- My name is Joe Richardson.

I'm a local attorney, Inland Empire resident, and your host.

And today, we're going to chat with a Riverside County board supervisor from District 2.

She has five children and two grandchildren.

She's a four-term city mayor, [background music] a city treasurer, and a marriage-and-family counselor by trade.

Karen Spiegel is currently serving her second term as a Riverside County Board Supervisors member.

She worked with at-risk youth for 10 years in Long Beach, and has experience in a variety of fields including electrical contracting, accounting, publishing, and marketing.

Her roll-up-your-sleeves attitude and leadership involvement in civic, business, and community activities has won her too many accolades to even count.

She's collaborative, she's committed and passionate, and it's time you get to meet her right now.

[gentle upbeat music] ♪ ♪ ♪ - Glad to have with us Riverside County Supervisor Karen Spiegel.

Thank you for being here.

- Well, thank you for inviting me.

- Honored to have you.

So, let's start building the house.

Talk a little bit about how you got on this path of public service.

Was there one aha moment?

Was it a series of moments?

Or did you just wake up one morning, and you were the first, you know, female supervisor in 25 years?

How did this happen?

- I had a long path.

It really began when I was doing a bunch of nonprofit stuff and there was an opening for the city treasurer position, which was elected in the city of Corona.

So I ran, and I won.

- Right.

- And, we made a lot of changes during that time.

And, I wanted to make sure that the liaison of the money was relating with the constituents, and that was my goal.

And, we accomplished as much as I could from that seat.

- Sure.

- So that was an aha moment, saying, "I can't do anymore unless I ran for city council."

- Gotcha.

- So then, I ran for city council and served 16 years there.

- Wow.

- And, I got as far as I could really do, and I felt that there was more I wanted to accomplish, and I ran for supervisor.

So, it was a stair step.

- Tell me about some of the things that you've taken from each of the stair steps that inform what you do now on the County Board of Supervisors.

- Well?

Beginning with the treasurer, that the money of the taxpayer is very important, and we have to be very mindful of when we spend.

- Sure.

- And, make sure that it's there when needed.

And so, I was always-- When I went and got onto council, since the council makes the decisions as to where the money goes, the treasurer is the investment portfolio, and, always, reserves was always a very focal point for me.

I wanted to make sure that we had that and very cautious when we were spending close down.

So, there was that transition.

And, it's still-- here at the county, we look at a much bigger budget, tremendously larger budget, and still have to make sure that the money has spent wisely and that we could look in the mirror and look at our constituents and be happy in their response.

- Well, this is a wonderful "101", let's-learn moment.

Talk about, and I'm sure people see you around or you show up at an event, "Oh, it's Supervisor Karen Spiegel.

"It's Supervisor Spiegel.

She's on the county board of supervisors."

What does it mean to be on the county board of supervisors?

- That was a hard transition for me because I'm still the same person.

- Sure.

- I didn't change my name.

But, it just means that you have more ability to make a difference.

You have the ability of having the connections and the resources.

If a constituent needs some help, it's very easy for me to make that connection.

And, that's what I've always liked in city council, as well as on the board of supervisors, is the resources that we have.

And, if we don't take advantage of it, you're having a constituent miss out on something that they need.

They may take days to try and find, but all they have to do is call us and we can help and direct them.

- Talk about some of the complexities of governing a county being, you know, a county that is very large.

You know, San Bernardino's the largest one by area in America, but Riverside's not far behind.

There's a lot of space.

- Mm hm.

- And, certain parts going out to the state line, and such a diversity not only of people, but of terrain, you know, ways of life.

- Mm hm.

- Talk about some of the complexities that that brings to what you do.

- The fortunate thing is by being in districts now, the supervisor in the district has around an area that has some similarities.

But, you compare my district which is the most western, northwestern.

- Western, northwestern.

Okay.

- To, say, the fourth district, which is out in the Coachella Valley.

- Sure.

- Night and day.

And so, some of the needs in the valley are very different than what we have in the northwestern area.

And then, you go down to the southwestern, which is the-- you know, you've got wine country and all that area.

And so, they're all so different.

And, you're right.

There is a difference in the districts, but we all have the needs of having to be meeting our businesses, our constituents, and that's what we're hired for.

We're hired by their vote and their trust that we are going to do the best job we can.

- Tell us about how county government interfaces with other levels of government; city below, state, and even federal on the top.

- We all have to work together.

And, sometimes that's where there's a challenge, because we have different ideas of how to accomplish something or what the end result would be.

But, the relationship with our cities is who we represent.

So, that's really important that we have those good working relationships.

But, it also is important for our representatives because they have another whole body.

