Colton Mayoral Candidates Provide Answers to Pressing Questions as Election Nears

Inland Empire Community News reached out to Colton mayoral candidates, including incumbent Mayor Frank Navarro and his challenger, Council Member John Echevarria. They were both given four identical questions about infrastructure, industrial development, public safety and economic vitality. IECN has published their answers as written, editing only for clarity or to adhere to AP style guidelines. 

Infrastructure: What specific infrastructure improvements would you prioritize if elected, and how would you propose paying for them?

Frank Navarro (FN): During my time in office Colton has made tremendous strides in this area. In the past decade we have completed the Pepper Ave interchange, rebuilt the Washington St. bridge over the I-215 and widened the eastbound Rancho onramp, as well as the ongoing Mt. Vernon interchange project. 

Ongoing priority projects include:

• Replacing and widening the two railroad and river bridges on Mt. Vernon.
• Replacing the bridge on La Cadena over the Santa Ana River.
• Securing $4.2 million from Rep. Pete Aguilar for the Hunts Lane to Reche Canyon Road Extension to help mitigate traffic issues at the entrance to Reche Canyon.
• Investing over $1 million annually on road paving projects. 

Funding for these projects comes from a variety of sources, including Measure I county transportation funding, City of Colton CIP funding, and various federal, state and county budget and grant funding.

I have served in leadership positions on several Regional Boards that deal with infrastructure issues, most notably the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA). During my time on these Boards, I’ve been able to leverage my relationships with other elected officials to obtain necessary funding for Colton’s much needed infrastructure projects.

John Echevarria (JE): Some of the improvements or additions we need are in the downtown area. Our population has increased over the years and our current roadways are struggling to keep up with the traffic burden. Some of the repairs already in motion have come as a result of collaboration with CalTrans and from our county partners. 

As an entire City Council, we have all worked together to acquire that assistance for our constituents. But I think we also need to work with the property owners and try to ascertain that property that could benefit our roadways. Also, there are grants we can apply for which will help us offset costs that our city cannot afford. I have authored grants in my police profession and I completely understand that we are required to match funds and seek approval from city leadership to take the risk.

Another improvement we need to focus on is in Reche Canyon because the traffic situation is overwhelming. An idea I have is to insert a Round About raised median within the city limits so it can help slow down traffic. This will help reduce accidents and help us preserve our beloved wildlife when vehicles are required to slow down. Safety is an important factor for our constituents and we have a responsibility to look out for everyone.

Warehouses and industrial development: How would you balance industrial development with protecting residents’ health and quality of life, and what specific policies would you support to achieve that balance?

FN: Colton has already been an Inland Empire leader on this issue. We implemented a two year warehouse moratorium, which began in May 2021. During that time an ad hoc committee went through all facets regarding warehouse development and held meetings with environmental justice organizations and other interested parties. The committee evaluated issues, including zoning, truck routes, heavy truck traffic, pavement damage, noise and the impacts of diesel emissions, particularly on sensitive receptors. During this period we established guidelines and ordinances taking into consideration public health, pedestrian and road safety, logical truck routes and enforcement policies. As part of these ongoing efforts, we recently adjusted and eliminated some truck routes in response to AB 98.

At the end of the two year moratorium we developed and implemented a variety of strict conditions and mitigation measures to minimise the impacts of any future warehouses. Our policies are being looked at and copied by other government agencies and Colton’s current warehouse ordinances and policies are seen as a model for other cities to follow.

A recent Riverside Press Enterprise article using data from Environmental Justice organizations showed Colton was at or near the bottom in number of warehouses and warehouse square footage per population and there are no new warehouse projects being proposed.

I’m also very proud to say that our city received top honors at the 2025 Mayors Climate Protection Awards from the US Conference of Mayors. Our Urban Heat Resilience Program received this prestigious award. The initiative combats extreme heat through infrastructure upgrades, climate planning and tree planting. Our city is recognized as a Tree City USA for our tree planting efforts.

During my tenure as mayor, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railway proposed and was moving forward on an intermodal facility at the site of the Cal Portland property. This project would have had a devastating impact on Colton. I wrote letters of opposition on behalf of our city and interacted with other elected officials to garner support for our position against this facility. Due to the united opposition, BNSF gave up on coming to Colton and moved their project to Barstow.

JE: Our city has limited land that can be developed and we have been approached by investors who are interested in building large industrial buildings. In order for a warehouse to be considered, it must be vetted by our Planning Commission before brought to our City Council. If the project makes sense and meets all California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements and zoning requirements, the conversation will next be held with our entire City Council. We also welcome public comment for folks to express their concerns and ideas. 

Ultimately, we vote as we feel just and make sure all health and environmental regulations have been considered and researched. If those elements pass inspection, a vote is submitted and each elected is able to exercise their right.

