Raised in District 4, Andrea Cardenas is the daughter of immigrants who moved from Mexico to southwest Chula Vista where they purchased and lost their first home. She said she understands the results of housing and food insecurity, at one time having to move in her aunt’s home with two other families. Cardenas said the reality is that this is still happening 20 years later in her district and that it is not acceptable.
“My upbringing was not unique to me,” she said. “I know people that are living this way and have the same issues, but I got the opportunity to get involved in my community and our local government when I was young.”
Cardenas, a 28-year-old Democrat, said that though she has helped many people run for office, it was not something she originally sought but after taking a look at her district today, she does not feel that it is receiving the recognition that is needed.
Cardenas involved herself in politics in high school, volunteering for the California Democratic Party in 2006. Cardenas works for a public relations and political consulting firm, specializing in communications for candidates running for office.
“That is how I got to meet our local elected leaders now,” she said. “Through my community organizing I was eventually able to work for the city of San Diego at the mayor’s office and helped develop policy. I also worked for non-profits to bring resources back to the community. I really transitioned from community organizer into policy at a different level.”
Cardenas said some of the issues that brought her to running for office was people boycotting Planned Parenthood, the only Planned Parenthood health center in South County, people rallying against the LGBTQ community, opposing Chula Vista as a Welcoming City, and that these things did not sit well with her.
District 4 is southwest Chula Vista, which is south of L Street and west of Interstate 185. Cardenas said it is seen by many as the eyesore of Chula Vista.
“Growing up here, that is tragic,” she said. “I have described it before like stacked closets that they have in their home to stuff things they do not want until they remember. What ends up happening with situations like that eventually, not only are your closets overflowing and you have to clean it up. In District 4 that is where we have all the tow yards, liquor stores, until recently we had the majority of the illegal dispensaries.”
Cardenas said some people confuse cleaning up with gentrifying and District 4 is full of opportunity and the opportunity to redevelop is huge.
“You see Main Street and it is filled with warehouses that are empty,” she said. “The economic community, the jobs are not here in a way that they should be. There is no way to build careers and the reason for this is that we do not have representation that is really meeting our community where they are at.”
Cardenas said it is critical to look at District 4 with it being one of the hardest zip codes hit by COVID-19, a majority of essential workers, people that cannot afford to stay home and many that are afraid to get tested because they may not be able to work.
“That is not okay,” she said. “People should feel safe enough to put their health and the health of their families first. The community had multi-generational homes per households. They do not have the means to separate themselves from their entire families if someone in the house caught COVID.”
Cardenas said there is a path to bring businesses and opportunities for the community that makes sense, but that it starts with having those conversations, and bringing in businesses that are not set up for failure.
“It is not what the community wants, and it is not what the community needs,” she said. “It is about setting up our small businesses so they can employ more people. We keep thinking that there is going to be that one big Amazon come into Chula Vista and solve all our problems, but that is not the reality. It is working in partnership with a community that we are representing and often not listened to.”
Cardenas tested positive for COVID-19 on March 26 shortly after Chula Vista Council member Stephan Padilla tested positive on March 14. She said that at that time it was scary for a lot of people and asked everyone who read her statement to take the necessary precautions and stay home.
“COVID-19 is multi-layered,” she said. “I think that the faster we distribute funds at the county level on a population bases rather than a needs basis. That is an issue. The needs that we have in South County as a whole is way higher than a place like La Jolla just because of the nature of our community. We need the resources and that is undeniable.”
