Eddie Tejeda

The Candidate

Mayor Eddie Tejeda is running for re-election for Redlands City Council District 2.

He was elected to the City Council in 2016 in an at-large election and won a reelection bid in 2020. In 2023, he was selected in a 3-2 vote of the City Council to serve as mayor.  

Key actions on City Council:

• He has sought to prioritize funding for an additional downtown parking structure and public safety infrastructure for police and fire.
• He reintroduced regulations on sidewalk vending that were passed after revisions in June 2023.
• In 2022, he advocated to increase the business license tax rate for warehouses and distribution centers.
• In 2024, he voted to approve a new distribution warehouse in Redlands - against the recommendation of the Planning Commission. 
• He voted once in support of flying the pride flag at City Hall and subsequently voted against the measure twice.

Tejeda works as a special education teacher. He lives in Redlands with his wife and three adult children.

Tejeda is running against Jennifer Maravillas for the District 2 City Council seat. Click the map below for a detailed view of districts.

The Funding

Total Raised: $53,524

(Last Updated Nov. 1, 2024)

Tejeda's campaign for City Council has raised $53,524 as of Nov. 1 2024 from 32 individuals, 16 committees, and 14 from family trusts, businesses and organizations.

• $12,350 from individual donations
  • Of those individual donations, $1,151 was made up of small donations under $100.
• $41,074 from committees or businesses.

The Endorsements

The Survey: "In their own words"

For this section, Community Forward Redlands asked each candidate the same five questions. These are their responses. Candidates were asked to keep their responses around 100 words. Responses were edited only for grammar or spelling errors. We also made candidates aware that we will make note of any statement that includes factual inaccuracies or conjecture.

I am committed to rejecting tribalism and ensuring that it does not take center stage in any of the work I do. Tribalism is not in the best interest of our city.

What do you love most about Redlands?

What I love most about Redlands is our people, our heritage and our history. Generations of Redlanders have called our city home, and if they leave, chances are they will ultimately return and call Redlands home for good. Our people are very involved across all areas of community service whether it be spiritual, societal, institutional or business. Everyone wants to protect our heritage from being erased or replaced by something else. Our history of community service and philanthropy makes everyone an equal stakeholder in the prosperity of our city. That's what I love about Redlands.

How do you define the role you're seeking as a City Council member?

The role of a city council member is to know or understand or demonstrate an awareness of how the city is performing related to its organization, its finances, its services, and the quality of life needs of the residents of the community and especially the district that one is elected to serve. I believe that my service on the City Council since 2016 has demonstrated how I have grown as an elected official and, furthermore, that I have a good understanding of the sentiments throughout the district I serve and citywide.

If elected, what would be your top three priorities as a City Council member?

My campaign priorities are economy, community and environment.

1. Economy: I will continue to support our local small businesses as well as our partners throughout our business sector to diversify our portfolio of jobs in Redlands. I will also focus on improving opportunities for entrepreneurs to start their businesses in Redlands. I also want to continue the work I've started to add parking to our downtown core, which will contribute to creating a walkable downtown core.
2. Community: I want to continue improving the quality of life needs, in District 2 and citywide, by adding more staff to our public safety departments (police/fire), building a new police station and two new fire stations, continue maintaining and replacing our infrastructure (streets, water and sewer pipelines), adding and refurbishing our park and trails systems, and most important, by increasing the number of affordable housing units in our city.
3. Environment: I want to continue the work we have done to remodel our wastewater treatment plant, improve our solid waste performance related to recycling, and most important, add trees throughout the community and especially in areas where there's a scarcity of trees.

What skills and experience do you have that you believe would be beneficial to you as a city council member? 

I believe that my skills for listening and processing information help me greatly when working with my colleagues and our city staff when planning for our city's needs and future. With seven years on the city council, I have personally witnessed how we have met economic challenges, such as the COVID shutdown, and I understand the consequences of economic slowdowns. These skills have helped me make appropriate recommendations to our city management team that ensure we anticipate issues as we move our city into the future. This experience is critical for a council member to possess because it helps one understand how to approach the budgeting process and ensures that one considers the economic landscape, locally, regionally and nationally. Furthermore, this experience helps a council member apply prudence when developing policies or programs that require funding sources. This understanding makes it clear that the general fund should be used for city services and not for pet projects.

If elected, what is your vision for moving our community forward?

My vision for moving us forward includes working with people who want to lift our community up as a whole, adopt policies or develop programs that do the same, and honor and celebrate our community members, organizations and partners for their accomplishments or contributions to our city. I am committed to working with people who share this vision and these values to promote a greater sense of community throughout our city and for all of our residents.

I am committed to rejecting tribalism and ensuring that it does not take center stage in any of the work I do. Tribalism is not in the best interest of our city. As a council member, I am committed to working on policies and programs that reflect our common areas of interest and agreement and that improve our overall quality of life. It is incumbent upon council members to seek out and understand the common areas of interest and agreement throughout the district and the city, and I am committed to continuing to do that. By focusing on this, we stand to benefit from the work we do to bring our community together. As a council member, I will continue to honor and celebrate our cultural and individual diversity and honor and celebrate the significant accomplishments or contributions of our residents and partner organizations throughout our city. I believe that my record reflects the vision I have described here.

Campaign Information

Website: Tejeda for Redlands
Social media: Instagram | Facebook