Brent, Photo by Torrey Bailey
Brent Beltrán is one of the seven editors of the San Diego Free Press – the online partner of the OB Rag. Well, this week, San Diego CityBeat named Brent as one of their top 20 San Diegans for 2017. We’re very proud of Brent and certainly agree that it’s time he received some public accolades.
Here is what CityBeat writer Torrey Bailey said about Brent:
Who is he? He’s the vice chair of the Barrio Logan Community Planning Group and sits on the Environmental Health Coalition board of directors. Oh, and he’s on the editorial board of the San Diego Free Press as well.
Why did we pick him? Earlier this year, Beltrán was instrumental in protests against labor leader Mickey Kasparian, who is accused of sexual harassment, among other misconduct. “Did I, as just some guy from Barrio Logan, realistically think that I would be able to take down one of the most powerful labor leaders in San Diego? No, not really. But I knew I could be that thorn in his side like he was a thorn in the side of the people in my community.” The uprising got Kasparian kicked off the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council. “We’re a tight-knit community and we need to help each other out as much as we can.”
In his own words: “Just because they say they’re liberal, just because they say they’re progressive, doesn’t mean they act that way,” he says of Kasparian and other politicians. “We have to keep our own people in check just as much as the opposition.”
What’s next? Beltrán will continue working with his wife, four kids and the community to fight for affordable rents in and around Barrio Logan, as well as trying to slow the neighborhood’s gentrification.
It was in 2012 that the OB Rag launched the San Diego Free Press, in hopes of taking our format for OB to the city and county. Other editors of the SDFP include Patty Jones, Frank Gormlie, Anna Daniels, Doug Porter, Annie Lane and Rich Kacmar.
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Congratulations!!!!!
Such a well-deserved honor! Brent is the real deal: intelligent, articulate, dedicated to his community, and loyal to his friends and family.