George Price Runs For Mayoral Position

MORENO VALLEY>> George Price, current Moreno Valley City Council Member, is using his experience and education to run for the mayoral position of Moreno Valley. With more than 40 years of working in the municipal government, Price was elected as council member in 2014 and previously served as the city’s first director of Parks and Recreation for Moreno Valley. Price said he first began his run for city council in 2014 because he was concerned with the direction the former city council was going and felt there was a lack of leadership. Some of his goals are to work on getting the community safer by bringing more officers back on the streets, bring livable wage jobs to the city, improve the library system and help lead the young generation into success. Although the cities graduation rates have increased, Price said the rate of high school graduates who attend college are low and cities test scores are low. He said it is his goal to help prepare the youth for their future. He also mentioned through the county hospital and Kaiser, there are a lot of medical related opportunities in the city. “I would like to see us work toward preparing our residents and our young people to be able to step into those jobs instead of having to go outside of Moreno Valley,” he said. “I’d like to work with those employers to try and come up with a program so we can keep those jobs here.” With more than 26 years of experience from both sides of the dais, Price has sat on numerous council meetings. “I have that experience of observing council in action,” Price said. “I know how the system operates. I know the good and the bad and I want to try and correct the bad. The last 2-3 mayors have not moved our community forward and in some cases, got the community in trouble through lawsuits that we initiated or have been initiated against us by local and regional partners. We need to be working together with people and not alienating them.” As the second largest city in Riverside County, Price said he feels the city does not have the respect from the rest of the region. ”I want to work to earn that respect of the region,” he said. “When something (good) happens in the county, Moreno Valley is rarely mentioned unless it’s something bad. I want to turn that around. I want us to be at the forefront and respected by the region.” Price has been married to his wife, Vicki Laubacher Price, for 43 years. They have two children who attended Moreno Valley Schools and four grandchildren, three of whom attend or have attended MVUSD schools. “We love this community,” he said. “We’re not going anywhere.” Not only has Price served the community, but said his wife’s family was involved in public service for their community, as well. Price’s father became “Citizen of the Year” in his community, his father-in-law was recognized and the legacy continued with Price, who was 2005 “Citizen of the Year” for Moreno Valley. “I’m honest, straightforward and I’m a hard worker,” Price said. “The one thing that separates me from others is that I’m retired. I will meet with residents to provide transparency and respond to their specific issues. Whether it’s 10 a.m. or 1 p.m., I just want to try and improve our community and leave it better than when we got here.” As director of Parks and Recreation, Price helped bring legislation to the city that would allow 20 hours a week of child care at Moreno Valley schools rather than the previous 12 hours a week. “Before, 15,000 kids were going home to an empty house,” he said. “Legislation passed to help residents and parents which made a huge difference.” Price is endorsed by Riverside Sheriff Association, CalFire Local 2881 and many Riverside County mayors and other council members. “They know me,” he said. “They have seen my leadership. They know that I will work to solve a problem. I’m not going to walk out of a meeting. I’m going to stay there until we get any issues resolved.” “I want to bring real leadership to Moreno Valley and especially to the mayor position,” Price said. “Our city council has been fractured for years and it’s time for a leader who can bring the council and community together and I am that person.”