Background
Ron Riggs, running candidate for the Torrance City Mayor, has spent the better part of more than forty years actively serving the South Bay community. Besides owning his independent real estate and mortgage company, Candidate Riggs also worked at the Bank of America local branch for ten years, consequently becoming vice president of the mortgage division in the process.
Although Riggs possesses minimal political background, his commitment to the South Bay and, more specifically, Torrance has compelled him to run for Torrance City Mayor. Over the time he has spent in Torrance and the surrounding areas, Candidate Riggs has been an active basketball coach in a number of schools including Bishop Montgomery (coaching baseball and football), Redondo Union High School (holding position for 18 years), El Camino College and Palos Verdes High School. In addition, Riggs has been involved in coaching soccer and basketball programs in Hermosa Beach.
Candidate Riggs also served as the Vice president of the El Camino College Foundation Board and Finance Committee, granting 800 thousand dollars a year in scholarships.
Major Issues (Looking to Resolve)
Inspired by the division in the community caused by the 2016 Presidential Election, Ron Riggs has decided to run for City Mayor in an effort to reconcile the local community of Torrance. In this respect, Riggs named the recent presidential candidates, including Bernie Sanders and former president Barack Obama, as his inspiration for his political endeavor, seeing as how large national events in Washington always seem to divide small communities like Torrance. Hand in hand with that, Riggs believes that, presently, there is no trust factor in the government - local, state or federal. Having worked with the younger generations of America and being a member of one of the older one, Candidate Riggs has come to the conclusion that the younger generation does not trust leadership, in terms of government officials’ reliability to instigate promised changes and not following through with them.
Ron Riggs strongly believes that the younger generations, Millennials especially, are a group that is not heard by government administration. Counterweighting this, Riggs also believes that Millennials are a batch that needs to be heard. After raising two Millennial children, Riggs recognizes that this new generation needs ushering in, not ignoring, seeing as they are the next generation of the country’s leaders. Although not a part of the Millennial generation, Riggs has found a keen connection with them, having a coaching background spanning over thirty years. In part with embracing the new generation, Candidate Riggs has five Millennial social media specialists working with him in his campaign for Torrance Mayor.
Riggs is an ardent advocate for public safety. As such, Candidate Riggs has expressed his opposition to California Propositions 47 and 57, which are initiatives reducing penalties for some crimes, including some cases involving theft, forgery and fraud. If granted the honor of becoming Torrance mayor, Riggs plans to support the fire and police departments with community involvement. In addition, Riggs hopes to improve pensions for Torrance Fire and Police Departments.
Like many of his fellow Torrance City election candidates, Ron Riggs believes that a diverse economy is key to success. As a result and to provide innovation for the future, Riggs plans to make Torrance more business friendly.
Miscellaneous
Candidate Ron Riggs holds God, family, community and country (in that order) as his core values. To him, the Mayoral Campaign is not about political beliefs, it is about running for the people of Torrance.
(Interviewed by Daibik Chakraborty and Krischan Jung)
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