The city of Chula Vista ratified its elections results at its City Council meeting Dec. 8, swearing in District 3 Council member Stephen Padilla for his second consecutive term on the City Council.
Padilla served two terms on the City Council from 1994-2002 and then was elected as the 38th mayor of Chula Vista in 2002.
Council member-elect Andrea Cardenas was also sworn in as a council member representing District 4. Cardenas beat incumbent Mike Diaz by a 4 percent margin.
Mayor Mary Casillas Salas said she appreciated the four years of service that Diaz gave to the city and the hard work he dedicated to District 4.
“I believe you were one of the hardest working council members that I have served with on the dais,” said Casillas Salas. “I saw how you took care of your community and you kept track of every single thing that you did. Your accomplishments for your district were many and your accomplishments for the city. Your work was admired throughout San Diego County.
“I know that the work you do outside of your council duties, especially your dedication to prison ministry, is a wonderful calling. You go into the prisons and give hope and change people’s lives through your example, and your faith,” said Casillas Salas.
Diaz said in 2016 he thanked God for his opportunity to serve his community. He said there were so many “blessings” he has had over the past four years.
“Some of those were meeting so many great people, many different organizations that I have learned so much about and the great things that they are doing for their community,” said Diaz. “It is abundantly clear to me that the city has so many amazing people doing so much work with so little. At the end of the day, it is not about me, it is about the people that work with us.”
Diaz said that his work was not about council or staff, but more about the community coming together to face its challenges. He said the work of everyone involved has helped the city and its residents face the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Diaz said some of the accomplishments that he was proud to be part of were dismantling the illegal pot shops, working on the Bridge Shelter for the homeless, finishing the bayfront, and the work done in public safety.
“The fire stations in my district were so old it was great to see two new fire stations in my district. I was able to push forward affordable staffing that was a great benefit to the community in reducing response times,” he said. “On the police department side, we are getting around 40 new positions. The Neighborhood Protection Unit, which I fought extremely hard for has now been implemented. It will impact the quality of life for people in our community.”
Diaz said it was great working with District 2 Council member Jill Galvez in making west Chula Vista a better place to live.
“I think we showed Chula Vista that it is okay for us to work together to make the community safer,” he said. “I want to thank Council member McCann for recruiting me and I hope that I certainly met all your expectations that you had for me.”
District 1 Council member John McCann said Diaz lived a life of service that will live on for many years to come. He said Diaz’s visible integrity exceeded any and every expectation of all the citizens that he served, especially in District 4.
“When I walked, that was an area that I found where people felt left out,” said McCann. “With you and your council and [Senior Council Aide] Chris Ramirez, they had hope that you were the ones serving them in being great to them. You have been a tremendous advocate for firefighters and many different things. I think it shows how innovative you were. It was not a yes or no, it was always a let us find out how we can find a solution. I think that is what has made you so successful. People go into politics for different reasons, but I know that yours is to serve your community because you care about your residents. I know if somebody asks you, you will give them the shirt off your back.”
Padilla said watching and working with Diaz, even before he took office, he looks forward in seeing what Diaz will continue to do in serving his community. He said he realizes that the “rough and tumble of legislating” is that they do not always see issues in the same way, always have the same politics, but his admiration for Diaz came from his personification of service through actions, not words.
“One thing I love and admire about you is that you roll up your sleeves and are one of the hardest working colleagues that I have every worked with in all of my years in service,” said Padilla. “Your service goes beyond political office. You are a man of integrity and heart and you prove it through your actions. Your district is the better for that.”
Casillas Salas welcomed District 4 Council member Andrea Cardenas to City Council. She said that Cardenas is a life-long resident of southwest Chula Vista, the youngest of three born to an immigrant working household of Mexican origin.
“She is a product of Chula Vista public schools, graduating with honors from Hilltop Senior High School before attending UC Riverside receiving her bachelor of arts in political science, minoring in public policy,” she said. “She served as a community representative to the mayor of San Diego where she advised on issues on binational affairs as well as the mayor’s representative for the city’s District 8 which included the communities of Barrio Logan, Sherman Heights, San Ysidro and Otay Mesa.”
Cardenas said she was “over the moon” and thrilled to be able to represent the community that raised her.
“I am the product of so many different people,” she said. “My parents, my family, but I am at the place I am today because I have a lot of people through my life that looked out after me to make sure that I was given opportunities. That I was on the right track. All of those people were from my community.”
