A Vision and a Plan for Stockton

Introduction

You know, I've trained for this job for most my life.  I've tackled big problems in Stockton for a long time.  And it hasn't always been easy, but I've worked hard and told the truth.  I've never been afraid to make a tough decision, and people know that even if we don't agree on every issue, they'll always know where I stand and that I've shown them the respect of sincerely considering their side. In the final analysis, I believe that strong leadership is more about we than it is about me, but the buck has to stop at someone's desk, and that someone needs to be a Mayor who can lead and make tough decisions.

We all know how far Stockton has come, especially in recent years.  But our progress hasn't been smooth and there have been serious problems along the way.  Many of these challenges can be traced to your elected officials' inability to see the whole picture or, in some cases, tell the entire truth.

The progress we've made shouldn't lead us to be delusional about the hard work that's in front of us.  And the setbacks we've faced shouldn't make us cynical about who we are as a community.  Neither success nor setbacks should limit our ability to see a vision for Stockton's future as something far better than what we have today.  Together we can and will create a great future for this City.  We can build the kind of community that our children will be proud to inherit.  And history has taught us that greatness may be forged from struggle, but it is achieved through shared vision and commitment. I strongly believe we will continue our pursuit of greatness -- of a compelling vision -- without shortchanging our citizens in the process.

This is no job for the faint of heart. It will require the candor, the integrity, and the toughness that I have always demonstrated and that I promise to bring to the Mayor's office.

We've all seen the headlines, and, as tough as the economic times are right now, within the challenges we face there are also tremendous opportunities we must seize. 

For example, there are opportunities for first time home buyers to own a house. The timing is right for effective planning to attract private investment in the downtown. We're piloting a plan to keep good neighborhoods strong and to reinvigorate struggling neighborhoods.

As your Mayor, I will work for you to improve the quality of life in our city -- and I will leave no stone unturned. I will communicate with you. I will listen. I will lead. I will require a City government that is responsive to your needs. I'll rely on old-fashioned common sense, and I'll actively rely on the diverse strengths and wisdom that our newly elected City Council brings to the table.

Vision

"Vision" is a word that a lot of candidates use pretty loosely, but it actually has real meaning in terms of changing a system and getting things done. A vision should generate a kind of emotional tension that motivates us to act in harmony to accomplish a common goal. My vision for Stockton is of a safe community with educated, upwardly mobile citizens who have access to 21st Century jobs and quality education; a city building on its agricultural roots and rich cultural diversity; a city known for its economic vitality, educational opportunities, strong neighborhoods, safe streets, and engaged citizens.

As your Mayor I will lead Stockton to this vision because I believe that it is shared by all of us. We'll be taking Stockton to a higher level, to a place we've never been. Getting there will take strong, determined leadership, and a Mayor people trust.

It will also take a Mayor who is on the same page with its citizens, a mayor who listens. When I first decided to run, I mailed out a survey. I asked for your ideas. The flood of articulate, passionate responses was overwhelming. You gave me the ammunition I need to get City Hall's attention, and you planted the seeds of powerful ideas for how things can improve.

Let's look at the issues that concern all of us and how my platform would address each of them.

Crime

Mayor Alan Autry's gang initiative in Fresno has contributed to roughly a 40% drop in crime there. The approach that works, stealing his words, is “the hammer and the hope.”

On the hammer side, we continue to strive for an efficient, focused police department. It was through my insistence that we added officers two years ago and streamlined the hiring process to achieve the largest department in Stockton's history. I also supported the adoption of the Community Safety Ordinance that allows the City to seek civil damages against property owners who negligently harbor criminal activity. And I've supported the Planning Commission's revocation of use permits for businesses that fail to keep crime out of their establishments. PD has also worked on several high profile inter-agency sweeps to arrest gang members and disrupt the drug culture. Some will try to minimize efforts to increase the size of the police force, but let's be clear: a larger force is needed. I'm proud of my efforts to hire more cops. As your Mayor, I'll continue them.

But we also have to give young people hope, so we need to do more to stop crime before it occurs. Reducing crime, eradicating graffiti, and dismantling gangs will occur when our schools and the City partner to create exciting, effective programs that serve children and their families. SUSD's new Superintendent Anthony Amato intends to create full-service community schools that extend the day for kids with academic, recreational, and social services to enhance the positive influence of schools for youngsters and give kids something constructive to do.

