Waqar's Plan for Stockton
Make Our Streets More Safe
As a father of two young children, I firmly believe that every Stockton resident deserves to feel safe. We shouldn't feel nervous about watching a movie at the Downtown theater, or letting our children run free at schools and parks.
We need to hire and train more police officers to patrol our streets and neighborhoods. Through better police staffing and community policing, our police should become deeply involved and trusted in our neighborhoods. Our communities must come together if we're going to truly drive down crime.
We must also address homelessness, so no one has to live in fear or suffer on our streets. As Chair of the Salvation Army's Stockton Advisory Committee, I have worked closely with countless nonprofits and community leaders to tackle homelessness, poverty, and mental illness in our communities. As your next City Councilmember, I will step up this hard work.
Make our Government More Effective
As a 16-year employee of our County government, I know that Stockton needs to improve its public services. Our departments are overwhelmed and under-resourced, and we keep losing the public employees with the most experience to better-paying cities. One of my top priorities will be to attract and retain qualified employees so our government can run more efficiently.
Beyond hiring the right people, our government works best when every citizen has a voice at City Hall. We need more transparency and community outreach to rebuild trust and collaboration. As your next City Councilmember, I will lead the charge for town halls, budget audits, ethical codes, and other common-sense measures to restore transparency and civility to City Hall.
Make our Economy More Competitive
Stockton should not be losing jobs to Folsom, Roseville, Lodi, or anywhere else. Improving public safety will do so much to attract more businesses, but we should also be proud that we already have a talented and motivated workforce. As Chair of the Planning Commission, I worked hard so more working families can afford to live here. I will continue these efforts as your next City Councilmember, cutting red tape to unlock more affordable housing.
I will keep an open door to local businesses and do whatever I can do help them grow. I will also highlight our strengths as a community and attract new companies. A good-paying, family-wage job can make all the difference in the health of a community: let's bring these jobs right here, to Stockton!