Alsa Bisaya (ALSA BISAYA

COMMUNITY LEADER AND 1ST FILIPINA AMERICAN TO SERVE AS MAYOR OF ARTESIA, CALIFORNIA

The Artesia City Council appointed Mayor Pro Tem Melissa Ramoso as the city’s Mayor during its in-person meeting on Monday, December 13, marking a series of fi rsts in the local leadership — as an Asian American and Pacifi c Islander (AAPI)/Filipina American woman and a millennial in the role. Notably for the last decade, Ramoso is a recognized national leader in the AAPI and Filipino American communities through her work in government and politics. A grateful Ramoso, a local high school graduate of ABC Unifi ed School District’s Gahr High School and of UC Irvine, gave thanks to her “Council colleagues for entrusting in me to serve as Artesia’s fi rst Asian and Pacifi c Islander and Filipino female mayor. I am deeply honored and humbled to be elected by my peers into this role.” Highlighting the purpose of an elected offi cials Ramoso stressed, “Power is not held within a title; it is how one can eff ect positive change. Let me tell you how I have created positive change in this city.“ Over the past three years recognizing the Council and City staff Ramoso noted some of her past accomplishments:  Pushed for more transparency within Artesia, asked for minutes to be done regularly and posted. Requested updating the city website to be more userfriendly and serve as a resource for residents and businesses as it did for the pandemic.  As the pandemic unfolded before Artesia, Ramoso sought government action “outside the box” such as: a) an eviction moratorium on residential and commercial properties marking Artesia as one of the fi rst cities to pass these ordinances especially commercial which was never done at the county and state levels; b) proposed a mental health services initiative for residents during the pandemic; and, c) memorialize Artesia COVID-19 city statistics.  Proposed a price gouging ordinance which prohibited increases in pricing of goods and a delivery app-base cap fee at 15% to big companies like Door Dash, UberEATS. Artesia was one of the fi rst cities in California to pass the 15% cap with San

Francisco fi rst to do it, and the City of Los Angeles followed Artesia.  Proposed Anti-AAPI hate resolutions to make a stance against the hate in the community and passed changes to the City’s discrimination and harassment policy which gave employees an added portal to report incidents.  Pushed for funding to create Artesia’s Business Assistance Program which will help Artesia businesses who have struggled through the pandemic. For the coming 2022 year Ramoso laid out her Mayoral priorities:  Ensure that the City continues to have fi nancial stability.  Residents are safe and that quality of life is at the forefront of the City’s priorities.  As the City navigates through challenging times, together with Council colleagues and City staff , hard but sound decisions will be made. This will ensure Artesia is accessible and at its best with customer service at the forefront such as Artesia’s youth having a space and avenue to engage in sports, seniors are thought of and engaged with, and critical lifesaving services continue with public safety, fi re and fi rst responders. Ramoso concluded with an optimistic message: “I have so much more to give and show. I can’t wait to lead the city, and the best is truly yet to come.” Melissa added, “I believe in you and this great little but mighty city of Artesia.”