Anaheim voters in District 1 are deciding between two candidates to represent them on the City Council.
The district’s current officeholder, Jose Diaz, is not running for reelection; he said he is leaving California. So the race between hopefuls Ojaala Ahmad and Ryan Balius guarantees a new face on the council.
The district runs from West Anaheim to La Palma Avenue and the 5 Freeway.
Anaheim’s council is a seven-member body that has councilmembers elected from six districts plus the mayor, who is elected by the entire city. Members serve four-year terms.
Some critical issues facing Anaheim are how it will continue to tackle the homeless crisis, where the city has more people living without a home than it’s ever recorded in the last five years, growing housing costs and keeping residents safe.
The two council candidates pounded the message that public safety is a top priority along with addressing homeliness.
Council members elected this year will also play a role in determining how more than $100 million of new money for the city’s general fund will be used in the coming years.
Ahmad has served on the city’s Housing & Community Development Commission. She has a background in communications having worked for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Los Angeles and has spent more than 10 years working to advance issues.
Ahmad said she’s running to reduce the number of people who are homeless in Anaheim.
“Anaheim’s current strategies to address the needs of the homeless are moving the needle in the right direction,” Ahmad said. “We need to continue with the upkeep of outreach services, emergency and homeless shelters and partnerships with organizations who are helping address the situation.”
As for how the city should use the more than $100 million that will be freed up once resort bonds are likely paid off by 2028, Ahmad said her priority for the money would be to make sure first responders’ needs for addressing public safety are met and adding new programs at the city’s libraries and parks.
Those programs, Ahmad said, could help the city “uplift and enhance the quality of life of all our residents” and support marginalized communities.
For Ahmad, one of the reasons she said she decided to run to represent West Anaheim is there’s a lack of representation on the council for many communities.
“My passion and experiences in public service and serving a wide range of communities in Anaheim, including the marginalized, unhoused, youth, women and more make me an ideal advocate and leader for our diverse communities here,” Ahmad said.
A West Anaheim resident for 25 years, Balius is the chair of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission and said he will push to keep the police and fire departments stocked with the resources they need and to combat the homeless crisis.
With that in mind, Balius said he wants to use the $100 million coming to Anaheim’s general fund for public safety, infrastructure improvements and to pay down other debts.
“While $100 million is a lot of money by any measure, providing a safe community with well-maintained infrastructure is a fundamental responsibility of any city, so I believe that the best use of these funds is to ensure the city provides that for Anaheim’s residents, businesses and visitors,” Balius said.
Balius also wants more revitalization of Beach Boulevard, he said. The city has spent millions buying derelict motels to tear down, adding new street lights and undergrounding power lines to enhance the area.
Working to welcome new businesses to the area, Balius said, would ensure West Anaheim’s long-term success.
“Bringing new business to Beach Boulevard will help revitalize that area as a place people want to live, work, shop and dine,” Balius said.
The most pressing issue for Balius is working to address the homeless crisis. The city needs to work with the state legislature on programs that get people who are homeless into treatment and jobs. There hasn’t been a big enough push, Balius said, to help those with mental illness.
When the city agrees to allow new affordable housing developments, Balius said he wants to ensure that any new homes built have the supporting infrastructure to accommodate them.
Balius said he intends to use his experience as a longtime resident, an eight-year member of the Parks Commission and a career in public service to guide his decision-making and the perspective he brings.
The newspaper’s voter guide also asked the candidates questions about meeting budgeting, meeting the demand for housing and what makes a good leader. Check out what they said at ocregister.com/voter-guide. The guide includes all the races on the ballots.
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