Candidate for
Council Member; City of Santee

Ben Kalasho, owner of Sonik Car Wash and the Chevron Gas Station of Santee, has announced his candidacy for Santee City Council. Kalasho, a Santee resident since 1991 and a strong supporter of the community, decided to run after current Council member Brian Jones won the Republican nomination for the 77th State Assembly District in the June Primary Elections. More recently, council member Hal Ryan announced that he would NOT be running for re-election. " I want to help my city continue to move in the right direction, balance the budget and bring to the table my strong Economics back ground", said Kalasho of his decision.

Growing up in the Santee area, Ben Kalasho feels that he is running for City Council to give back to the community that gave him so much. In 2001 he built and opened the Chevron Gas Station in Santee and began a long association with local community organizations. Kalasho has worked hard to improve his home town city. Ben received an award from The East County Small Business Association for creating more than 40 new jobs in Santee. Ben has the support of hundreds of small businesses in Santee but more importantly hundreds of Santee Residents who know that Ben is concerned about their issues and will be responsive.

Ben read the Santee Budget, he is concerned that our spending is out of control. He wants to have fiscal accountability. "We simply can't go on spending like this, we owe it to our citizens to be more responsible", said Kalasho.

In discussing his reasons for running for Santee City Council, Ben Kalasho, said that he wants to help his community live better and safer while creating jobs. Ben Attended UCSD where he studied Economics, he is familiar with numbers and working within the budget, and remaining fiscally conservative. Ben has attended numerous council meeting over the past five years, listening, meeting one-on-one with elected officials and neighbors, and learning all he could about the workings of the city. In knowing that, Ben can start his duties as a councilman first day on the job.