{"id":56133,"date":"2025-07-11T06:24:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T06:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/56133\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T06:24:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T06:24:14","slug":"family-remembers-late-lemon-grove-councilman-nbc-7-san-diego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/56133\/","title":{"rendered":"Family remembers late Lemon Grove councilman \u2013 NBC 7 San Diego"},"content":{"rendered":"

The family of beloved Lemon Grove community leader Sitivi “Steve” Faiai, who had just been elected to his first term on the city council, is honoring his memory after he died suddenly on Tuesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cameron Faiai, one of Steve Faiai\u2019s two sons, said his dad was his best friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad was my backbone in all aspects of my life, spiritually and just throughout everything I did,\u201d Cameron Faiai said. \u201cHe was there. He was always there.”<\/p>\n

Steve Faiai served as a councilmember for the city of Lemon Grove. He was just elected in November. Cameron Faiai said his father had a heart of service toward his community.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was so intentional with every single relationship he had with everybody. It didn\u2019t matter who you were,\u201d Cameron Faiai said.<\/p>\n

Steve Faiai\u2019s legacy extends well beyond city hall. His other son, Riley Faiai, said his father also worked at Sprouts, pastored OB One church in Ocean Beach and coached football at Helix High School in La Mesa.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved those kids more than life. He loved teaching them. He loved coaching them, watching them play, and he was always so proud,\u201d Riley Faiai said.<\/p>\n

But the trait they both remember most about their father is how he loved those around him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just longed and desired to love how Jesus loved, and he wanted the city to be full of love,\u201d Cameron Faiai said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA reflection of his love that he gave to them, you know, it\u2019s all just being reciprocated back to our family,\u201d Riley Faiai said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved, loved, loved my mom. That was his first love, and he loved doing everything with her,” Cameron Faiai said. “He was just such a perfect picture of love and how to love people just boundlessly and endlessly.”<\/p>\n

Steve Faiai\u2019s sons said they\u2019ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community, but they\u2019re not surprised because it\u2019s a reflection of the love his father gave to others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so proud of my dad and the legacy he\u2019s left behind,\u201d Riley Faiai said.<\/p>\n

The city offered its condolences to the family in a statement saying, in part, \u201cCouncilmember Faiai\u2019s impact on Lemon Grove was profound. He brought a spirit of compassion and integrity to the City Council, always putting our community first. From advocating for youth programs and public safety to championing solutions to homelessness, Steve truly led from the heart. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and everyone touched by his leadership. Councilmember Faiai\u2019s dedication and care for the Lemon Grove community will not be forgotten.”<\/p>\n

The city of Lemon Grove has not yet said what will happen with his position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The family of beloved Lemon Grove community leader Sitivi “Steve” Faiai, who had just been elected to his…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":56134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,24349,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-56133","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-lemon-grove","12":"tag-san-diego","13":"tag-sandiego","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114833172930726910","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}