Osama Bayati for City Council

Elect The Next Generation 

CAMPAIGN'S PRIORITIES

1. Prioritizing Youth Success

The world is increasingly shifting toward a multipolar structure, and in many rival nations, youth are deliberately protected from marginalization, misinformation, and neglect. We believe our priority must be to empower and guide young people, ensuring they have a clear and structured future to look forward to. In our own city, nearly five out of ten students do not graduate from high school, the first step toward an educated, fulfilling life and a successful career.

2.  Establishing Term Limits 

Politicians who remain in office for a lifetime can easily become disconnected from the realities of the people they were elected to serve. Gary Kendrick, at 72 years of age, has held the District 1 council seat for more than 25 years. We have great respect for public officials who dedicate their lives to service, but we believe it is essential for leaders to move forward rather than remain in one position indefinitely. Term limits are an important way to protect accountability, promote corruption-free leadership, and make room for a new generation of scholars. Public office should be a duty to the community—not a permanent position of power.

3. The Struggle for Stability in Today's Young Workforce 

Today’s young adult generation is entering the workforce under pressures far more complex than those faced by prior generations, facing a level of economic uncertainty that is both broader and more intense. Due to low-cost labor imports, the unprecedented flow of foreign aid abroad, and continued inflation in the real estate market, stable career entry has become increasingly difficult for recent bachelor’s degree graduates.

4. Streamlining Small Business Success

Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy, creating nearly half of all jobs and driving opportunity in communities like El Cajon. At the same time, many young people want to start businesses but lack access to clear information, funding, and guidance. Too many businesses face confusing systems, burdensome paperwork, and cash flow challenges—especially in California, where regulations can be complex and difficult to navigate.  We will focus on making support simple and accessible—connecting entrepreneurs to capital, clear information, and practical tools so they can start, grow, and succeed.

ADDITIONAL POLICY POSITIONS

OUR VOTING STANCE

5. Opposing Unnecessary Taxation

Residents are already dealing with rising costs across housing, utilities, and everyday expenses, and adding new taxes only increases that pressure. We will oppose new taxation unless it is clearly necessary, has a direct local benefit, and is fully transparent to the public. The priority is to make better use of existing funds so residents are not repeatedly asked to carry a heavier financial burden. 

6. Protecting Seniors and Families from Fraud

Elder residents have become some of the most frequent targets of fraud, with organized scams exploiting trust to steal life savings. In El Cajon, fraud ranges from grandparent scams and fake legal services to large-scale embezzlement, exposing clear gaps in prevention and enforcement. I will address this by funding targeted scam prevention campaigns for seniors, creating a centralized city hub for reporting and guidance, and coordinating directly with law enforcement and prosecutors to shut down repeat offenders. By improving early detection, simplifying reporting, and strengthening accountability, we can reduce fraud before it spreads and better protect our community.

7. Flock Cameras: Protecting Safety Without Compromising Freedom 

El Cajon has implemented Flock license plate reader cameras to support local public safety efforts, but their expansion has raised important questions about oversight, data sharing, and long-term impact. While Flock Safety is an independent company, it has been funded in part by investor Peter Thiel—co-founder of Palantir, a data analytics firm often debated for its role in large-scale government data collection—adding to broader concerns about how surveillance technologies may be used. 

We support effective, modern policing, but we will oppose unnecessary expansion of these systems without strong transparency, accountability, and local control. Our position is clear: protecting public safety must never come at the expense of the constitutional rights and liberties that define our community.

8. Government Spending and Accountability

El Cajon residents shouldn’t be paying for costly legal battles and politically driven spending that don’t directly benefit the community. We will push for stricter oversight, require clear justification before major spending decisions, and ensure city funds are directed toward public safety, infrastructure, and proven local NGOs that are actively strengthening development in our community.

9. Cost of Living and Housing Stability

Housing in El Cajon is becoming increasingly difficult for working families to afford, as large outside investors such as BlackRock buy up properties and drive rents beyond what local incomes can support. When rents jump hundreds of dollars in a short period, it forces people out of the communities they’ve lived in for years. We will push for practical limits on bulk property purchasing, expand incentives for local ownership, and accelerate approval for attainable housing projects so supply can actually catch up. The focus is simple: keep residents in their homes and make it realistic to live and build a future in this city.