Councilmember Ronaldo Fierro

It has been an honor to serve the neighborhoods of Ward 3 and the City of Riverside over the past 5 years. It has been quite the journey, one where I was introduced to the workings of city government through our response to a global pandemic. I’m proud of the work we were able to accomplish during that time, from renter and worker protections to the deployment of millions in small business and nonprofit stimulus. While you would expect an event of that magnitude to define the term — we also hired a completely new City Charter Leadership team, established an office of Sustainability with the task of helping the City reach our ambitious climate goals, adopted new and effective ways to tackle homelessness, and legalized commercial cannabis.

There is so much work to be done for the betterment of our great City and I wish the best for your new Councilman Steve Robillard and the rest of the City Council.

Thank you for bestowing upon me the honor to serve you, your families, and our City.

Today, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the new exhibit “Working Coachella” at the Civil Rights Institute right here in Downtown Riverside! Given all of the wonderful work they have done for our community, it was a pleasure to make a charity donation to CRI on behalf of NAIOP. I can’t wait to see all the good work the folks at CRI will continue to do!

In less than one week, the City of Riverside and SiFi Networks will be hosting a community outreach meeting at the Riverside Airport. Join us from 6-7pm on Wednesday, January 31st to discuss and learn more about the construction of a citywide Fiber Optic network designed for both residences and businesses! See you then!

After a nearly two year process — cannabis retail storefronts will finally be coming to Riverside!

These 14 licenses will be awarded after an intensive competitive process — one that values living wage jobs with strong labor protections and a deep investment in long term community investment.

Applications will open on November 15. The city is working quickly to put together a website with more information, so stay tuned!

On this , let us pause to reflect on the profound history, resilience, and vibrant cultures of the indigenous peoples who have called this land home for countless generations — including the Cahuilla, Tongva, and Serrano people. Their traditions and deep connection to the land continue to shape our city's identity.

Let’s continue to engage in meaningful dialogue and amplify indigenous voices in Riverside. Together, we can foster a more inclusive, equitable future while honoring the enduring presence of our indigenous brothers and sisters.

Today we honor and celebrate the dignity of the American Worker and the innumerable achievements of the labor movement which has brought better working conditions, labor protections and higher wages for all.

Happy Labor Day!

After 10 months of community input and testimony in the redistricting process, the Riverside City Council has adopted a historic new Ward map that includes 4 Minority-Majority Latino Voting Rights Act districts!

I want to thank the Black and Brown Redistricting Alliance, our community partners, the City Clerk’s Office and everyone involved in this redistricting effort.

Since August 2022 this coalition has met with countless key community leaders and community groups including The Group, and NAACP and partnered with MALDEF, a key legal voice for Latinos in California.

This really goes to show the immense amount of effort and time that community members from all across the City put into this Redistricting process that spanned over 10 months with multiple community meetings in every ward.

I was also impressed to learn today that this map also accelerates 27,670 more voters to be able to vote in the 2024 election. This is a huge feat that will allow greater turnout for our Latino communities in our local elections.

Congratulations to everyone involved!!

The passing of Captain Strack is a tremendous loss to the City of Riverside, the Local Firefighters Union, and the community as a whole.

To honor his memory, a Memorial Fund has been established to provide support for non-profits that will honor Captain Strack’s legacy.

If you would like to send flowers, please have them delivered to: City of Riverside Fire Department Station 1, 3401 University Ave., Riverside CA 92501.

To make a financial contribution, please donate online or make checks payable to Riverside City Firefighters Foundation, P.O. Box 7817, Riverside CA 92513.

https://helpahero.com/campaign/passing-of-fire-captain-tim-strack

This is hard. It’s hard for me to fathom writing this, and it will be even harder for this community to live with the permanence of this tremendous loss. This weekend, Riverside lost a leader, Firefighters across California lost a brother, and I lost my very good friend.

I struggle to put into words how much this man meant to me. Tim, I’ll miss you more than any words can express. I promise that I won’t let you down though, and that your legacy will live on.

My deepest thoughts and love are with Wendy, Justin, Madeline, Isabella and the entire Strack family.

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to witness the Grad Slam Finals as a judge.

This competition provides graduate students with an opportunity to describe their (very complex) research projects to a layman audience in just three minutes.

I learned a lot and saw some stellar presentations from these talented students.

Congratulations to all that participated!

What a wonderful time this morning at the 43rd Annual Black History Parade in Riverside!

Thank you to the Adrian Dell and Carmen Roberts Foundation for organizing this event — which is one of the longest running black history parades right here in downtown Riverside.