There are six candidates running for office in City Council District 2. This week The Star-news features answers from three of those six. The two candidates with the most votes in June move on to the November runoff election.
Where do you stand on Measure A, a sales tax increase, and why?
Steve Castaneda: Statistics indicate that Chula Vista public safety services are the lowest staffed in not only the county, but the state. Police staffing hasn’t been at adequate levels since 2007 when I served on the city council. Current staffing levels mean that it takes longer for police, fire and
paramedics to respond to our emergency calls. That is unacceptable. Proposition A would provide a needed source of revenue to begin adding the resources that we need to get public safety services we need. Even with the additional money, we must do more to look at economies so that more existing dollars can go towards addressing the shortfall.
Jill Galvez: The most important job of a city is to keep its residents safe with police and fire protection. We learned last year that our public safety staffing levels are unacceptably low. As it stands today, there is no room in the budget to hire enough police and fire to protect us. Chula Vista will continue to grow, and there is no imminent solution in sight.
Nobody likes to pay more taxes. I certainly don’t. But I will be voting yes on Measure A, and then work really hard to become our next city councilperson so that I can help bring about a budgetary course correction.
We need to consider who we elect as our next city councilperson very carefully. Does that person have budgetary expertise in a similarly sized organization? Would you hire that person to manage your budget?
JESSE NAVARRO: I support Measure A only because of my total understanding and support for public safety, police and fire.
I have worked in this profession for many years including extensive collaboration with Chula Vista police fire and paramedics throughout the western districts of the city.
What is the role of Chula Vista in enforcing immigration laws?
Galvez: Chula Vista does not have a role in enforcing immigration laws. That is the role of the federal government.
Navarro: The city of Chula Vista is not responsible or properly trained to enforce immigration laws and only should assist federal officers in case of an emergency when someone life or safety is in immediate danger.
CASTANEDA: Chula Police officers have enough to do with enforcing state and local laws and should not be responsible for enforcing federal laws.
Is more housing needed in Chula Vista?
NAVARRO: The city of Chula Vista is in critical need of affordable housing and must also improve code enforcement laws for a safer and cleaner community.
CASTANEDA: Chula Vista is a great place to live, but for many the high cost of housing has created a difficult situation. This issue is particularly difficult when families need to make room for an aging parent. We need to assist families by making the approval process less cumbersome and less expensive to provide housing for seniors. For the rest of us, Chula Vista should attract more affordable housing while ensuring that our public safety services, streets, parks and libraries keep up with demand.
GALVEZ: More housing is needed in Chula Vista and the entire region. As our population grows, so does the need for high quality places for people to live; 30-40% of new construction costs go towards regulation, permits and fees. That is unacceptable and is resulting in higher mortgages and rents. More affordable housing is needed, and the city has taken a positive step in this direction by lowering fees that were too high to begin with.
What is the number one challenge facing your district and how will you address it?
CASTANEDA: Chula Vista’s growing homeless population is a challenge that affects us all and must be addressed. I volunteer for a local nonprofit that provides housing and supportive services for individuals including those previously on Chula Vista streets. We need more of those services. As the District 2 representative, I will fight to see more city resources steered toward addressing the need. Also, we must demand that the county of San Diego, which is responsible for mental health services, provide more resources to help individuals suffering from mental illness.
GALVEZ: Northwest Chula Vista (District 2) is the historic core of the city. Over the past few decades, our part of town has been neglected as resources and infrastructure investments were focused on the eastern parts of Chula Vista. It is time to reverse that trend and reinvest in our community.
Our powerlines need to be buried. Our streets, sidewalks, and sewer lines need to be repaired. Our parks need to be modernized. Our pedestrians and bicyclists need to feel safer when they walk on our sidewalks – traffic needs to be slowed, trees need to be trimmed, street lighting needs to be smartly augmented, graffiti needs to be quickly removed, streets should be swept on a regular schedule.
I will be relentless about the maintenance, coordination, responsiveness, budget resources that will add more “sparkle” as well as safety to Northwest Chula Vista.
NAVARRO: Based on my experience and feedback from our community the number one challenge is public safety.
I will continue my efforts by providing the adequate resources to our first responders by increasing the number of police and fire personnel for better coverage and response.
I will also increase the number of community meetings in the residential and business communities in order to listen about their concerns and providing realistic prevention programs.
I will continue providing public safety prevention information to the parents and children throughout our schools in collaboration with the schools districts.
What makes you a better person for this office than your opponents?
GALVEZ: I am a budget expert. I began my career as a local government reporter but went on to receive an engineering degree in Computer Science. I received extensive systems and accounting training while working for IBM and went on to become the operations manager for AT&T Southern California.
I fixed long overlooked budget problems by auditing and accounting for all expenditures, and helped flatten the organization, adding more front line employees.
I led the team that brought AT&T Southern California from last to first in the country in revenue in a few short months, by identifying every source of revenue from disparate billing systems, customers, and accounts, ensuring that revenue flowed in as it should. I was later hired as a vice president of sales and operations at FastBlue Communications, where I designed the revenue tracking systems and databases from the start, and the company enjoyed rapid growth and success.
I’m convinced that Chula Vista’s budget problem can be fixed with the right leadership, focus, and rigorous attention to detail and systems.
But most importantly, I am the right person for the job because I care — about our community, our quality of life, and prospects for the future.
NAVARRO: I have worked in the criminal justice profession for over forty years at all levels and have the extensive experience with common sense ideas.
I have a very good understanding of the business owners’ needs based on my family’s small business operations for over 25 years.
I have served on numerous boards and commissions throughout California, including the ethics, public safety commissions and the Southwestern College Foundation in Chula Vista.
I have the true desire to continue serving our community with no intentions of higher office and a proven record of community service and a dedicated and committed public servant.
CASTANEDA: I am the only person in this race with a track record of delivering for Chula Vista and for northwest Chula Vista. I served two terms on our Planning Commission and City Council where I helped keep our city out of bankruptcy and got rid of the South Bay Power Plant. I am currently completing my first term on the Sweetwater Authority where we have invested in the development of new local water supplies. Those investments have paid off, because we haven’t had to raise water rates in 2 years.
When on the city council, I helped move us to district elections that requires the city’s elected representatives to live in every area of Chula Vista ensuring that our councilmember knows our issues.
As your councilmember I will fight to get our fair share of city services to improve our aging streets and sidewalks. I will protect our neighborhoods and increase public safety services. And, I will begin the process of revitalizing our commercial corridors especially Broadway by removing graffiti and cleaning up vacant and neglected buildings.
