Issues · Public Safety
A safe city starts with better planning.
Moreno Valley keeps growing. The services that keep us safe haven't kept up, and the buildings going up next to our homes bring risks City Hall isn't talking about.
← All issuesThe fire question City Hall isn't answering
In June 2020, a 600,000-square-foot warehouse in Redlands burned to the ground. It had sprinklers. Fire crews came from across the county. It was a total loss.
In June 2026, it happened twice in one week. A one-million-square-foot distribution center in Tracy was destroyed, and the fire jumped the street to the building next door. Six days later, a cold storage warehouse in Boyle Heights caught fire. An ammonia line ruptured, firefighters had to pull out of the building, and thousands of neighbors were ordered to shelter in place.
Moreno Valley is full of buildings like these. The World Logistics Center alone is approved for 40.6 million square feet. And they keep getting closer to our homes.
We have seven fire engines and one ladder truck for 217,000 people.
Are we ready? Redlands, Boyle Heights, and Tracy were not. Nobody at City Hall has told us. David wants that answer, in public, before another warehouse is approved.
We've outgrown our public safety
We're short on deputies, by City Hall's own math.
The city's standard is one officer for every 1,000 residents, which it says means 209. Its own budget puts us at about 83 percent of that, roughly 35 officers short. At four new officers a year, catching up takes most of a decade, and only if the city stops growing.
We have the same seven fire stations we had in 2012.
Since then the city has added tens of thousands of residents and millions of square feet of warehouses.
More than 1,000 people are injured or killed in crashes in Moreno Valley every year.
That's the state's own count, three years running.
What David will do
Be ready for a warehouse fire
Plan for the worst case, in public.
Our firefighters already inspect buildings and plan for emergencies. But Redlands, Tracy, and Boyle Heights weren't everyday fires. David wants a public review built around one question: if our largest warehouse caught fire tomorrow, could we fight it? Engines, ladder trucks, water pressure, hazardous materials, and how long outside help takes to arrive. Presented to the council and to residents before another warehouse is approved.
Build the fire stations growth requires.
Paid for by the developers, and open before their buildings are.
Put warehouse fire safety where residents can see it.
Sprinkler, hydrant, and fire inspection results for the largest warehouses, published once a year in one place, so neighbors can see what the fire department sees.
Tell neighbors what's next door.
Ammonia, lithium batteries, and rooftop solar change how a fire is fought, and what it means for the homes nearby. When a large warehouse stores them, the people who live around it should know, and should have seen the notification and evacuation plan before they ever need it.
Keep neighborhoods safe every day
Close the deputy gap, on a schedule.
Set a public timeline to reach the city's own standard for Sheriff's deputies, and report progress every year. Keep CAL FIRE staffed and stationed for the city we are today.
Make growth pay for the safety it requires.
Before a major project is approved, the roads, deputies, and fire coverage it needs should be funded and scheduled. Residents shouldn't cover the gap afterward.
Fix the worst intersections first.
Use the crash data to rank the most dangerous intersections in District 2 and fix them in order: signals, turn lanes, lighting, crosswalks.
Get trucks off residential streets.
Fewer trucks on neighborhood streets means safer streets.
Address homelessness with enforcement and real services.
Safe parks.
Lighting, upkeep, and a visible presence, so families use them.
Why David
David is a general contractor and a Planning Commissioner. He knows what infrastructure costs and when it has to be built: before the project, not after. And he spent years coaching baseball and softball and leading Scouts in these same parks.
Our firefighters and deputies deserve a city that plans ahead for them. So do the families living next door.
"Residents deserve leaders who listen, who care, and who act."