Leading up to the November elections, SWRNN.com will run a series of candidate profiles describing each potential contender for this year’s open City Council seats. Stay tuned for continued Election 2012 coverage.
Lake Elsinore city council candidate Steve Manos (Courtesy photo)
In Lake Elsinore, four seats, including three city council and one city treasurer are up for election. Of the nine candidates campaigning for the seats, three are incumbents.
Real estate expert Steve Manos would like to bring Lake Elsinore back to its previous state of prominence.
“We have a very colorful history. Hollywood stars used to visit the hot springs,” Manos said.
Manos also said Lake Elsinore had the first African American mayor in the state of California, elected to City Council in 1948 and later elected as mayor in 1964.
According to Manos, the city now has some of the highest unemployment in the region and some of the lowest median home values.
“We don’t have a core economy of our own,” he said. “The city has become a place people find a low home value, so they buy and commute two hours away.”
His goal as councilman is to “make Lake Elsinore the premiere location in the region and valley.”
To accomplish this goal, Manos plans to focus on keeping the city safe and clean, and keeping the residents’ interests first.
“I like a lot of what the city is doing in terms of partnering with the county and working with the EDA,” he said. “I would continue to support that. We should work on tourism by creating a tourism board.”
He would also like to work up to a ratio of one police officer employed for every 1,000 residents and staff and open the Rosetta Canyon Fire Station.
“Our roads are deteriorating and our bridges need upkeep,” Manos said. “We need to commit some dollars if we want better curb appeal. We want businesses to come and stay.”
Manos, a 25-year Lake Elsinore resident, is married with four children. He has been in the real estate field since 1996. He is currently the elected president of the Inland Valley Association of Realtors and serves as the director of the California Association of Realtors.
His work with the Inland Valley Association of Realtors has included some trips to Sacramento and Washington DC to take on some state and national real estate issues.
“I’m used to working within a structured organization,” he said. “I have a lot of experience with taking an organization that is running rough and making it phenomenal. And I have a good relationship with politicians; I understand agendas. When I’m elected, I plan to hit the ground running.”
Jennifer Dean is a local writer and regular contributor to SWRNN.
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