Green Buena Park
Shade is safety. Parks are health. Waste is a cost we shouldn't pay.
Climate action isn't a narrow environmental category - it's a practical way of running a city. It's how Buena Park manages heat, water, energy, and waste, and whether we solve problems early or wait until they're emergencies.
STAT Low-income neighborhoods can have up to 33% less tree canopy than wealthier ones nearby and run roughly 3°F hotter on the same afternoon. (American Forests, 2025; Nature, 2024)
WHAT BRANDON SUPPORTS
Parks built for daily comfort: shade, seating, walking loops, native and drought-tolerant plants, and cooling features - not just a field and a swing set.
Treating trees as public infrastructure, not decoration: a watering and survival plan so the city isn't paying to plant trees it then lets die.
Urban heat reduction through shade, reflective and permeable surfaces, and cool corridors along the streets people actually walk.
Energy and water efficiency in city operations where it saves money and reduces waste.
Grant readiness, so Buena Park is prepared to compete for state and federal climate and urban-greening funding when it becomes available.
Why This Matters Locally
Buena Park is roughly 38% Hispanic/Latino, and about a quarter of residents speak Spanish at home - many in neighborhoods with the least shade and the fewest cooling resources. Extreme heat caused over 460 deaths and 5,000 hospitalizations across California from 2013–2022 (CalMatters), and outdoor and low-wage workers face heat injury at roughly five times the rate of other workers (Center for American Progress). Shade isn't a luxury. It's public health.
Waste is a fiscal issue. Inefficiency is a governance issue. Deferred maintenance is a public-safety issue. Prevention is just good government.
Safe Buena Park
Public safety must be clear, direct, and practical.
I support strong police and fire protection, responsive emergency services, and safe neighborhoods where residents feel secure in their daily lives. Buena Park families, seniors, workers, students, and small businesses deserve a city that takes safety seriously and supports the people responsible for protecting the public.
STAT Buena Park Police handle over 75,000 calls for service annually. Public safety is daily work, not a talking point — and residents deserve a city that supports strong police services, emergency readiness, and the infrastructure that helps first responders do their jobs well.
WHAT BRANDON SUPPORTS
I support strong police and fire services that are properly supported, responsive, and prepared to meet the needs of residents.
I support emergency readiness for fires, earthquakes, extreme heat, power disruptions, traffic emergencies, and other challenges.
I support clear communication with residents about how the city responds during urgent situations.
I support making sure public safety planning includes the infrastructure that helps first responders do their jobs: safe roads, working streetlights, maintained public spaces, reliable utilities, and coordinated city services.
Why This Matters Locally
A safe city is not created by one department or one policy. It is created by a system that works: police, fire, emergency response, infrastructure, maintenance, communication, and public trust.
Residents deserve to know that Buena Park takes public safety seriously, supports first responders, and plans ahead - before emergencies happen.
Creative Buena Park
Libraries, art, and games build minds - and community.
A city isn't built by infrastructure alone. It's built by the stories people share, the places where families gather, and the programs that help young people - and everyone else - feel like they belong. As an artist, writer, and tabletop game designer, Brandon believes imagination and strategy belong in public life, not just in hobby rooms.
STAT Board games and tabletop play build literacy, problem solving, patience, and intergenerational connection - skills a city can support with nothing more than a table, some chairs, and a library room.
WHAT BRANDON SUPPORTS
Library partnerships, literacy programs, author talks, youth writing workshops, and quiet study spaces.
Youth arts programming: student showcases, rotating public art, mural partnerships, and public storytelling.
Board game, chess, puzzle, and strategy programming for kids, teens, adults, and seniors - screen-free, low-cost ways to bring generations together.
Cultural programming that actually reflects Buena Park: its diverse families, immigrant communities, multilingual households, and local artists and small businesses.
Quiet, shaded civic spaces - reading gardens, low-stimulation seating, places where residents can simply think and rest.
Why This Matters Locally
With roughly a quarter of Buena Park residents speaking Spanish at home and more than a third foreign-born, cultural and library programming that's actually built for this city - not a generic city - is part of what makes residents feel seen, not just served.
A city should not only be efficient. It should be meaningful.
Fair Buena Park
Growth and government should work for everyone who calls this home.
Buena Park can grow without losing itself - but only if growth is guided, not just allowed to happen. And a city government only works if the people who deliver its services and the people it's supposed to serve are both treated as partners, not afterthoughts.
