Five residents have already announced that they are running for Coronado’s two City Council member seats. However, the candidate filing period officially opened just under two weeks ago with two weeks to go, and a new candidate entered the race.
Amy Steward is the sixth person to announce a run for Council member.
Steward has been in Coronado for the past 35 years and she said there’s a reason she moved here and stayed.
I want to keep Coronado moving in the right direction, to preserve what makes Coronado so special.
Amy Steward
“We all moved here because of what it has to offer,” Steward said to The Coronado News in her first interview regarding her run for Council member. “I want to keep Coronado moving in the right direction, to preserve what makes Coronado so special.”
This is the first time Steward has made a move, politically, in her career.
But definitely not the first move she’s made in her community.
Steward has been highly involved in Coronado with starting several programs at Village Elementary and Coronado Middle School, and is the founder and president of Emerald Keepers, a non-profit organization in Coronado that aims to address local needs related to environmental stewardship and sustainability.
Steward started the “Take a Veteran to School Day” program in Coronado after winning her National Teacher Award in 2009. To accept the award, she flew to Washington D.C. and there met with Mead Rust, the vice president of the History Channel who was speaking at the award ceremony.
She later learned from Rust at the History Channel, from which this program originated, that Coronado’s program was the largest in the United States.
With her run for candidacy, Steward has a few issues she wants to focus on, one of them being the Tijuana sewage crisis, which is one of the problems her own nonprofit aims to tackle.
While she was a teacher, her students produced a film about the crisis that won the People’s Choice award at the Coronado Island Film Festival in 2017.
“Sewage is a huge factor. In fact, when we did the film way back when, when we interviewed a City Council member, he said, ‘You know, the city has no official stance on the sewage issue,’” Steward said.
Now, she believes the current City Council members are doing a great job of getting the word out about the issue and really pressing it.
And she wants to continue that momentum.
Steward is also passionate about the City’s emergency preparedness and infrastructure, referencing the Jan. 22 storm that brought in a few feet of flooding to many residents in Coronado.
We need to really have a deep dive study into our infrastructure and what is needed because storms, monsoonal moisture, atmospheric rivers…we will be hit with typhoons in the future or hurricanes in the future.
Amy Steward
“We need to really have a deep dive study into our infrastructure and what is needed because storms, monsoonal moisture, atmospheric rivers…we will be hit with typhoons in the future or hurricanes in the future,” Steward said.
She said she also wants to look at the traffic, roads and water lines, taking inventory of what risks or hazards would impact them.
As Council member, Steward additionally would want the City to be more prepared for their budgets.
“We spend money in a reactive way on a lot of problems,” Steward said. “Where if you could have some sort of forum where we bring in experts who can help educate all of the City Council, staff members and the community too, to understand the different issues and options that are out there.”
Steward explained that she would like to research and have all risks be assessed, and then make decisions on the budget based on priorities and a strategic plan that was thought of prior.
She said she looks forward to listening to her community and that they can reach out to her at amy4coronado@gmail.com.
People who know me know that when I take on something, I go all in. And I expect to do the exact same as a Council member.
Amy Steward
“I just feel that I can do the job and do some good,” Steward said. “People who know me know that when I take on something, I go all in. And I expect to do the exact same as a Council member.”
