Newly elected Rancho Santa Margarita Councilwoman Anne Figueroa shares her priorities

Newly elected Rancho Santa Margarita Councilwoman Anne Figueroa has lived in the city since before it was, well, a city.

She moved to the community in 1994 with her then 2-year-old daughter and raised all her kids here.

“It really was the best place to raise a family,” she said. “We call it a destination city. It’s not a drive-through city.”

Figueroa is the new face on the council, winning election in November with two incumbents, Brad McGirr and Jerry Holloway. But she isn’t new to City Hall, she had served on the Planning Commission since 2014, including as the chair in 2017.

The owner of a home interior design firm, Figueroa said she had also worked with other businesses owners to help revive the city’s Chamber of Commerce.  “We are really, really proud of that.”

Figueroa recently spoke with the newspaper about what she’d like to accomplish from the dais and her vision for the city.

Q. What are your priorities for the year?

A. Obviously, the first priority for our city is public safety. We’ve had a lot of recognition for being one of the safest cities in the country. We’re very proud of that.

Another area I really want to focus on is the health of our businesses in our city. It’s very difficult in California to run a business with increased regulations our businesses face. So, the focus as a City Council person is to make sure the city makes it as easy as possible to open and keep the businesses open here.

I also want to work on some mentorship programs for our youth. It’s hard these days for kids. They really have to decide, sometimes in high school, what they want to major in. They have very distinct coursework you have to follow. How do you know what you want to do in life when you are a high school senior?

Q. You have stressed fiscal responsibility for the city. Where do you think the council can continue to promote the responsibility going forward?

A.  The expense that we are always most concerned about is our sheriff’s (department contract). We feel like that’s going to keep going up.

Q. The city has $22 million in reserve. Should the city try to grow that?

A. That’s one of our jobs, absolutely. We want to keep our residents’ taxes as low as possible. We are always looking for opportunities to save money. It’s very expensive to live in California. Whatever we can do to save money, our city staff is always on top of that.

Q. How can the city deal with retail shifting online?

A. We are always looking to make sure we have those different types of retailers in the city. Our biggest frustration is the affordability of rents. We’re hoping the retail centers work with those prospective business owners to get them into those places where they can afford the rent.

Q. What are things you think the council will be looking at this year? 

A. The splash pad (at Central Park) is going to be a wonderful addition. (The council approved a contract to design the water feature on Jan. 23.)

We want to make sure our city is ready for fires. We had the Holy Fire, which was a big scare for our city. I want to make sure we’re doing everything we can do to keep our city safe from fires. I just met with Southern California Edison and we’re looking at doing some vegetation mitigation, making sure vegetation is cut back.