DISTRICT 3 - CANDIDATES
General Information
All candidates listed are for Council District 3. We have listed them in the order that they will appear on the official ballot sent to you. This order is determined by a random drawing of letters by the Secretary of State of California. This letter is published online and you can view the drawing results with this link (Click Here).
We are asking that council candidates provide a brief campaign description. We will also add information, documents, links, videos, etc. to help people do the research they are looking for. We are not supporting a particular candidate and will try and remain neutral on the election of candidates. We will also indicate what was provided by the candidate themselves versus what we find and publish on the page.
You can view both candidate pages we have put together here.
District 1-Candidates (Click Here)
District 3-Candidates (This Page)
UPDATE: We have emailed all Candidates from both Districts. As of 10/14/2020 we have only heard back from two candidates in District 3. The other two candidates have not declined to provide information or offered any information to be posted. We started posting information about each candidate that we find useful to the residents, good or bad.
Steve Bennett
Provided by Steve Bennett:
Hello, and thank you for allowing the candidates to provide information to you and your willingness to post that info. I am a lifelong resident if West Covina and have been volunteering in the city for more than a decade.
I started out volunteering during the time my son played Little League. I coached and also ended up getting on the board of directors where I served as President. We were proud of our work to turn around a league that has some serious financial problems. We did that in just three short years. After my involvement at the Little League I was asked to serve as a commissioner for the City of West Covina from 2010 until 2017, when I was asked to step down from that role due to my outspoken opposition to the city councils decision to move to district based elections. I was re-appointed as a commissioner in 2019 but in just a few months I was asked to step down again due to my outspoken opposition to the sales tax increase that was proposed and later became Measure WC. I helped lead the NO on Measure WC campaign and we were able defeat that tax increase with an 80% voter disapproval.
I oppose or have opposed the following:
- OPPOSE - Switching to Los Angeles County Fire Department
- OPPOSE - Intensive development at the BKK toxic waste site
- OPPOSE - Wasteful government spending of OUR TAX DOLLARS
- OPPOSE - Censorship of public comments at city council meetings
- OPPOSED - Massive pay raises (12%) given to firefighters and police officers that were then and still are unaffordable
- OPPOSED - Millions of dollars to be spent on a 15' by 100' grassy knoll on Glendora Ave which would have become a gathering spot for homeless
- OPPOSED - Measure WC (An ill-advised sales tax increase)
I support or have supported the following:
- SUPPORT - State audit of the West Covina finances
- SUPPORT - The 1st Amendment and the right for emailed public comments to be read aloud during council meetings
- SUPPORT - Hiring more police officers to better keep us safe
- SUPPORT - Clean parks and streets sop we can all have a place for our families to recreate and gather
- SUPPORT - Honest budgets that actually show believable income and expenditure forecasts instead of the wish and prayer form of budgeting currently
- SUPPORT - Open government where our leaders have open and honest discussions on topics during meetings and not just show up to vote.
I am supported by real residents and not special interest groups. I am NOT endorsed by the city firefighters union BECAUSE I will not vote to convert to LA County Fire Department. I have declared I will not accept a contribution from our city employee unions so that I will be able to be impartial and not beholden to their wishes when those employee decisions arise on the city council.
I hope to have your vote on November 3, 2020 so I can continue to fight for the residents.
Comments by WC Politics Editors:
Steve Bennett has in fact been involved in our city for many years and his claim to be a "lifelong resident" appear to be factual. We have heard that he was actually born at Queen of the Valley Hospital. While we cannot validate that, we do not have any reason to question it as he has been saying that for years and nobody else seems to be questioning it. His record at the Little league is also accurate based on some reports. We went back in the city council meeting minutes to find that he did address the city council back in February 2011 regarding extending the lights for the Little League field from a 9:00 PM shut down to a 10:00 PM shut down so they can finish games. He was listed as the President of the league in those council meeting minutes. He has been involved in this city for at least 10 years or more.
Mr. Bennett also states that he was appointed and removed from the Community & Senior Services Commission twice. That is true but deserves some explanation. The Community Services Commission and the Senior Services Commission were joined together during his tenure and thus he has been on the commission(s) as he stated, but was originally appointed to Community Services Commission.
