Cindy Chavez

Cindy Chavez
San Jose City Council
In office December 31, 1998 – December 31, 2006 (Appointed Vice Mayor in 2005)
Preceded by	David Pandori
Succeeded by	Sam T. Liccardo
Personal details
Born	April 7, 1964 (1964-04-07) (age 47) Alamogordo, New Mexico
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Mike K. Potter
Children	Brennan Mateo Chavez Potter
Profession	Politician / Teacher

Cindy Chavez (born April 7, 1964) served as Vice Mayor of the City of San Jose, California. While a member of the San Jose City Council, she represented Council District Three (which includes the downtown area). Chavez was first elected to the Council in 1998 and re-elected in 2002. In 2005, she was chosen by the San Jose Mayor and confirmed by her colleagues on the City Council to serve as Vice Mayor. She recently worked as an instructor of local civics at her alma mater San José State University.

Education

• Chavez was educated at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward.^{[citation needed]}
• She graduated in 1987 with a B.A. in Political Science from San Jose State University.^{[citation needed]}

Tenure on the City Council

As Vice Mayor, Cindy Chavez maintained a reputation as an advocate for improving the quality of life in neighborhoods throughout San Jose. She was a leader in developing innovative community based programs to address crime, education, small business development and neighborhood revitalization. Elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2002, her tenure was distinguished by implementing goals to make every neighborhood safe and enhancing opportunities for residents and providing guidance on improving city government's service to them. Recognizing the need for increased community-based improvements, Chavez continued to be a force behind allocating more Redevelopment Agency funds for enhancing neighborhoods.

Working with the Mayor and her City Council colleagues, Chavez established the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative, a program that uses Redevelopment Agency resources to improve neighborhood conditions, enhance community safety, strengthen local neighborhood associations, and expand community services.

As a former Downtown District Three Council Representative, Chavez served on numerous committees. She formally Chaired the Rules Committee and served on the Downtown Parking Board, Guadalupe River Park Task Force, Police and Fire Retirement Board, San Jose Beautiful, and the SJ/SC Treatment Plant Advisory Committee. Additionally, she served on many other local and regional bodies including the Valley Transportation Authority as Vice-Chair, VTA Policy Advisory Board, Nanotechnology Infrastructure and Assets Subcommittee, and many others.

Prior to her election as a City Councilmember, Chavez had served as the Staff Director of Working Partnerships USA and as the Director of Education and Outreach for the South Bay Labor Council. She also served for three years as budget and policy aide to then Supervisor Ron Gonzales. As Vice Mayor, Chavez's focus on quality-of-life concerns led to a greater emphasis on the delivery of basic services, from removing graffiti and slowing down traffic speeding through neighborhoods to creating more green space, protecting children's health, creating stronger partnerships between colleagues and after school programs for youth.

Campaign for Mayor

In 2006 Chavez ran for mayor in a field of ten candidates hoping to succeed termed-out Ron Gonzales. In the mayoral primary held on June 6, 2006, in a crowded field of ten candidates, Cindy qualified for the two person primary against Chuck Reed.

In the run-off voting held on November 7, 2006, Reed won a solid victory over Chavez who conceded the race just before midnight. Final tallies show Reed garnered 117,394 votes to Chavez's 80,720 (in percentage terms 59.26% to 40.74%).

During the early stages of the campaign Chavez out-raised her opponents and was the frontrunner in some polls. Chavez also secured many high profile endorsements, including the Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith, the Silicon Valley Young Democrats, Congressman Mike Honda and former San Jose mayor Susan Hammer,^[1] former US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta^{[citation needed]} and former US President Bill Clinton^{[citation needed]}. However, after she came in second place in the primary voting held on June 6, 2006; Ms. Chavez was never able to regain her early lead and her opponent, Chuck Reed, was leading in all the major polls going into the run-off election.

Issues in the Primary campaign

During the campaign, the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce was criticized by Chavez supporters for sending a mailer exposing the back room deals Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez made and the lack of public notice for the $4 million San Jose Grand Prix subsidy.^[2] The Chamber was found to have violated city law in so doing.^[3] Further court battles led to a federal court ruling that the city law violated free speech rights and the city was ordered to pay the Chamber's legal costs.^[4]

Assessment of the Primary voting

In the June 6, 2006 primary, Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez finished in second place with 23.17% of the vote, behind Chuck Reed, who received 28.79%. Pundits attributed Chavez’s second-place showing in the mayoral primary to her perceived alliance with Mayor Ron Gonzales. Gonzales had been censured, then indicted by a grand jury, in connection with an agreement to allow garbage hauler Norcal Waste Systems to increase its rates by $11 million, allowing the company to raise the rates of union members who were political supporters of Gonzales. However, Gonzales was later acquitted of all charges by a court that found prosecution claims that such a transaction was illegal to novel and unfounded. Nevertheless, voters were troubled by their perception of secret dealmaking. Chavez also drew criticism following the disclosure by the San Jose Mercury News of email correspondence suggesting that she withheld information from fellow councilmembers about an effort to give a $4 million subsidy to the San Jose Grand Prix.

Career After Politics

Chavez returned to her post as the director of Working Partnerships USA and South Bay Labor Council. She is one of the most vocal supporters of San Jose's local unions, earning her the derogatory nickname "Queen of Labor."

Family

She lives with her husband, Mike Potter, the District Director for State Assemblymember Joe Coto, and their son Brennan Mateo (b. 2001) in the Naglee Park neighborhood of San Jose. Her son Brennan is in the first grade at Horace Mann Elementary School in Downtown San Jose.

References

1. ^ Chavez Gets Nod from S.J. FilAms by Lance Cardozo Dwyer Philippine News May 17, 2006
2. ^ Chamber mailer creating backlash by Timothy Roberts Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal May 26, 2006
3. ^ Chamber rebuked over Anti-Chavez Mailers by John Woolfolk San Jose Mercury News
4. ^ Vote on donor limits delayed by John Woolfolk Mercury News Oct 4, 2006

External links

• Cindy Chavez and Sunshine Ordinance
• Cindy Chavez Tackles New Role As SJSU Instructor
• San José State University Press Release.
• Former San Jose City Council member Cindy Chavez graduated from San Jose State University in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in political science.

Persondata
Name	Chavez, Cindy
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 7, 1964
Place of birth	Alamogordo, New Mexico
Date of death
Place of death