To Calvin Lo, San Marino is a unique and premium city and should be treated and run as such.
This motivation has helped drive him on his quest for a City Council seat in the upcoming election, he said, a bid he sees as the next natural step for him in volunteering in San Marino.
“To me, this is another step for community service,” he said. “My campaign model is to uphold the core values of San Marino, which are the beautiful architecture, the rich heritage, the strong sense of community, the safety of the neighborhoods and the quality of life.”
Lo is one of seven candidates for the three open spots on the five-member City Council. The election will be held Nov. 7.
A Taiwan native who immigrated to the U.S. in 1992, Lo has spent the past decade living in San Marino, having moved his young family here with the schools in mind. He has earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cal State Los Angeles, owns a real estate management company and is a Realtor for Berkshire Hathaway Home Services.
In addition to volunteering at his children’s schools, Lo also is a member of Chinese Club of San Marino and Rotary Club of San Marino, previously served on Crowell Public Library’s Board of Trustees and currently serves as an alternate on the city’s Traffic Advisory Commission.
If elected, Lo said public safety and historic preservation are among his top issues to tackle.
“San Marino is a premium city, so we’re not just about maintaining minimum requirements,” he said. “We have to do a bit more to maintain our top-notch services to our residents.”
Lo said the city should strive for a balance between the functionality of replacing older homes with properly preserving those that bear a true historic relevance to the city. The uniqueness of the city’s neighborhoods and architecture is what makes this issue so paramount, he said.
“There is more construction and more new homes being built,” said Lo, explaining what has changed in town since he moved here. “Ten years ago, there was more modeling and renovation. That’s why it’s very important to have that historical ordinance passed, to balance the need of our residents who are updating their homes and to make sure that the homes are in harmony with the surrounding neighborhood.”
Lo added he will work to help give San Marino Police Department the tools it needs to combat residential burglaries and also task emergency responders with updating response plans for natural disasters, like earthquakes.
In campaigning, Lo said he already has found a reward.
“The most rewarding part of this campaigning process is that I get to meet a lot more people I never would have in this town,” he said. “I thought I knew a lot of people, but I realized there are still a lot of people I didn’t have access to. San Marino has always been so wonderful because of its great sense of community. That makes our town so wonderful and I will encourage our community to continue it.”
Candidate profiles will run weekly in alphabetical order.
