23 Sep ‘If Service Is Beneath You, Leadership Will Always Be Beyond You,’ Says Antioch Candidate

Dominique King, who is running for a City Council seat, will hold a fundraiser and rally Tuesday in Antioch. (Photo courtesy of Dominique King)

Interview, Joe Porrello

Name: Dominique King

Age: 38

Relevant Past Jobs: Co-owner of Lean in With the Kings, which deals with educating people through health and wellness on the importance of community accountability and active involvement

Public service: Eight years of educational advocacy for children with disabilities and at-risk youth to make sure they have necessary resources; Chief Informations Officer of the Oscar Grant Foundation, which offers grief counseling for those affected by gun violence and advocates nationally for policy changes

Highest education: A.A. in Psychology, Los Medanos College; working on B.A. in Psychology from Cal State East Bay

District: 2

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

CC Pulse: For those that don’t know your background, how has it shaped your decision to run for City Council? Why are you running, in general?

Dominique King: I’m the second oldest of five children, raised in a family that experienced the same socioeconomic insecurities as many families here do. My family included mental health challenges along with domestic violence. By the time I was 14, I already had housing displacement, and by age 16 I was actually unhoused and a high school dropout. Then I left everything behind and began Job Corps in Clearfield, Utah. After I graduated from Job Corps in 2002, I was still homeless and worked three jobs until I was able to afford living in a room with eight other people in a two bedroom apartment. Finally, I was able to secure my first union job with Safeway, which really took me from having very limited options, to the world opening up. 

I always ask myself, ‘What could have been available to me in my own community and what impact would that have had on my life?’ Through that lens, whether it’s being involved with nonprofits or my community, it’s always in the backdrop of how I operate — dealing especially with our youth, because what if I’m the one person that can change the trajectory of someone’s life? 

When I ran for the school board in 2022, I was out there door-knocking and talking with the community, and recognized my upbringing wasn’t as unique as I thought it was. I started thinking about how we could effectively make changes to enable the best education possible and began formatting ideas around education policy and community engagement because I expected to win. But when I didn’t win, I never stopped my work and thought about how to solve the problems without a title. So when the opportunity came to run for City Council, I looked at the climate of my city, understanding we were operating from this place of lack and not really tapping into what was already our potential. From there, I just said, ‘If I’m going to complain, I have to do something, right?’ It also aligns with what I do as the chair for Parks and Recreations Commissions, which requires me to understand policy, budgets, CIPs (Continuous Improvement Plans), what our housing issues are, and our influx of residents in and out, as well as what is equitable. I really feel like I have a grasp on my city as a whole. If we’re going to bridge this gap, we first have to decide that we’re not old Antioch or new Antioch — we’re Antioch.

CC Pulse: What would you say is the No. 1 issue facing Antioch right now and what can be done to fix it?

DK: I would say the No. 1 issue in Antioch is public safety. But it’s more than just needing additional police officers. It’s really about ensuring we’re helping unhoused people access resources and not criminalizing them. It’s about making people feel safe because they’re not only protected by officers that represent them but feel safe with officers that represent them. On the other end, it’s about making sure we have dedicated resources within our police departments so that they can compartmentalize their responsibilities and be available as needed. 

CC Pulse: What other concerns are you hearing from residents in your district and what will you do to address those concerns? 

DK: Housing is another issue; Most people that live in Antioch cannot afford to buy (a home) here. We need to talk about rent stabilization and creating housing of which a  percentage is dedicated to our socioeconomically disadvantaged. We need to talk about having zoning for mixed use so that we’re able to create inner housing revenue in our city and doing it in a way that is appealing to everyone and not segregating our community. 

Very specific to District 2, one of the things that I continue to hear is around our lack of infrastructure. What you find on G Street, James Donlon (Boulevard), Lone Tree (Way), D Street, is that we’ve created speedways — there’s no traffic signaling, speed bumps or roundabouts. It does not feel safe on our streets getting from point A to point B. 

CC Pulse: There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Antioch’s Police Department. As a City Council member, do you think there’s a way for you to help rebuild trust between local law enforcement and the community?

DK: There’s definitely a pathway, not just for me as a City Council member, but me as just a resident here in Antioch — building those relationships, talking with our interim chief, lieutenants and captains, and finding out where they stand, how they want to engage with our community, and how I can help. 

My husband is three years away from retiring in law enforcement, and I deeply value our police for what they do every single day, but I also understand what happened in our city was reprehensible. The behavior displayed was horrific and disgusting. We do have a responsibility to help build that trust back, and I think as a City Council member, part of that is supporting our officers… but it is also holding law enforcement accountable through appropriate checks and balances. I think going forward we can do a better job of that.

CC Pulse: Lastly, what message do you have for voters as they get closer to Election Day, and why should voters choose you?

DK: If we are dedicated to moving our city forward , we cannot do that if we are not collectively on the same page. We need someone that is coming into this seat from a space of trying to build, not from a space of wanting to be divisive, not from a space of saying, ‘I’m not going to work with you if I don’t personally like you.’ When it comes to my life experience, I know that it doesn’t matter if I don’t like you; you could have a really good idea, and I should be open and willing to listen to it if it’s going to be for the betterment of my community. I think we need to get back to the place of serving instead of ego. If service is beneath you, leadership will always be beyond you.