Cindy Chavez for Mayor

Name:	Cindy Chavez for Mayor
Office:	Mayor
Website:	cindychavez4mayor.com

Background:

I am currently in my second term on the City Council representing San Jose's Downtown area, District 3. I also serve as the Vice Mayor, a position I've held since 2005. My involvement in bettering our community started well before I first ran for office. I have been an advocate for improving the lives of working families in the Valley through leadership positions with the South Bay Labor Council and Working Partnerships USA. As Director of Education and Outreach I lead the campaign effort for the Democratic Party in 1994, 1998 and the special elections in 1995.

As Council member, I helped champion the Children's Health Initiative which provides access to insurance for all San Jose's kids. I remain a strong advocate of the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative which has played a vital role in empowering community members and directing much needed resources to San Jose's neighborhoods. I also founded and chaired the Megan's Law Task Force which has helped keep our children safe and increase San Jose's over all public safety and served on a statewide steering committee for the No On Knight Initiative which extended equal rights to the gay and lesbian community.

I serve on several Boards of organizations whose values and goals reflect my own priorities, such as women's rights, education and health. I am a board member of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte and the Chair of the Valley Transportation Agency, and have served on the boards of organizations such as the YWCA and the Third Street Community Center. I have also have had the privilege of serving as the emcee for BAYMEC for over five years and was political director for the Santa Clara County Democratic Party.

Goals:

As the daughter of carpenter and a teacher's aid, I learned the value of community activism from an early age. My efforts for bulding a stronger and more vibrant San Jose started as a community activists and has continued through my two terms as councilmember.

San Jose is the 10th largest city in the country, the first large city in the country with no majority ethnicity, home to top universities, and serves as the Capital of Silicon Valley.

Yet San Jose's success is not guaranteed. We must strive to evolve, pursue new opportunities, and create an environment that rewards innovation. We must continue to be a City where diversity is honored, education prized, the health of our children valued.

We must fight to create the highest quality of life of any large City in America.

These are not easy goals to achieve. It will take a leader with a strong record of accomplishment, a proven ability to build coalitions, and a dedication to making this City great.

I believe I can be that person.

I have a proven record of accomplishments, both during my work with the South Bay AFL-CIO and the past seven years as Councilmember and now Vice Mayor for the City of San Jose. Representing the Downtown and serving on numerous Boards and Commissions, I have worked with a wide range of constituency groups and been a leader on the toughest issues the City has faced.

My efforts have earned me the respect of my colleagues (all not running for mayor have endorsed my candidacy) and those I have had the pleasure of working with over the past seven years. In particular, my work with and on behalf of working families has provided a political base that has been invaluable.
San Jose is the 10th largest city in the country, the first large city in the country with no majority ethnicity, home to top universities, and serves as the Capital of Silicon Valley.

Yet San Jose's success is not guaranteed. We must strive to evolve, pursue new opportunities, and create an environment that rewards innovation. We must continue to be a City where diversity is honored, education prized, the health of our children valued.

We must fight to create the highest quality of life of any large City in America.

These are not easy goals to achieve. It will take a leader with a strong record of accomplishment, a proven ability to build coalitions, and a dedication to making this City great.

I believe I can be that person.

I have a proven record of accomplishments, both during my work with the South Bay AFL-CIO and the past seven years as Councilmember and now Vice Mayor for the City of San Jose. Representing the Downtown and serving on numerous Boards and Commissions, I have worked with a wide range of constituency groups and been a leader on the toughest issues the City has faced.

My efforts have earned me the respect of my colleagues (all not running for mayor have endorsed my candidacy) and those I have had the pleasure of working with over the past seven years. In particular, my work with and on behalf of working families has provided a political base that has been invaluable.

Issues:

Economic development, education, and public safety will form the basis of my top priorities.

Specifically,

• Economic development

o Generating opportunities for good jobs that provide living wages
o Increase investments and incentives for affordable housing to retain and attract a diverse and talented workforce and to provide working families and first-time homebuyers with opportunities to live near their workplaces.
o Creating the state of the art public transportation system that will not only increase the quality of life for San Jose and Bay Area residents by reducing traffic congestion, air and noise pollution but also generate revenue for future public projects. I'll work with Mayors from other Bay Area cities to bring BART to San Jose, improve CalTrain, light rail, bus rapid transit and bus connections to relieve commuter overload on our roads.
o Ensuring an attractive and supportive environment for small businesses to grow and develop by minimizing obstructions and building partnerships.
o Guaranteeing the health of our residents and their families by championing the Children's Health Initiative and supporting the Healthy Neighborhoods Venture Fund for health care.
• Education

o Use the bully pulpit to make education a community-wide priority. I am proud of the homework centers, early education centers and branch library improvements we have made in recent years, but we must go further. I am committed to the following: every child must read at grade level by 3rd grade; restoring arts education to foster creativity and experiential learning; and working with local public and private sector institutions of higher learning to guarantee that no local high school graduate who meets the entrance requirements will be turned away for lack of funds.

• Public Safety

o San Jose is the safest big city in America. As Mayor, I will work to ensure that San Jose remains the safest big city in the country and that every one of our neighborhoods, regardless of socio-economical status will have clean and safe streets.
o I will do this by remaining vigilant about gang abatement, after school and learning center programs. Giving youths more opportunities for success will ensure the success of San Jose.
The next generation of Big City Mayors can only succeed if they build coalitions among all who benefit from a healthy economy -- investors to consumers and business executives to labor representatives.

Alone among the candidates, I have built city-wide coalitions to work on ballot measures for parks and libraries and on sales taxes for transportation that made the Valley a more attractive place to do business.

These legislative priorities will ensure our Valley's economic edge and quality of life.

Grassroots Support:

Since this is one of the few major city races in the country where the field organization still has a huge impact, grassroots organizing will play a decisive role in this race. The winner of the race will ultimately be decided by who builds the best grassroots organization.

DFA Values:

I am a life long democratic organizer and activists. I was on the executive board of the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, I was the Director of Education and Outreach for the South Bay Labor Council where I worked helping dozen of local, state and national democrats get elected to office while focusing on strengthening and expanding the democratic base. I met my husband at the San Jose United Democratic Campaign Headquarters while working to help elect Dianne Feinstein Governor - she lost the state but won our county. I have been endorsed by nearly every democratic elected official that represents San Jose at the state and federal level. While this is a non-partisan election I have chosen not to hire Republican consultants on my campaign, unlike other candidates. I have also been endorsed by the Democratic Forum of Silicon Valley. Last year I had the honor of being selected the Legislator of the Year for the Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Islander Democratic Club. I also co-founded the Latino Democratic Forum of Silicon Valley.

In my seven years I have an unparalleled record of socially progressive accomplishments - from the Children's Health Initiative, to new high-rise and affordable housing, to the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative and supporting the recognition of gay marriage. It is vital for the next mayor to be able to pull together coalitions and work with community organizations and business leaders to deliver the vital services our residents deserve.

I have balanced my socially progressive actions with fiscially responsible policies. I have exercised leadership on balancing deficit budgets over the past three years. Some years we have cut nearly 20% over the previous years. In each year, I have worked with my Council colleagues to reach agreement on a fair and balanced budget.

We have cut costs from City services by streamlining operations. We have raised fees for some services, for example in the Building and Planning Divisions that were too low to cover the cost of delivering those services. These efforts must continue. In addition, we must balance our desire to provide crucial services to residents and businesses alike with our budget reality.