Also, some larger buildings can help provide employment for our community because every year, we have high school and college graduates who are seeking jobs.

Public safety: What do you consider Colton’s most pressing public safety challenge and what concrete measures would you pursue as a council member to address it?

FN: There are two issues that stand out: driver behavior, which impacts driver and pedestrian safety, along with chronic homelessness throughout California. I view both these issues as societal issues which are impacting all cities, not just ours. 

Negative driver behavior is at an all time high. Driving around, you will see drivers running stop signs and red lights while showing little or no concerns about others. To combat this my administration has provided funding to reestablish our traffic division. This was able to be done because for the first time in years our police department is fully staffed. The traffic division’s responsibilities include increased active roadside presence, address reckless driving and ticket those violating vehicle codes, and offer more presence in high congestion areas like Reche Canyon. For the first time in years, we’ve also been able to bring back our traffic Moto officers. Through our close relationship with San Bernardino County Fifth District Supervisor Baca Jr. we’ve been able to receive multiple new BMW motorcycles, off road vehicles and other equipment to help our Police Department deal with these issues.

The homeless issue is also a serious issue throughout California. Although still an issue here, we continue to make progress. At our recent State of the City presentation, our police chief reported homelessness in Colton was down by 48% and working in partnership with Community organization Step Up, we’ve been able to find permanent housing for 59 others. Our city has programs to help feed and clothe the homeless. 

Even though we are at the crossroads of two major freeways, two railroads and a river bottom all of which are controlled and are the responsibility of other government agencies, we continue our work to minimize the homeless issue. When we see encampments in areas such as the river bottom, along the freeway, on railroad property or in the county area along Agua Mansa, we report those issues to that agency so they can take care of the issue under their jurisdiction. Although we still have a chronic problem, you do not see large encampments in areas we are responsible for unlike some of our neighboring cities.

JE: The biggest complaint I have received from residents as I went door to door and spoke with them was about the traffic violations. There were so many people who wanted to know the process about having speed bumps, speed humps, stop signs, and light signals inserted into their neighborhoods. They voiced their concerns about suspicious vehicles casing their neighborhoods, speeding near school zones, doing donuts and burnouts at intersections, and semi trucks passing in No Truck Zone areas. 

As mayor, and as a current law enforcement officer, I would work cohesively with our Colton Police Department to share those concerns. I would also go on ride-alongs so I can see what our residents are referring to. I would take photos and videos to submit, so our city staff would know precisely what the issues are.

Also, I would request our Colton PD collaborate with other agencies so we can have additional resources brought into our community to help increase a police presence. What that would do is make people feel safer, improve the quality of life, and give us more police cars to cover our 16 square miles of city. I also understand that there are grants available to help fund additional traffic enforcement operations, including the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), and those help give us budgetary relief.

Business and economic vitality: What specific policies would you pursue to attract and retain businesses in Colton, support small business owners and encourage economic development that benefits the broader community?

FN: Our motto here in Colton is “Colton Means Business.” I take that very seriously because our businesses are the backbone of our community and account for 2/3rds to 3/4 quarters of the revenue needed to fund city services. Unfortunately, we cannot control if a business decides to come to Colton, those decisions are made by business owners, developers and property owners who look at the demographics of a community as well as any other competing businesses. 

What we can control is fostering a welcoming environment that a business can thrive in. I as your Mayor have a “can do,” not a “can’t do” attitude and I promote that approach to all our staff. I’m constantly meeting with potential development and business people looking at Colton and promoting the positives our city has to offer, including being the only full service city in San Bernardino County with an outstanding Police and Fire Department and our own city owned utilities. Owning our own utilities is a big plus with commercial electric rates at or below Edison and no Utility User Tax that several of our neighboring cities have.

At our recent “State of the City” presentation, Community Development reported 169 new business licenses have been issued within the last year. Those that follow my campaign will find a lengthy list of Colton business owners who have endorsed me and support my reelection campaign. These are business owners that know the work I’ve done to bring businesses to Colton.

JE: One of the pillars I stand by is customer service. A regular complaint I receive is the ‘red-tape’ that entrepreneurs experience and they give up hope in our city. They speak negatively about our staff and prefer to do business elsewhere. Well, we need that element to survive in our city and that needs to be addressed. I know it can be improved because it is necessary. If an audit or survey is required to expose the customer satisfaction outcome, then we should invest in it. As public servants, we are expected to provide a service. We serve the people. We need to do our best and help people.

Through hard work, I have increased my social media outreach to over 36,000 followers. I proudly utilize those platforms to spotlight small businesses because we need them to survive. They come to Colton with the American dream of serving the people. We owe it to them to help them succeed as much as possible. I am grateful for them choosing Colton because they are serving my family and my community. And that is crucial to our city.