In a campaign for civic leadership, CHASS alumnus Philip Falcone is leveraging his diverse educational background and community ties to Riverside for a seat on the Riverside City Council to represent Ward 1. City elections will be held on Tuesday, March 5.

“It is now my life’s mission to repay the goodwill shown to my family by dedicating myself to public service and particularly by serving on the City Council,” Falcone said.

Falcone graduated from UCR in 2020, with a bachelor of arts degree in gender studies and a minor in art history. His time at UCR laid down the educational foundation of his career with opportunities for personal growth. 

“My experience in CHASS was a time of great knowledge expansion learning about my field of study and also learning about myself,” he said. “The faculty were supportive, interested in our growth as students, and experts in their fields.”

According to Falcone, his time at UCR equipped him with essential communication and advocacy skills which he considers the most consequential in his career and candidacy. 

In 2017, Falcone became Riverside’s youngest-ever city commissioner as the Chairman of the Cultural Heritage Board. Previously a Senior Advisor for Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson (who is also a CHASS graduate), Falcone attributes his educational knowledge as a CHASS major as significant to his role. 

“My expertise from my gender studies courses has been invaluable, particularly when it comes to gendered communication and women in American politics,” he said.

Having spent the last six of eight years working in Riverside City Hall alongside Mayor Rusty Bailey and Mayor Lock Dawson, Falcone has been intimately involved in Riverside’s governance.  

“Being that up close to the way our city is run, I have gained more valuable experience than any other career path could have prepared me for the role on the city council,” Falcone said. 

Following Mayor Lock Dawson’s 2020 election, Falcone took on his previous role as Senior Advisor, leading Ward 1 initiatives including the Riverside Military Wall of Honor and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial renovations, Beautify Riverside cleanups, and public art installations. In December 2023, Falcone left his role at the Mayor’s Office to campaign full-time alongside serving as a professor in oral communications at California Baptist University and representing the City of Riverside as a County of Riverside Historical Commissioner. 

Falcone’s decision to run for city council is deeply rooted in a personal experience when he and his family moved from New Orleans to Riverside following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This change ignited a sense of gratitude for Riverside’s warmth and kindness towards his family which Falcone would like to repay, he said.

As Falcone continues his campaign, he looks forward to serving the people of Riverside, contributing to the city’s growth, and maintaining its close-knit sense of community. 

“My long-term vision is to make Riverside a thriving city where people value and respect our past as our cherished identity, but are hopeful and excited to embrace change and the future,” he said.

For more information about Philip Falcone and his campaign, please visit falconeforriverside.com