We have only a couple concerns with Mr. Bennett on the city council. He was very upset when we was removed from the commission for his "outspoken" opposition to district based elections. During the following few weeks of council meeting he did work very hard at discrediting Corey Warshaw and his serving on the Foothill Transit Board. Mr. Bennett was very hard on Corey and made sure to directly ask for his resignation from the city council.
We also feel that Mr. Bennett is very direct in comments to the city council. He speaks to the council during public comments quite often and he is very knowledgeable about the city from his years of growing up here and his active role at council meetings on various topics. However, he is very sharp tongued and can sometimes come off a little abrasive. While we are very familiar with his opposition to Measure WC and we have featured many of his public comments on our other site and on our YouTube channel, we think he does have some minor flaws. All of that aside, his time as a commissioner shows that he did tone down that "abrasive" feel and seemed to actually listed to residents and advocated appropriately while in an official capacity.
Jessica C. Shewmaker
Jessica C. Shewmaker
Has not responded to our request for any information on this website.
Comments by WC Politics Editors:
Jessica C. Shewmaker is a name that many may be familiar with. Jessica served on the West Covina Unified School Board for 12 years until she was voted out of office in November 2018. After the election that she lost for school board the West Covina City Council appointed her to the city council seat she now holds in January 2019. Several candidates had applied (including Steve Bennett, a candidate in district 3) and only three people were nominated. Marsha Solorio was nominated by Tony Wu, Steve Bennett was nominated by Lloyd Johnson and both did not receive a second so their nominations never received a vote. Letty Lopez-Viado nominated Jessica Shewmaker and that was seconded and voted on. It was passed with a 3-1 vote (Johnson voted NO). The biggest concern here was the quote by Tony Wu when he voted. He was heard saying "Let's get this over with, yes" during the vote. The room erupted in boos and anti Shewmaker yells. Regardless of what you may think about how she was appointed, she has served from then until now.
Jessica has lived in District 4 for most of her life. She has said she moved to West Covina when she was very young and nobody seems to dispute that fact. She also has claimed that her parents were part of the group that helped close the BKK Landfill in West Covina. She alludes to a group called the Racoons (Residents Against Constant Contamination of our Neighborhoods - we hope we got that right). Jessica has been a part of the West Covina community for many years. She does do a pretty good job asking important questions on the council, but we have a small concern about her.
The biggest problem with Jessica is her father John Shewmaker. While John tries to bully people on social media (including us) about topics you may disagree with him on, he tries to make you feel as though you cannot challenge his daughter because she is his daughter and not someone that listens to him. He uses the phrase "So you think that a woman cannot think for herself and must rely on her father?" to make you think what you are questioning is wrong. The fact of the matter is we really don't know what she shares with her father about city business or for that matter school board business when she was on that board. There are several instances were John Shewmaker has commented on topics or emails that were not sent to him. The concern is very justified and many residents have referred to him as the "6th council person" because of that level of involvement.
We are concerned about Jessica as well because of her support for Measure WC. She claims publicly that she voted against the 12% raises because they were not something the city could afford. And while we cannot dispute that facts or that she voted against the raises, the next thing is what we have a problem with. During a council meeting, a resident, Shirley Buchannan, asked the city council and specifically Ms. Shewmaker for their position on the impending sales tax increase. Ms. Shewmaker responded that "It's none of your business" (video is on our YouTube channel). She tried to clean that up later and stated that she wanted to see the buy in from the police and fire unions as they will benefit the most from the potential tax increase. Because of those positions and statements, it is hard for us to get behind her.
Rosario Diaz
Rosario Diaz
Has not responded to our request for any information on this website.
Comments by WC Politics Editors:
Rosario Diaz is actually Rosario "Ginger" Elliott. She has been criticized on social media platforms like Facebook for the use of her maiden name to run for office. She does not have a website to learn about her. She does have a Facebook "Campaign" page that she uses to post pictures of her walking around the city. There is no doubt that she has plastered the city with her campaign yard signs. We are hearing from residents that she is very nice at the door but mostly just agrees with what residents want and is not providing any real answers to what she wants to do for the city.
We have concerns about her sincerity of running for this office. She has never spoken at a city council meeting as per a recently released chart we found on social media that shows all of the candidates involvement. Of all of the candidates we cannot locate any instance of her actually volunteering in the city, stating her positions on topics or simply being involved in the community. We are troubled that she is using her uncommonly used maiden name to run a campaign. Even her personalized license plate on her car has a reference to GINger, her nickname that she has used for many years.
