The following is an interview from East County Magazine (ECM) with Ben Kalasho, the Chaldean nominee for the El Cajon Local Council
“After getting married and resettling back in El Cajon, I saw our community here lacking representation, Kalasho told ECM. “El Cajon is so diverse. We have 38% Christian Iraqis and we are 28% Hispanic.” The City also has 5,000 Kurds and an 8% African-American population. “We need better leadership….We have an obligation to hear from everyone. What better way than to have a candidate who speaks four languages?” says Kalasho, who speaks Assyrian, Arabic, Spanish and English. His wife, a dental hygienist, is Hispanic.
Kalasho, a Chaldean Christian, was born in Iraq and came here in 1990. Like many immigrant families, his came here seeking opportunities for a better life—and found it. Kalasho studied Economics at the University of California, San Diego and has worked in real estate. His sisters and brothers are all college graduates, and two are now in medical school. Kalasho and his father now o own several businesses including the county’s first eco-friendly gas station and car wash, as well as rental properties.
“You’re not going to find a guy who’s more American than I am,” says Kalasho, who believes he has the strongest business background needed to understand the needs of small businesses that are struggling and to create jobs in El Cajon, which has among the highest poverty rates in the county. He also has empathy for those newcomers here who lost homes in war-torn countries—and he wants to help people from all backgrounds attain success.
“We need jobs, jobs jobs-- I don’t care if you’re Chaldean, Mexican-American, white or black. The crime rate will fall if we have jobs. That’s the answer,” he says.
Kalasho contends that he has a proven record as a jobs creator. “I’m the only candidate who’s held a payroll…I’m the only candidate who won an award from the East County Small Business Association for creating over 50 jobs during a recession,” he says.
More than 50 El Cajon business owners have endorsed his campaign. “They are fed up and angry with the Council’s miscalculation about revenue generators regarding car shows and concerts. Those are good, but they’re not enough.”
He points to the incumbents and notes that they lack successful business experience. “Tony Ambrose has never held a private sector job. Bill Wells lists his employment at Skyline Church. Bob McClelland? His car dealership closed down.”
Kalasho’s number one priority, however, is public safety. He is endorsed by the El Cajon Police Officers Association and says he’s learned a lot about crime problems through a ride-along and meetings with police, as well as by walking door-to-door meeting voters during his campaign.
“In El Cajon, if your vehicle gets stolen you’re out of luck,” he says of the lack of resources to investigate such crimes. “Also, the database that used to keep DUI records was defunded.” He points to graffiti in communities, abandoned shopping carts and prostitution as problems that need to be solved.
Read the full interview here.
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