City Council — City of National City

Jose Rodriguez has lived in National City with his wife, Sandra, for more than a decade. He is raising his four children here and has put down deep roots in the community. As the son of immigrants, Jose has made it a priority of his to raise his family in a land of opportunity – and he’ll work hard to make sure National City reflects that promise. 

Jose started his career fighting for working families as a labor organizer. He has spent his adult life working with the community to address inequities in our neighborhoods. Jose has worked to expand public school funding, increase minimum wages on large corporations and has supported small business growth in National City.

We’ve seen City Hall be a place that only works for a select few in National City. The needs of the few have been prioritized over the needs of all. I believe our government should be working to help ALL members of our community.  That requires a continuous two-way dialogue between the community and its leadership. A relationship that works to move National City forward. 

Born to an African-American father and a Mexican-American mother, Marcus Bush grew up in National City, attending Lincoln Acres Elementary, Granger Junior High, and Sweetwater High School (Class of 2006). While at Granger and SUHi, Marcus was the first cohort of Compact for Success, a Sweetwater Union High School District program that guaranteed admission to San Diego State University. At SDSU, Marcus double majored in City Planning and Spanish.

Marcus began his first job as a warehouse worker and union member at PETCO Park while in high school and continued that work while studying at SDSU. When he attended a union meeting, the UNITE HERE Local 30 President (Brigette Browning) saw his passion to improve working conditions for fellow workers and offered him an internship as an organizer in the union. Eventually, he became a union organizer for his fellow workers at PETCO Park and other hotel and restaurant workers in the region.

Shortly after Marcus graduated from SDSU, he left UNITE HERE and transitioned his career to city planning, where he worked as a City Planner in both the public and private sector working on regional issues related to housing and transportation in National City and throughout the San Diego region.

Marcus became increasingly engaged in National City: in city government, the business community, and community nonprofit groups. In 2011, Marcus was appointed to the Civil Service Commission by the National City and in 2013 was appointed to the Planning Commission. He became the youngest Planning Commission Chair in the city’s history at age 26 in 2015. He also served on the Board of Directors for the National City Chamber of Commerce and President of the National City Rotary Club.

In 2016, Marcus was accepted to the Portland State University School of Business for graduate school, and in 2018, Marcus earned his Master in Real Estate Development and became the first in his family to earn a master’s degree. During that time, he also worked as a Policy Advisor on land use and transportation issues for Council President Georgette Gómez in the City of San Diego.

Marcus is the proud father of two children, Leticia (9) and Julian (7) who attend public school in National City. He currently lives with his wife Marilyn and children in National City, where he bought his first home. Marcus currently works as a Project Manager developing affordable housing for a non-profit and serves as a member of the Housing Advisory Committee in National City.

My core life goal/mission is to do what I can to try and leave this world in a better place that when I entered it. I think the best way to achieve that goal is to work with the community and empower them to work together to solve the biggest challenges we are facing. My political philosophy is driven by my goal of making the world a better place and helping the most vulnerable in our society. To do that you need to be a community leader with integrity and for me integrity is the most important leadership trait. In addition to integrity, transparency is also critical in governing and allowing the public to hold leaders accountable for decisions. 

I, Ditas Delossantos Yamane, am running for National City Council to bring a quality of leadership to improve the community we live in. I have held many leadership positions.  With 30 years of experience in community engagement, financial analysis, business management and real estate business, my qualifications are above all the other candidates.

I served on the following Boards and Commissions: National City Planning Commissioner; President National City Chamber of Commerce; School District Citizen’s Bond Oversight; Director California Association of Realtors; Boardmember Assessment Appeals Board; Non-Profit Executive and President-Elect Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors.

National City Businesswoman for National City’s Future!

Our city desperately needs a policy maker with business knowledge and experience.

I will bring leadership focused on understanding the heartbeat of our businesses and our neighborhoods. I am ready to help plan realistically for the challenges of future growth within the city's limited funding source and very challenging times.

I love National City and I will work hard to make sure to provide the services and respect our community deserves. I look forward to serving you!