So, whether it's the state assembly or the state senate, that they are representing us and we wanna make sure that our voices are heard and our needs are met, as well as in the federal government with Congress and with the senators.

And so, we do meet on a regular basis with all the representatives, taking turns so that we don't Brown Act.

But, it's really important that those relationships are constantly maintained and we work hard on it.

- Tell us about the fight for resources.

As you mentioned, Riverside County is resourced on some level.

But, there's this notion, and you can clear it up for us, that perhaps Riverside and San Bernardino County don't always get the love with the resources following that maybe LA County does; maybe counties that are, you know, along the ocean or in different places, and that kind of thing.

Tell us about just some of the resource challenges- capabilities, as well as challenges- that you see in your position.

- There's two things.

The first one is the most important.

We are under-resourced and can't seem to get it fixed.

And, what I'm saying is there's a formula that was designed particularly for behavioral health dollars.

That is where a big challenge is.

- Sure.

- And, it falls over to where it affects every other area because when we're short in one area, you gotta somehow meet the needs there.

Back in 1999, and then 2000, they did a realignment of this formula.

And so, when I was in my first supervisor training, I was in Sacramento, and it was before I was even sworn in, and I was asking about it.

We had somebody who was involved in that, in the inception of the realignment.

And, basically was told, "There's 58 counties.

If you want more money, you gotta convince them to give you some of theirs."

I thought, "Are you serious?"

And, that was like beyond conception for me.

I couldn't understand that.

So, I have spent quite a bit of time, and I still talk to our congressional delegation, that there's gotta be a way of making a line item.

When you have Riverside County, the fastest growing county in the state, and we have got number 57, I think, on resources- - Wow.

- per capita?

You can't continue to do that.

Our numbers are that from when we started growing, say, 30 years ago and you grow and you need more resources, and yet the funding mechanisms aren't changing to meet that.

And, those counties that are not growing are still-- they have extra money.

You know, it was really brought to our attention when the judges-- when Senator Roth was trying to get more judges down in Riverside County and San Bernardino, and you had judges that weren't working in other counties because they were overstaffed for judges.

And yet, we have got such long waits in our court system because we don't have enough judges.

And, there just is this inability for them to make a change, because they don't wanna upset anybody.

But yet, those that are doing what we're supposed to be doing are not getting the funding.

- This is great because you say something in your answer to a question, I go, "bing!"

(Karen chuckles) You know?

But, behavioral health.

We got to talking about that quite a bit with COVID.

So, you're goin' along; you're swamped.

You're, you know, Riverside County Supervisor.

There's not as much time to do everything that you need to do and the million things you have to do, and along comes COVID.

Tell me about the space that the board was in, the space that the county was in, what the board would do about it, and some of the lessons learned, particularly as it pertains to illuminating some of the areas where we really had needs.

- Fortunate we had departments that really worked for preparation for an emergency.

And, you kind of wonder, "Will we ever have that?"

And, we found out that they were trained.

Our EMS department, thank God that they were trained and they practiced and they were aware.

Our director, Bruce Barton, did a marvelous job on making sure that resources were available to businesses, to everybody else.

Our public health, which was under scrutiny throughout the nation; every public health director was under scrutiny about what we were doing.

And, that was the most difficult because you had such a polarized-?

You know?

If you do this, you're-- it became so party and partisan.

And, this was lives and deaths.

And some things, you know, could happen one way and some things don't.

It's not about party and yet people made it, and, to me, that was the most difficult thing, was making it so partisan.

And, if you wore a mask, then you know you were phobic and this and that, and it just got so outlandish.

And yet, Riverside County had a little bit of that and we made it through it with a very diverse board.

Our board was very diverse, and yet we came to compromising decisions and was able to move it forward.

So, it was-- COVID was one of those things that kind of was an aha that all that time, public health and EMS, our emergency management department, really worked hard to be prepared and they were able to show their abilities.

- [Joe] Tell us about some of the things that you're most proud of.

You're in the beginning of your second term now.

You've been there several years.

What are some of the things that you're proud of having accomplished and been a part of thus far?

- [Karen] You know, my district is around the Santa Ana River and we are having, like every other place, a challenge with homelessness individuals, people who are without homes, and those that choose to live in our Santa Ana River bottom.

The problem is, is it's not just about them.

It's about what their behavior affects those living around it with fires.

And, you know, when you have the rains that we've had over the last couple of years and the fact that we had people in the river bottom.

And then, we'd have our first responders have to go and rescue 'em, and you're putting their lives at jeopardy.

So, those are the small things but they're big.

And, we started, in the beginning, a homeless coalition.

