CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. (KERO) — Jesse Hightower is running for city council in Cal City. He's in litigation against the City after working for 20 plus years for the police department.
- Hightower is among eight candidates who are vying for two spots on the city council in Cal City.
- The candidates include: Jim Creighton, Socorro Chavez, Rick Jones, LaShelle Cooper, Shawn Bradley, Quiana Sandres-Spears and Michael Hurles
- Creighton is currently on city council as is Cooper. Cooper took over the spot that was vacated by Karen Macedonio, who resigned after being involved with litigation with the City.
- Chavez was fired as city clerk in California earlier this year.
- Jones is a business owner in California City. He owns Greenstone, a cannabis dispensary.
- Sandres-Spears has advocated for improvements at Balsitis Park. She is a leader for the girls scouts group in Cal City.
- Hurles, a longtime Cal City resident, worked as a fire chief at Edwards Air Force Base. He retired in 2018 after 42 years of service.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Jesse Hightower protected and served the community of California City for years, and now, he wants to put it on a better path for the future...
I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter...
Hightower, who was fired as police chief in April, is now running for city council.
"It's not personal. It's professional. This is all business. And, so running the city is a business just like when I ran the police department. I looked at it like a business and so you have to treat it as such."
Jesse Hightower says this in response to hypothetically winning an election to become a Cal City council member.
For now, he's one of 8 candidates vying for two seats.
That's not all, he's also in litigation against the City for his firing after working 20-plus years for the police department.
City staff did not comment on why Hightower was fired, saying it was a personnel matter.
Hightower won't comment as well... only to say... he wants to become a council member.
"The City, in my opinion, needs new leadership. Needs new guidance. Needs new leadership. I've lived here for almost 30 years and I'm not happy with the direction this is going," says Hightower.
He says this isn't about revenge.
Virgen: What does this place mean to you?
Hightower: "This is my home. I mean take a look around. Sorry, I get a little choked up but it looks like crap. It's trash. We need to turn it around."
Hightower isn't the only former employee running for council. Socorro Chavez, who was fired as city clerk, is also a candidate.
Shawn Bradley, who pushed for a recall against Mayor Kelly Kulikoff, mayor pro tem Ron Smith, and council member Michael Kulioff, is also running for council.
The council terms for Karen Macedonio and Jim Creighton ended, resulting in the open seats. Macedonio resigned earlier this year and LaShelle Cooper took over that spot.
Cooper is running for council, as is Creighton.
Cannabis business owner Rick Jones, and residents Quiana Sandres-Spears and Michael Hurles are also in the race.
"Make no doubt about it, we've got a lot of work to do. If we want to get out of this hole. To be honest I don't know if we can get out of this hole. I don't know if it is repairable. But we have to try. But I think that's why you have such a litany of candidates now running for two seats," Hightower says.
To find out more about the council candidates visit our website and turn to 23 dot com.
I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter.
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