The following is an excerpt from the candidate's website.Blanca Lopez Brown, mother of four and resident of the 4th District for over thirty years, is currently the President of the Board of Trustees for the Lemon Grove School District. Ms. Brown is a Preschool Director and a businesswoman, holding a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Cultural Diversity, as well as a Masters Degree with specialization in Early Childhood Education.
Qualifications
Blanca has contributed significantly to the quality of life in our community, and has always focused on developing collaborative relationships that support safer and healthier neighborhoods, accelerated academic pathways, and solid economic development in the 4th District.
As an elected official, Blanca has played a pivotal role for the past eight years in balancing the annual school district budget while also avoiding the permanent layoffs of permanent and probationary staff members. During her tenure and leadership, the school district…
- adopted a program providing Breakfast in the Classroom for all students so that every child begins every day ready to learn;
- provided all students with brand new textbooks in both Language Arts and Mathematics;
- established free preschools on every campus;
- created a dual immersion (Spanish/English) program for all grade levels beginning with preschool;
- established a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) middle school;
- built the joint-use County Library (opening in June) for the City of Lemon Grove;
- strengthened and expanded collaborative efforts to support a healthy community, including the creation of a health and wellness hub (with Kaiser Permanente).
As a business owner, Blanca understands the many steps necessary to start-up and negotiate financing for small to mid-sized businesses. She has…
- negotiated with the California Southern Small Business Development Corporation to fund and co-own the first African American supermarket in the community;
- researched and uncovered the first African-American retail shop in the state of California (established in Old Town in1865), presenting the historical facts to the California Department of Parks and Recreation and petitioning to excavate and operate the site which is known as San Diego House today.
As an advocate for Community Wellness and Safety, and as a member of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, is recognized as a leader and a keynote speaker on Building Healthy Communities. She has…
- worked with other elected officials, including First Lady Michelle Obama, to increase awareness of the epidemic of childhood obesity;
- collaborated to develop systems for the prevention of health disparities in underserved communities;
- partnered with Kaiser Permanente, Childhood Obesity Initiative, Health and Human Services, Prevention Institute, Communities Putting Prevention to Work, Hunger Coalition, Food policy Advocates, National Policy ad Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity, California School Boards Association, UCSD Free School Clinics, Walk San Diego and Safe Routes to School.
As a Councilmember for the 4th District, Blanca will focus on a balanced budget, a strong reserve, and the delivery of essential services to neighborhoods that are healthy, safe and walkable for children and adults alike. She will focus on the city’s strengths, calling on the will and collaboration of community members to be actively engaged in building the kind of communities in which they can live, learn, thrive and prosper.
