Staff Reports Diamond Bar – Three seats for the Diamond Bar City Council are open and six candidates have filled papers to run in the November election. Mayor Pro Tem Ron Everett, Council member Steve Tye and Council member Ling-Ling Chang are the three incumbents whose seats are up for election. However, they all plan to run for their seats in competition with three new candidates: Joseph Kim, Nancy Lyons and Martin Nakaishi. Below is a brief description about each candidate running: Ron Everett has been a resident of Diamond Bar for 35 years, served as Mayor in 2009 and is currently the Mayor Pro Tem. He has served on Walnut Valley’s Personnel Commission for 20 years, served on the city’s Public Safety Committee for three years and is the council liaison for the Walnut Valley Unified and Pomona Unified school districts. He says public safety and education are his top priorities if elected. Ling-ling Chang served as Mayor in 2012 and was named “Woman of the Year” in state Senator Bob Huff’s district. She said she should be re-elected because the council was able to balance every budget, built a new library, opened two new parks, and bank a $17 million reserve all without raising taxes and despite the decline in the economy, according to online reports. Chang is also running for a seat in the state Assembly 55th District. Joseph Kim is a businessman that grew up in Diamond Bar. Kim says he is running for City Council to do all that he can to continue to improve the community, including focusing on improving public safety, promoting stable economic development, harness new, cost-saving technologies that will promote long-term sustainability and growth, enhance the responsiveness of the city, and to be a responsible steward of city funds, according to online reports. Nancy Lyons is the Vice President of the Walnut Valley Unified Board of Trustees and a teacher. She has been on the school board for eight years, serves as a Parks & Recreation commissioner, been active in Diamond Bar Friends of the Library for 20 years, a volunteer in local schools for 22 years and taught Sunday school at her church. Her goals if elected include filling vacant store fronts, adding restaurants, increasing recreation facilities by working with the school district, working to develop Site D, and reducing morning traffic, according to online reports. Martin Nakaishi is a businessman and entrepreneur that has lived in Diamond Bar for 13 years and has worked as a federal government consultant and contractor for 25 years. He volunteers as a coach for a youth basketball team in Diamond Bar and serves as a member of the PTA in the Walnut Unified School District. He says that he is a dedicated citizen that is striving to give voice to and for all residents of the City of Diamond Bar. Steve Tye served as Mayor in 2007 and in 2011. He has been the chairman of the Planning Commission and the Parks & Recreation Commission, coaches soccer and Little League and teaches Sunday school at his church. He says he should be elected because he has demonstrated that he knows how to make tough decisions to keep the City’s finances in order, providing the City with a balanced budget every year in time, without raising taxes. The election will take place on Nov. 5, 2013. For more information, call 909.839.7010.
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