MIKE DIAZ
District 4 candidate
1. How will your professional experience help you serve the city of Chula Vista?
Unlike my opponents, I have a track record. What do most council candidates promise voters? It almost always includes: improving police and fire response times and services, fixing our streets and repairing pot holes, creating jobs in SW Chula Vista, improving our parks, dealing with homeless, and getting the Bayfront project done. Well, I’ve done all of that. Prior to being elected we had not met our police or fire response times for many years. In 2019, fire finally met its response times and police is not far behind. In my first term, we have repaved over 18 miles of streets in District 4 alone. We have fixed over 12,000 potholes in 2019 (citywide), eradicated 1,900 graffiti tagging’s, reopened Lauderbach Park Recreation Center, approved the Bayfront project and in that process will be creating 7,000 jobs in SW Chula Vista. We are relocating two fire stations in west Chula Vista to improve response times. I am working with the Alpha Project to build an emergency bridge shelter for the homeless. In District 4 we have special needs. So I have worked with non-profits to provide social services to south west Chula Vista families. Lauderback Park Recreation Center will be opening up soon and will provide services like: tutoring, academic assistance, character development, HUB for community residents, community engagement activities, food for families, rental and housing assistance, job preparation, tax preparation and many more needed services. We currently have a city council that works well together and is getting things done. Why change it?
2. What is the most pressing issue in your district and how will you address it?
Illegal pot shops are a big problem in SW Chula Vista. During the framing of our cannabis ordinance I continually requested that the city do an impact study to identify possible consequences to the community and the resources required to mitigate those burdens. Unfortunately, I never got a council majority to agree with me and now we are dealing with a crisis in District 4 that could have been avoided if we could have identified and planned to shut down the illegal pot shops. So, today we have more illegal pot shops in District 4 than we have 7-11’s and Starbucks. So, what have I done? No one has pushed as hard as I have to get our own criminal prosecutor. In 2019, we hired our first prosecutor. Unfortunately, I was not able to get support to hire the required staff which consists of an investigator and a paralegal. The only tools we had prior to the prosecutor was the civil court system and the eviction process. The eviction process was and still is very slow and has no teeth. I’m sure you have seen these shops just reopen right down the street. In February, I met with the District Attorney and got a commitment from the D.A. to assign a prosecutor to Chula Vista to help us close down these illegal pot shops. Going forward we will be criminally prosecuting and closing these illegal pot shops. This means seizing money and product and criminally charging operators.
3. What should the city’s overall priorities be and how will those priorities impact your district?
We are perceived as a bedroom community and we need to change that. The Bayfront project is creating a lot of interest from developers to west Chula Vista. Hopefully, by September we will begin the one billion dollar Bayfront project. This project will create about 7,000 jobs in west Chula Vista, 2,000 of those jobs would be permanent. My biggest priority is to bring good paying jobs to Chula Vista. I would like to see more office space in Chula Vista. Office jobs tend to pay over $50,000 a year. We currently have serval opportunities to develop office space in west Chula Vista, which can provide those good paying jobs. I will push for transit oriented development which will fundamentally change west Chula Vista from a sleepy town to a vibrant community with the proper mix of office, commercial, retail and residential development.
4. In the last year, Chula Vista became certified as a Welcoming City. It was ranked the second in the New American Economy’s list of cities across the nation that are most supportive of immigrants. How can Chula Vista continue to uphold these standards and be a welcoming place for immigrants?
I was born in Mexico and I have been very blessed to be able to live the American dream. I grew up in Chula Vista, married my high school sweetheart, became a firefighter, own a home, raised two children, became grandparents to four grandkids and now I’m a Chula Vista City council member. I believe everyone should have the same opportunities that I had. On April 25, 2017, I along with the city council unanimously approved a resolution concerning immigration status and enforcement. This included a seven point policy that included the following: city does not inquire about immigration status, Immigration status is not to be a factor in receipt or provision of public safety services, Law enforcement officer contact with individuals must be based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, CVPD does not enforce federal laws, where our PD participates in regional task forces these activities should not include immigration law, and finally, CVPD jail staff does not itself inquire regarding an arrestee’s immigration status.
5. How will marijuana dispensaries impact your district? Do you think maximizing the total number of allowable stores per district is a good move?
I believe limiting the amount of legal pot shops is a good idea. I, along with the rest of the city council were very deliberate and took our time in developing the best cannabis ordinance possible. The limit of two retail stores is a great starting point. The city council can increase the amount, but our thought process was to go slow. I think this is the best approach.
6. Do you think the current salary for a city council member is fair? Should it be a full-time job?
The citizens set and approved the council pay formula in our city charter through the ballot process. The citizens felt that the city council should have no part in determining what city council members should get paid, and they are right. Last year the Charter Commission took another peek at this question. So the Charter Commission created a survey and asked the citizens if the pay should go up, down or stay the same. The respondents overwhelmingly said keep the pay formula the same and I agree. In the next handful of years, the city will be grappling with budget deficits. Council pay is tied to a superior court judge (a portion of their pay) and in 2020 the city council received a pay increase. I have donated my pay increase to charity.
