Month: May 2018

On being ashy

On being ashy

I have had the good fortune to speak with students at the Preuss School, as well as through the Aaron Price Fellows program, at La Jolla Country Day School, with the Blue Heart Foundation, and a few others over the last 15 months.  With the presence of bullying, of school violence, and the general difficulties of youth that always seem present, I have found myself sharing a story to help young people remember empathy. It’s a story about being ashy. Read More

Thoughts about Live Well Center – complex issues and transparency

Thoughts about Live Well Center – complex issues and transparency

The County of San Diego has a Live Well framework that it employs to guide an approach to improving the quality of life of San Diego residents.  There is a great deal of information about the framework on the County’s site here, but this post is specifically about the proposed Live Well center location in Southeastern San Diego, the process for moving forward, and the elements that will need meaningful attention and community participation to ensure local voices are heard and embraced in the leadership and development of the region’s future. Read More

Economic prosperity and inclusion: the County’s role (part 2 of 2)

Economic prosperity and inclusion: the County’s role (part 2 of 2)

In part 1 of this series, I covered the County’s role in protecting and promoting the community’s health and the connection between health and wealth.  You can read that here.  While it is a nice benefit of this approach that taxpayers will spend less money on health and social service programs as the health and economic prosperity of our community grows, there is another reason the County can and must take a bigger leadership role in the area of economic inclusion. That is the subject of this post. Read More

Hiring a homeless person – and learning

Hiring a homeless person – and learning

Homelessness is a major issue in our community. Early this year, my campaign released our Hope4Homeless plan to provide greater County leadership around tackling homelessness.  We sat down with policy experts, homeless youth, front line service providers, and did quite a bit of research. Add that to my own experience serving Rachel’s Women’s Center as part of Catholic Charities Homeless Women’s Services Advisory Committee several years ago and a healthy amount of journalism from Kelly Davis, Kelly Bennett-Heyd, David Garrick, Lisa Halverstadt and a few other journalists and we feel good that we’d spent meaningful time understanding before writing. Then this other thing happened. Read More

New Orleans Style Fun AND Civic Engagement: March to Vote (5/19)

New Orleans Style Fun AND Civic Engagement: March to Vote (5/19)

On Saturday, May 19th, Team Passons is making sure we all have a bit of fun with our electoral politics! Come out and join us as we “Second Line” our way through the March to Vote! A Second Line is a New Orleans tradition that you can read about here. But basically we are going to dance down the street with a big brass band doing its thing and anyone who wants to can join in the fun!  Bring your mail ballots so you can vote when we march to the endpoint – the post office!

The Basics

March to Vote starts at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday (5/19) at the IRS building downtown – 801 Front Street. We aren’t organizing the march, but we are bringing the fun! Join Euphoria Brass Band, Crew D’Etat, and a bunch of fun people to remind us that while marching has a serious purpose we can also mix in some fun!

March to Vote Facebook Event Page

After Party

Because the fun shouldn’t stop, we are going afterwards up to a South Park institution that has been the scene of many a political meet-up and forum (as well as several wedding receptions, wonderful memories with friends, and neighbor connections). Join us at Whistle Stop Bar (for those over 21) to keep the fun going from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Help us Fund the fun – Donate!

To RSVP to either event with Team Passons, email melissa@omarpassons.com

Or just show up!

Oh, here is Euphoria doing its thing!

Why the word ‘Believe’ is on our campaign shirts

Why the word ‘Believe’ is on our campaign shirts

We get asked regularly why our campaign shirts have the word ‘believe’ printed on the front above our Omar4SD logo.  There are two primary reasons.  The first comes out of a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that I became aware of while on a trip with my wife to the King Memorial in Washington, D.C. a few years back.

This quote is from Dr. King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.

I started the clip at the point of the quote, but it is a great speech overall.  There is quite a lot to love about this speech, especially as we look at how some things in our region and our country are going right now.  But for me, I deeply believe in affirming the dignity, equality, and humanity of every person.  I loved this quote and wanted to carry it with us throughout the campaign.

Okay, what’s the other reason?