- Hmm.

- And, we worked.

All five of my cities at that time- 'cause we've changed in January- all five of my cities jumped on board and we had Army Corps of Engineers, Fish and Wildlife, all of my county departments.

We all worked and met on a monthly basis, at the time we started in Zoom, but information was shared, and needs of what we needed to be doing next.

And, it was everybody at the table at the same time, and it's still going on.

So, working together as a coalition and being able to meet the needs.

And then, suddenly the state gave us an $11 million grant to help us because we were doing what we're supposed to be doing.

So, when coalitions are formed and they continue, I think that's how you get things done.

And, it is.

It's all about working with people working with departments together.

- What makes Riverside County unique and special not only in the Inland Empire, but statewide, you know, so that people ought to know this is why Riverside County needs to be okay because the state's future is directly tied to it?

What are the things that make Riverside County unique and that are selling points for you as a person that advocates for the county and serves the county?

- Within our county alone, there's so many great places to visit.

Within one hour you can get to the mountains; you can get to the beach; you can get to the desert.

The opportunities are so great for recreation, for living.

If you like the heat, you can go out into the desert.

If you don't, you can come more, you know, southwestern part where it's cooler.

If you like the wine countries-- and we just have such a variety of opportunities to live and to work.

And, you know, you mentioned earlier about the working, and that's one thing we really are having a challenge with.

'Cause people come to Riverside County, it's less expensive than LA and Orange County.

And so, they come out here and then they say, "Well, we want jobs that pay that."

Well, your housing and your basic needs are all wrapped around the pay.

And so, if we raise the rates-?

Or, the pay rates, then you're gonna have a higher cost of living.

And that's the whole thing, is Riverside County has less expenses to live, but if you choose to drive that for the higher pay.

But, people don't put their time driving, the cost it is for that, their stress levels.

And, if you start taking that all out, Riverside County is a great place because you're still mid-income or you can have higher incomes if you looked.

- So, that might connect to our next question.

What would you see as some of the biggest challenges that Riverside County's facing?

- Health care.

We don't have enough-- we found that during COVID that we really need to focus in on health care and behavioral health.

And, those are things that need to, 'cause you've got in 2030, the seismic has to be done on all the hospitals that are a little bit older.

And so, not only do we not have enough health care, we're losing doctors.

We're now getting more doctors that are wanting to work, not hang the shingle on their own.

They wanna work within a practice; they wanna work within a host system.

And so, we really need to encourage more students to get into the medical field.

In fact, IEHP?

We started a scholarship program.

- Wow.

- And so, we give a significant amount of funding, as long as they sign a contract to agree to stay the next five years after they're out of practice, and hopefully that'll keep them in Riverside County.

- What are some of the programs that you'd want people to know about that they don't know?

Like, resources that are available to them, to citizens that maybe are a little underutilized and maybe the word's just not out on them?

- Well, we have a wide variety of resources.

We have-- and, we have a new veterans director for our Veterans Department.

Veterans, there are abilities to get resources in Riverside County and we just need to get them now more active with that.

We have-- We have some great departments covering all different-- whether it's our Office on Aging.

The problem is people are afraid to reach out to government or afraid to reach out if there's a challenge, not knowing the unintended consequences, so they'd rather be quiet.

And, I just keep trying to say, "Just ask" You know, there are some resources available.

For our homeless, we really- particularly with children- if I had an area that I really am heart strong on, and that's our children.

- Mm hm.

- Parents make decisions that sometimes are not thought out of how it's going to affect our kids.

And, I've always said is that it really does take a village to raise our children.

And, these children are put in situations that they have no say in it and they have to live with it, and some of them don't know anything different.

And so, we really need to reach out and help our schools when they have some students that are having issues.

This goes back to the nonprofits of working together with our youth, because we've gotta help them build their toolbox with resources to help them become successful.

And, if that's not what they're seeing in their home life, if that's what we're seeing with friends, then they're not gonna have that idea to move forward.

And so, we really need to do what we can for our children.

- Let's look into the future a little bit.

Take a look in the crystal ball and let us know what would be on your wish list about where Riverside County is that it might not quite be yet, what it's doing that maybe it's not quite doing yet, that 5, 10 years from now you wanna be able to say, "Riverside County is now doing" this, "is now better at" this.

What would those things be?

- We've got two-- a couple, three big projects that we're looking at long-term.

One is we have a new wellness center we're trying to get tied with behavioral health.

Really trying to reach out to those that have some behavioral health issues, mental health issues.

Because when you talk about homeless, you have the face of homeless, which is what scares people, but that's not really the homeless that we can help.

