Cesar Fernandez is running against Rudy Ramirez for Chula Vista’s City Council District 4 seat. Fernandez, 51, has taught in public education for more than 25 years.
“I’m a father, a husband, a Little League board member, and I am also an elected official on the Chula Vista Elementary School District Board of Education,” said the Democrat. “As a life-long educator, my career and my passion has been to do good things for kids. I believe if you are taking care of the kids, you are taking care of the community. Now, I am looking to take my skillset and my passion to City Hall and advocate for all the residents in District 4.”
Fernandez moved to Chula Vista in 2006 to start teaching at the Sweetwater Union High School District.
“I fell in love with Chula Vista just as I fell in love with my wife here, a Castle Park girl, and I have never wanted to leave this community. We moved from Second and Elm, over to Cedar and Elm because I did not want to leave the west side. I love the west side. There are people here who have long, deep roots, and I believe that there is a history and a culture here that I identify with,” he said.
Fernandez said he decided to run because of his love for the community.
“I taught here. I do the afterschool programs for the SUHSD, and those are all along the west side. I have received the grants that fund the six programs to keep kids safe and off the streets, so I have a deep commitment to this community,” he said.
Fernandez said his top three priorities for this district starts and ends with public safety.
“We are the only the only city that has a funded tax measure for public safety. There is no reason why we should not have the cleanest and safest streets in the nation. I believe that we deserve exactly what you see on the east side, which are clean streets, more green spaces, more parks, less traffic, less pollution. Those are my immediate goals for District 4,” he said. “I also want more access to the jobs that are coming from the bayfront. Chula Vistans deserve to work where they live when possible, so I think we deserve first-access and training for those jobs that will come with all the development happening on the bayfront.”
Fernandez said he will work with local school districts, hiring agencies, and labor groups to try to strengthen and create pathways to lead residents towards those jobs.
Housing is another priority.
“I want to see more housing period,” he said. “It does not have to be affordable housing, but housing helps everywhere. I would like to see different types of housing, whether it be mixed-use, high density, single-family homes, I would like to see more housing developments across District 4.”
District 4 has the largest number of transit stations, and Fernandez said it is still not enough with the development of the Chula Vista Bayfront and the Gaylord hotel.
“It is going to be difficult to come here and visit,” he said. “To get here to Broadway, or Third Avenue, wherever they want to go to eat, shop, or hangout, if you do not own a car, how are you going to get over those bridges? Those are not pedestrian or bike bridges, so we have those conversations as well. We need massive upgrades to transit and pedestrian options here. We are going to have a lot of people coming here to visit, and we are just not ready for that.”
Fernandez said he is concerned with the bayfront development, gentrification of west Chula Vista is a possibility.
“There needs to be a very high amount of accessibility and discussion with the community about what they would like to see. The one thing I do not want to see happen is losing the identity of District 4. We have Castle Park, the Montgomery area, the River Bottom, and we do not want to see people being pushed out, and then losing our identity. It is a challenge, and it is difficult because people want to see nice things, and everybody wants to live in a nice neighborhood. Development and beautification must happen, but without losing the soul of the community. That takes much conversation, data gathering, and distributing that information in a manner to get that done, and keep our identity here in District 4,” he said.
Ferndez said the best things in District 4 are its residents and identity.
“People are extremely proud to go to their local schools here. I have witnessed that with my wife’s friends here and locals getting out. There is an extreme pride in living here and it is the people and the potential that makes this district what it is. That beautification that is on Third Avenue, I want it to extend in District 4. I want that to be on Broadway south. I want those hip, thriving businesses here so it can be convention ready,” he said. “The challenge is cleanliness and public safety. How we deal with our homeless population. We cannot have people camping, doing drugs, anywhere there are kids, schools, and parks. We cannot have them around our small businesses, or they will leave. No other district has this problem like we do.”
Fernandez said the homeless crisis is a regional problem.
“We do not live on an island,” he said. “We need to ensure that San Diego’s encampment ban does not negatively impact Chula Vista by having their homeless people just moving down here. That makes it a completely regional problem. I believe that we need a behavior treatment facility here in or near District 4. One of the reasons the tiny houses are not nearly full is because there are rules, and we refuse to mix people who want to get cleaned up and helped with those that do not. I believe that is a smart approach. But we need a treatment center to help them separately. It is going to take a regional approach with nearby cities and the county to find a way to help fund a treatment center with those types of services nearby.”
Fernadez said he supports Measure P.
“I am the only candidate endorsed by the firefighters and the Chula Vista Police Association, and I believe we deserve the cleanest, safest streets in America.”