We are also concerned her lack of disclosure to her very belligerent husband William "Bill" Elliott. Bill is know for spewing hateful remarks at city council meeting about Hispanics or immigrants along with attacking council members for views he feels are unconstitutional. His relentless attacks on council members he feels are democrats or liberal in nature is shameful. While his political beliefs may not matter to some residents, We would caution voting for her as his opinions or feelings may be expressed at home.
NOTE: Because Rosario Diaz has never spoken at a council meeting we decided to post video of her husband for reference. If someone can point us to a video of Rosario Diaz we will be glad to review it for posting.
Colleen B. Rozatti
Colleen B. Rozatti
She sent us an email (9/28/2020) that said she would have her "Social Media Director" send us information to post. We have not heard back from her at this time. The exact email is listed here.
Email from COLLEEN B. ROZATTI
Mon, Sep 28, 6:12 PM
Good afternoon,
Thank you for reaching out to me. Let me forward this to my social media director and we’ll get something out to you.
Warm regards,
Colleen Rozatti
Sent from my iPhone
Comments by WC Politics Editors:
Colleen Rozatti has been involved in the city for many years. She has held various commissioner positions, including a planning commissioner. Colleen has ran for City Council in 2009 and lost that election. In 2013, she was elected to the office of City Treasurer and then re-elected to that seat in 2018. The city treasurer is kind of a weird position in the city. She receives a stipend of $150 per month to do basically nothing. The treasurer REVIEWS the investment report that is prepared by the city finance department. The treasurer has no specific ability to guide the city finances. However, Colleen gets up in front of the council every opportunity to read the investment report to the city council and the public as if she has an active role in its preparation.
In the recent city council meeting on October 6, 2020, city council member Jessica C. Shewmaker (also a candidate for district 3) made sure to show that Colleen Rozatti, the elected city treasurer, has little to no knowledge of the report but merely reads what the city finance director gives her. Ms. Shewmaker also points out that the treasurer has no say in the investments of the city and only sits in on the meetings ceremonially. You can see the video posted here.
We have some very serious concerns with Ms. Rozatti as a city council member. She has been endorsed by the West Covina Firefighters Association. That is the same association that brought us Measure WC and tried like hell to get it passed so they could get massive pay increases and benefits. It appears that the current city council may not have the sufficient number of council members to vote in favor of making that switch. Now, the firefighters want to endorse her to ensure she votes to make that happen.
There has been some debate as to her support of this move already. At the candidate forum on October 1, 2020, Steve Bennett (also a candidate for district 3) pointed out that Ms. Rozatti voted to send the contract to the city council, Ms. Rozatti tried to soften that stance. She tried to state that she is "not in favor" of moving to LA County FD but was just "trying to move the meeting along" when she voted to do move the contract to the city council. There are two very serious problems with this stance.
- Ms. Rozatti did in fact vote, on the Finance & Audit Committee, to RECOMMEND to move to LA County FD and to send that RECOMMENDATION to the West Covina City Council for them to vote. The vote was a 4-2-1, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, where members Jim Grivich and Marsha Soloria voted against and Jessica Shewmaker abstained.
- The biggest concern here is that she wanted to "move a meeting along" that she felt was not being moved along. Meetings in government sometimes move slow and to have a member of a government body make a vote to move a meeting along is not why they are elected to those seats. There is never an excuse to make a vote on any topic to get a meeting moving. She had the option to vote to bring the item back at another meeting with more information and also had the option to vote to "receive and file" which is basically taking no action and the item dies. But instead Ms. Rozatti made the decision to support something that she now says she does not support. Welcome to politics.
We have also been made aware of a WORKPLACE HARASSMENT filing against Ms. Rozatti in 2018. We were provided a copy of this multi-page document that indicates that several city employees and vendors of the city will not meet with Ms. Rozatti privately for fear of bullying and other accusations. The incidents were reported to the City of West Covina Human Resources Department and an investigation was performed. That investigation is a public document and is available by public records request. It basically says that all of the allegations were deemed creditable and believed to be true. We recommend that all residents review that document.