But, we can if we give them substance abuse, behavioral health help.

And so, with the wellness center, and there's great ideas that are already in the works with Dr. Chang, who's our behavioral health director.

He has got some wellness centers on the plan working with some of our substance abuse centers.

And, I think this will really change once we get these things going.

Also with our children, we have a huge campus that we're just starting to begin- just in the middle of the land purchase- and trying to get these things off the ground and moving forward.

So, when you're talking about it, they're starting; it just is gonna be a long process to come to fruition.

So, those are the things, and then working all the needs in our jail system.

We have a jail that we don't utilize fully and I know that's a sore spot for some.

And then, we have our firefighters and trying to get them working with the CAL FIRE.

'Cause we contract with CAL FIRE, and all these different things with our sheriff, the fire, it's all there.

It's now just building on that and moving forward.

So, we have great things in the works.

So if those come to fruition, I'd be very happy.

- How do you encourage folks?

Talk to the person that might be a parent, you know, someone that uses county services, but they're so busy dealing with life that maybe they're not payin' attention.

Maybe they haven't gone to a meeting, or whatever else.

Or, maybe the young person that's inspired and wants to get involved in government.

Whether it's actual involvement in terms of someone running for office or serving on a board.

Or, whether it's just somebody paying attention when they wouldn't otherwise, but they're too busy dealing with their reality.

Which, really should dictate that they should be; that makes it more urgent.

But, when people are just dealing with what's in front of 'em, how do you encourage someone to get involved at whatever level, so that they know more about what's going on around them?

- I do a lot in the community, and I always talk about the 80-hour work weeks.

Kind of; it's not every week!

(chuckles) So, I'm not saying-!

But, I truly believe that when we are in the community, when my staff are in the community and be able to talk to constituents, we're just not up in this big building and not reachable.

I think what's most important is to let people know we are reachable; we are accessible.

And, I make myself as best accessible.

I rarely turn down meetings.

I am out in the community.

I meet with them.

We have town hall meetings.

We try and get to where they are so that we can find out how we could do a better job.

And, I think that's really-- it's a two-way street.

Can't always say that they don't come to us, so then we have to come to them.

- So, give us some homework.

You know, somebody's watched-- and they-- watching this episode and they're really inspired.

What's the follow-up?

What's the next thing someone wants to do if they wanna know more about Riverside County, the services that are offered.

Are there places that they can walk in?

What is it that someone can do that wants to really build on this discussion?

- You know, we have-- I hate saying "on the website", but that's the place to begin.

- Right.

- Because, that'll tell you the resources.

We have so many boards that people could serve on; not taking-- not eating the whole elephant at one time, one bite at a time.

Just experience what opportunities are there.

Because sometimes when you put yourself-- one step: whether it's going to a MAC meeting, which is the Municipal Advisory Committee.

Those are for the communities that are not incorporated for the cities.

The MAC meetings are kind of our city council meetings in an unincorporated area.

Then, you have your city council meetings.

They have plenty of opportunities on sitting on boards and on nonprofits.

I tell everybody-- I started a women's leadership conference.

We had our 12th conference last month in September.

And, the whole reason I started that- I was on city council at the time- and we needed to get more women involved.

And so, I started this conference.

It started smaller and we had 800 attendees two weeks ago.

And, the opportunity of learning, just by spending a few hours and hearing from people of all different walks.

And, that's the whole point is take that first step: attend a conference.

And then, find out what resources are there 'cause we have a lot of expo booths.

And, my whole goal is to say, take a step in a nonprofit.

Ask for something more responsible at your place where you work.

Just being a cheerleader for others and giving them the encouragement that they can take that next step.

Life balance is so important.

Set your priorities, and that is, you know, what's the most important thing in your life?

I'm done with serving in public service.

My family's gonna be there.

So, I certainly don't wanna burn bridges with my family, and I tell people that.

Who is-- what is the most important thing that you're doing?

What are we doing this for?

We're doing it for our families, our children, the next generation.

And, we have to make sure that we're doing this in a way that we feel happy and when we look in the mirror, we're gonna like what we see.

- Riverside County Supervisor Karen Spiegel, thank you so much for joining us.

- Thank you for having me.

- Well, thank each and every one of you for watching the show.

And, remember, each and every one of you can go to YouTube, watch this episode, watch other episodes, plus other exclusive content.

So, let folks know you can get as much "Inland Edition" as you can possibly handle.

Until then, let's keep going down the road building bridges one conversation at a time.

Till then, see ya.

[uplifting music and vocals] ♪ ♪ ♪ [softer music] ♪ ♪ ♪ [music fades]