Meet the candidate: Frank Sandoval, Menifee City Council District 4

Menifee City Council District 4 candidate and small business owner Frank Sandoval said he is running with a focus on preserving the city’s small-town character while supporting local businesses and managing future growth.

Sandoval, whose family has lived in Menifee since 1990, said he believes the decisions made over the next four years will shape the city’s future as officials address growth, traffic, public safety and economic development.

Advertisement

“I want to be District 4’s next council member, and I want to work for the family and the small business owner to preserve a semi-rural small-town feel,” Sandoval said. 

Sandoval lives in Heritage Lake with his wife and 1-year-old son. He owns a technology consulting firm and previously owned a staffing and recruiting company in San Diego. He said his experience running businesses has shaped the way he approaches problem-solving and budgeting.

One of Sandoval’s top priorities is creating more opportunities for local entrepreneurs. He said he believes Menifee has enough warehouse development and would instead like to see business parks and light industrial spaces that give small businesses room to grow.

“I started my own business at my kitchen table,” he said. “I know what it takes to get your first lease, and I know how hard it is to find a lease right now.” 

While Sandoval said larger retailers still have a place in Menifee, he believes a healthy mix of national brands and locally owned businesses is what gives a community its identity.

“I’m not necessarily against big brands or big stores,” he said. “I do want a healthy mix, and I think that what makes a small town feel small is when we do have a lot of mom-and-pop shops.” 

As the city continues to grow, Sandoval said he would like to see future housing and commercial development centered around existing infrastructure rather than spreading farther into undeveloped areas. He said that approach would make it easier to attract grocery stores, restaurants and other everyday amenities while limiting strain on city services. 

Sandoval said residents often have to leave the area for basic shopping and services and have waited years for nearby commercial development.

“I think that we can control how we plan it, and we can plan it intelligently,” he said. 

When asked whether there was a recent city council decision he would have handled differently, Sandoval pointed to the Heritage Valley Business Center, an approximately 830,000-square-foot warehouse project approved by the council in June.

He said he would have voted against the project because it required changes to the city’s General Plan and its Environmental Impact Report identified significant and unavoidable impacts related to greenhouse gas emissions and transportation.

Sandoval also weighed in on the city’s Flock automated license plate reader cameras. While he said the cameras can be an effective tool for solving crimes, he also acknowledged residents’ privacy concerns and said the program should continue only if the Menifee Police Department remains transparent and follows its policies. 

If elected, Sandoval said he plans to stay engaged with residents by attending community events, communicating through social media and listening to concerns outside of council meetings.

“I really want to represent the Menifee family and the Menifee small business owner,” he said.