by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Political newcomer and 20-year Claremont resident Kingoro Onami, 71, is looking to win the Claremont City Council District 5 seat currently occupied by Mayor Sal Medina.

Onami has been retired about five years. He said his high-pressure previous work as a sushi chef has prepared him for political office.

He’s running for two main reasons: to better the future of Claremont and the education of its children.

“This town is getting old. I mean people, including me,” Onami said. “So, we need education for young people staying here. Many people come [from] outside, but graduate [then they’re] gone.” Onami believes the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education and City Council need to do more to help young families move to town, and to keep local graduates from leaving.

He said the biggest challenge facing City Council ties in to one of the reasons he’s running: education.

“Education is very important and, [my] number one priority,” he said. “I want to [be] working for children’s future.”

Onami is aware of the race underway for CUSD Board of Education’s Trustee Area 5 seat, but he does not live in the trustee area. He feels as a council member he can help affect the city’s educational reach as a whole.

He’s also hoping to guide more children to become interested in politics. “That’s why I’m running [for] City Council,” he said. “Now, young people [are] not much interested in politics.”

By October 2029, the City of Claremont is tasked with hitting its Regional Housing Needs Allocation of 1,711 new housing units —  556 extremely low-income units, 310 low income, 297 moderate income, and 548 above moderate-income units.

Onami recognizes the need for low-income housing in order to accommodate more young families, and said it’s difficult for young people to buy or rent in the current economic environment. He also made note of older residents’ general disdain for large-scale, high-density housing projects. “Older people, they don’t like a high-end building. That’s another problem,” he said. “We cannot [be] building higher than three stories. Land is limited.”

“We need more living space in Claremont specifically young people,” Onami wrote later in an email.

He said he’s on the fence regarding state mandated housing requirements. “I can not say yes or no now,” he wrote.

To get residents on board with new developments, Onami said it must be communicated to them that the housing is “a need.”

“We have to do it,” he said. “We need space for young people.”

Onami said the City Council does a few things well. Among them are holding elections, holding elected officials accountable for their actions, being accessible to the public, and allowing folks to air their concerns at its twice monthly meetings.

He said the council could do better in its communication with the public. If he was a council member, he said he would not only tell his neighbors when meetings were happening, but he would also share the agenda with them and break down how certain items could affect them.

Longtime Claremont resident Kingoro Onami challenges Claremont Mayor Sal Medina for Claremont City Council’s District 5 seat on November 5. Onami does not have a campaign website.