A group of supporters getting ready to walk in Pacific Beach

The other reason for using ‘believe’ as a mantra, a hashtag, a talking point, and just a point of discussion is that we want everyone in San Diego to believe in a different type of leadership and a different type of politics.  We believe we can have the type of leadership that focuses on making life better rather than taking political shots at others. We believe that the residents of the County’s District 4 ought to decide who represents them, not monied interests, political parties or Sacramento lobbyists and power brokers.  We believe in supporting our region’s children, in protecting our seniors, and in having honest – if difficult – public conversations about where our region is going.

Join us. Believe with us. Believe that we can focus on issues and substance rather than insider politics.  Believe in what makes San Diego beautiful and San Diegans warm and welcoming people and we can and will change the course of our region for the better!

About Omar

Where Omar Stands on the Issues

What Does the County Board of Supervisors Do?

Home Page

Economic prosperity and inclusion: the County’s role (pt 1 of 2)

Economic prosperity and inclusion: the County’s role (pt 1 of 2)

Economic prosperity does not happen by accident.  It is a byproduct of hard work, sacrifice, ingenuity, and – frequently – a bit of luck.  However, just as economic prosperity doesn’t just happen, it is also true that a complex set of factors has contributed to generational wealth limitations that have huge impacts on economic stagnation.  You might be wondering why as a candidate for the County Board of Supervisors I released an Opportunity4All plan to address economic growth or why I would be talking at all about economic inclusion and wealth. The answer might surprise you. Read More

North Park Festival of Arts (5/12) – Parent Comfort Room & Kids’ Play Area!

North Park Festival of Arts (5/12) – Parent Comfort Room & Kids’ Play Area!

On Saturday, May 12th, the Festival of Arts returns to North Park! Our campaign is driven in large part by my deep passion to better support children and seniors.  To help our youngest children (and their parents), we have decided to offer a few helpful comforts and some fun for the kiddos!

At our campaign office (located at 3815 Grim Ave, across from Mike Hess Brewing) you’ll find:

  1. Private, air-conditioned room for pumping/nursing/quiet time
  2. Changing stations for older kids
  3. Bathroom (for parents/grandparents/caregivers only)
  4. Arts/Crafts/Slime area outside

PLEASE NOTE: We are NOT able to provide actual child care on site, just a calm place for parents if they want a little privacy, a clean bathroom and to learn about why my candidacy has been so focused on our region’s children.

Our commitment to our region’s children and families drives this campaign and I am living proof of what happens when we better support children from the earliest stages!  Come have fun, hang out, and enjoy a great event for all ages.

Read our StrongStarts4All plan

  • Includes steps to bring down the cost of quality child care, home visits, improved arts access, youth mental health support and more

About Omar

Omar’s Position on the Issues

What Does the County Do?

Can I vote for this position on June 5th?

National Foster Care Month – Why it matters

National Foster Care Month – Why it matters

On June 5th, San Diegans across the 4th Supervisor’s District will vote on who they want to be leading and shaping policy on topics like child welfare, family support, and helping create meaningful opportunity for everyone.  I have been thinking about the role of the County Supervisor in child welfare both because May is National Foster Care Month and because the research is clear about how quickly children (in and out of foster care) fall behind and stay behind.

Annie E. Casey Foundation: “10 Resources for Foster Parents”

This is a good time for me to reflect on my own life.  Having grown up in a foster home with dozens of foster brothers and sisters in a home in Clairemont, I can feel the experiences even as I type.  I remember vividly having a new sister show up with a couple trash bags of her belongings. I remember the fear and uncertainty on every face of my new brothers and sisters no matter what the circumstances were. I knew that expression well before I was old enough to really know what it meant.

It is about 6:30 a.m. and I spent the last couple hours reading evidence-based approaches to improve outcomes for children in school and in life. There is no shortcut to improving children’s lives but I see real opportunity to use the family-strengthening supports our County’s social safety net has to offer to make a difference. Expanding the home visit program to better prepare parents for the stress of parenting and critical developmental needs of newborns and infants will make a difference in the long-term. Managing that stress will reduce the type of violence I learned about in the scars and stories and tears of my siblings and the sometimes violent behavior they had as a result.

15-minute Podcast – Tony: Abuse, AIDS, and Compassion

I am grateful to have the opportunity to fight for children in foster care, to fight for parents and families to have more opportunity to lead a dignified life.  Every day I wake up looking for another opportunity to push our region towards better supporting every young person.  Education was a silver bullet for me and the only way we can expand its reach for many young people is to better support families so that children can thrive.

Read our StrongStarts4All plan to support every child