing. There are amazing programs going on in the city as far as grant funding for housing. But I have questions about the amount of houses we have, who can afford them, who’s moving up here to acquire them, and what they are being used for. I want to make sure Redding keeps a community feel. And that means that we want families to grow up here. We do also want tourism and I think there’s some healthy balance. That’s what I’m hoping to provide on the City Council, as a Redding-born-and-raised local girl who sees our city growing and also doesn’t want to lose what we have. We are an amazing place where tourism could be wonderful, but we need to take care of what we have too. It’s an interesting place to be.

How would you address climate concern as a Redding leader?

I met with REU’s director the other week and he was explaining how they have this 40-year plan to become green. I think the idea is amazing but we definitely do have to listen to the community along the way. Right now I think I see the top layer on this and it looks great, but what will happen in the next 10–40 years? That’s a big concern of mine, the long-term outlook.

How would you help our community prepare for and reduce the risk of wildfire?

We definitely need to keep funding programs that increase awareness on how to maintain our land and respond to wildfire crisis scenarios. I know the city is working on technology that will help people see more in real time about what’s happening with fires and evacuation zones. This is a big priority of mine because fire has impacted not only our community but also so many others around us, so any resources we can develop will also provide a positive impact for nearby communities. A lot of funding is needed, as well as more firefighters, possibly coming out through the trade schools. 

Thank you for your time! How can people learn more about your campaign?

They can go to my website. And they can also have my cell phone number: 530-410-1374.

Additional Resources:

• Here is Jordan Valenzuela’s 460 form, documenting donations to her campaign.
• Here is her official candidate statement.
• Here is her form 700, documenting potential conflicts of interest.

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