EL CHICANo Weekly
Vol 63, NO. 31
May 07, 2026
San Bernardino Mayoral Candidates Set Competing Visions as SBVC Forum Turns Tense
IECN.com
Redlands Bouquet Florist Builds on 56-Year Legacy With Daily Fresh Flowers and Custom Designs Pg. 3
PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL
From left, San Bernardino mayoral candidates Ivan Garcia, Ronnika Ngalande, Amy Malone, Helen Tran, Rick Avila and John Valdivia participate in a candidate forum at San Bernardino Valley College’s Greek Theater on April 30.
By Manny Sandoval
S
ix candidates running for San Bernardino mayor in 2026 laid out competing visions on housing, homelessness, public safety and City Hall leadership during an April 30 forum that revealed sharp differences over how the city should move forward. The Mayoral Candidate Forum, hosted by
Redlands’ Texonia Park to Receive $1 Million for Inclusive Playground, Safety Upgrades
the League of Women Voters at San Bernardino Valley College’s Greek Theater, featured Ivan Garcia, Ronnika Ngalande, Amy Malone, incumbent Mayor Helen Tran, Rick Avila and former Mayor John Valdivia. Candidates were asked how they would address regional housing needs, improve quality of life and guide a city still facing long-running concerns over homelessness, infrastructure and government stability.
The evening was largely focused on policy, but it also turned tense at moments, including heckling from the audience and pointed exchanges between Tran and Valdivia over each other’s records. Garcia, a planning commissioner, general contractor and local business owner, said San Bernardino has “real potential” but is being slowed by instability, outdated planMayoral Forum, Cont. next pg.
Inland Empire May Day March Draws 1,000, Spotlights Labor Rights, Immigration, Environmental Justice
Pg. 4
Headdress Ball Draws 300 to Fund Dental Care, Clothing for San Bernardino Students Pg. 8
PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL Members of SEIU Local 721 march through downtown San Bernardino on May 1, carrying signs calling for public sector jobs and quality working conditions during the May Day demonstration.
By Manny Sandoval Inland Empire Community Newspapers Office: (909) 381-9898 Editorial: iecn1@mac.com Advertising: iecn1@mac.com Legals : iecnlegals@gmail.com
N
early 1,000 people marched through downtown San Bernardino on May 1, bringing labor, immigrant rights and environmental justice groups together for a May Day demonstration that shut down a major city intersection and amplified calls for worker
PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL A marcher holds a sign reading “Trump: Hands Off Our Unions!” as a crowd of participants rallies behind them during the May Day protest.
protections, community investment and an end to immigration raids. The march, organized by the People’s Collective for Environmental Justice with support from the Warehouse Workers Resource Center, Inland Empire Labor Institute, Inland Empire Labor Council and Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice,
began at 1:30 p.m. at Feldheym Public Library. Participants moved through downtown San Bernardino, stopping at City Hall and the San Bernardino Immigration Field Office before gathering at E Street and Rialto Avenue, where demonstrators halted traffic while chanting and rallying in the heat. May Day, cont. next pg.