STAT Buena Park is roughly 38% Hispanic/Latino and more than a third foreign born - a city that should see itself reflected in who gets to weigh in, not just who gets served.
WHAT BRANDON SUPPORTS
Resident-informed planning before major development decisions - not after they're already final.
Development that improves the public realm: walkability, shade, drainage, and safety, not just new buildings.
Plain-language outreach on major projects - summaries, maps, and timelines residents don't need a planning degree to understand.
Support for small, immigrant owned, and family businesses as part of the city's identity, not an afterthought to it.
Treating city workers as partners: fair staffing, proper equipment, and a real voice in how policies affecting their jobs get made.
Real follow-up after public input: what we heard, what changed, what didn't, and why.
Why This Matters Locally
Growth without planning creates resentment. Growth with real public input creates a city people are proud of. The same is true of labor: a city that respects the people who maintain its parks and fix its streets gets better-maintained parks and streets in return.
Trust is built through clarity - not through decisions that feel finished before residents ever hear about them.
Maintained Buena Park
A city feels safe when it's cared for.
Public safety is bigger than police and fire response. It's also whether seniors can move safely through their neighborhood, whether kids can walk to school without unnecessary risk, whether streets are lit, and whether a pothole or a dead streetlight gets fixed before it becomes someone's emergency.
STAT A tree canopy gap of just a few degrees can be the difference between a walkable street and a dangerous one for seniors and outdoor workers on a 100°F day.
WHAT BRANDON SUPPORTS
A clearer street and sidewalk maintenance priority system, so residents know which areas are next and roughly when.
Pedestrian safety improvements near schools, parks, senior housing, and transit stops.
Complete Streets evaluations: safer crossings, traffic calming, better sidewalks, shade, and lighting where they're needed most.
Trash and dumping solutions that come with a real maintenance plan attached - a trash can with no one to empty it isn't a solution, it's a future complaint.
Making sure the crews who maintain all of this have the staffing and equipment to actually do it.
Why This Matters Locally
Deferred maintenance doesn't go away - it gets more expensive and more dangerous the longer it waits. Treating streets, sidewalks, lighting, and trees as one connected system, instead of separate budget lines, is how a city stays ahead of problems instead of constantly reacting to them.
A neglected sidewalk and a neglected park send the same message. Buena Park deserves better than that message.
Efficient Buena Park
Lower Utility Costs and More Reliable Local Services
Utility costs affect every household, renter, homeowner, senior, and small business in Buena Park.
I support practical policies that work toward lower and more stable electricity and water costs, more reliable service, and better long-term planning. Residents should not be confused by complicated systems or surprised by avoidable cost increases. City government should help make essential services more understandable, affordable, and resilient.
An efficient Buena Park means using resources wisely, maintaining infrastructure before it fails, reducing waste, and holding service providers accountable for affordability, reliability, and transparency.
STAT Buena Park’s water portfolio is approximately 70% local groundwater and 30% imported water. That means local wells and groundwater management are already a major part of keeping our water system reliable. Strengthening that local supply where it is safe, feasible, and financially responsible can help Buena Park reduce unnecessary dependence on imported water and better protect residents from future cost pressures.
WHAT BRANDON SUPPORTS
I support electricity policies that work toward lower or more stable rates for residents and small businesses.
I support holding energy providers accountable to the promises they make about rate stability, transparency, reliability, and customer value.
I support renewable energy choices when they help reduce dependence on fossil fuels, strengthen resilience, and protect residents from long-term cost volatility.
I support clear communication so residents understand their electricity options, costs, benefits, and rights.
I support lower water bills through responsible water planning, efficient city operations, leak prevention, infrastructure maintenance, and practical conservation.
I support maintaining, improving, and exploring local well capacity where it is safe, feasible, and financially responsible.
I support reducing unnecessary dependence on imported water where local supply, groundwater management, safety standards, and cost savings make that possible.
I support clear public information about where Buena Park’s water comes from, what affects rates, and what the city can do to protect affordability.
Why This Matters Locally
Electricity and water bills are not abstract policy issues. They are monthly costs that residents and businesses feel directly.
Buena Park should pursue utility policies that are practical, transparent, and focused on results: stable rates, reliable service, responsible infrastructure, and long-term savings where possible.
When the city plans ahead, maintains systems, reduces waste, and asks better questions, residents are better protected from sudden cost burdens and expensive emergency fixes..
Efficiency is fiscal responsibility.