Not only would I adopt Fresno's gang reduction model, within it I would create a massive, coordinated inter-agency and community-centered effort to target all youngsters with every bit of support that they need to become literate, to stay out of gangs, and to rise above whatever negative life circumstances they may encounter. We have always kept faith-based and community-based organizations at arm's length. It's time to make them full partners in this mission. We know that drug use drives most of the Stockton's crime and if we really zeroed in on these partnerships - government, law enforcement, schools, faith-based and community-based organizations - I am confident we can prevent a lot of drug use before it starts by eliminating the hopelessness and ignorance in which the drug epidemic spreads.

We should also remember that Stockton's citizens will work to make Stockton great if we invite them. I would expand volunteerism in Stockton by training citizens in a newly established Volunteer Academy where they would become familiar with the City's processes and resources. Visible, identifiable, trained volunteers in our neighborhoods and commercial districts will provide extra eyes and ears for discouraging misbehavior and crime. They will fill the gap between what the police can do and what citizens and business owners need.

Absolutely, we need to use the hammer to be tougher on crime than ever. But for those who will take our hand and strive to break the cycle of drugs and gangs, we need to offer hope – the hope of love and support and prevention.

Reducing crime is number one, no doubt. But crime is a symptom of other problems like drugs and unemployment. Reducing crime won't in and of itself increase jobs and improve education, but better jobs and education will lead to less crime.

Education

As Mayor, and as a Mayor who is also a teacher, I am uniquely qualified to support public education in Stockton – in large ways and small. School districts and education would be a constant focus of my administration. We would be a full-time partner with school districts searching for every way possible to combine efforts to help students and families. I would be in favor, under the right circumstances, of using City funding mechanisms to support a City-School District collaboration. For example we could explore the viability of creating a cutting edge, fine and performing arts K-12 charter school in Downtown Stockton.

I will work toward a greater California State University presence in Stockton – not at the expense of UOP and Delta, but in concert with them. Our K-12 districts definitely struggle, but they still produce large numbers of college-bound graduates. An expanded CSU offering a wider range of comprehensive degrees would keep some of our best and brightest students in Stockton longer.

We must coordinate better with apprentice programs and vocational education programs that exist at Delta College and Weber Institute that already train the required workforce. If we do this in partnership with industry, we create powerful, attractive incentives for businesses to locate here, and the partnership becomes self-sustaining.

Schools should be decentralized neighborhood centers for services and support for students and families. And every level of government, every service provider, and every community-based organization should be at the table for this.

Economic Development

Stockton must assert itself as the "green" capital of the Central Valley – NOW – by moving to the forefront and cutting edge of both consumption and production of green technology. This is the wave of the immediate future; the industry will expand exponentially and we need to catch that wave for our citizens – for the quality jobs they can bring to our community and for the quality of life we can achieve through an improved environment.

Also remember that the expanded California State University presence in Stockton will bring with it a significant economic engine of its own.

We need to expand on current relationships with industry that have landed solid, family-wage jobs such as the Kyoho plant in southeast Stockton. Kyoho, a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota expects to employ two hundred people.

The Port of Stockton continues to provide an extraordinary economic engine for Stockton and San Joaquin County. As part of its own redevelopment area, the Port contributes not only to an expanded economic base but to reinvestment in the City, as well.

The Enterprise Zone and Redevelopment Agency have been integral in attracting and encouraging industry. They must continue to be managed effectively and their resources applied strategically to spur investment in Stockton.

With all this we need a culture change in City planning and building departments to ensure that economic development and job growth are supported, not obstructed.

My opponent talks about some mythical "time-out" for growth until police and fire catch up. No one is sure what this really means, or whether or not it would plunge Stockton, a city already suffering from high unemployment, into a full-blown local depression. But the City should never, ever have put itself in a position of sprawling beyond its capacity to provide police, fire, and infrastructure in the first place.

The General Plan I voted to adopt requires all new development to pay for itself. All this "time-out" stands to do is place City government between appropriate growth and full employment. I am really disappointed to see that anyone would play politics with people's jobs.

Neighborhoods

We must also recognize that, while Downtown holds unique status as the center of government and the City's core, Stockton must take pride in its neighborhoods throughout the City and recognize that each one requires attention and nurturing. We certainly will continue what has been started in Downtown, but we should complement that with attention to other areas.

The Strong Neighborhood Initiative infused $80 million into neighborhoods through new curbs, gutters, and sidewalks along with community centers and security cameras. The Neighborhood Renaissance Program promises even greater involvement for citizens and families in defining neighborhood priorities. We will continue to encourage the rehabilitation of blighted areas in older neighborhoods. As your Mayor I will nurture and expand these initiatives city-wide.

Graffiti

In his 2008 State of the City speech, Mayor Chavez declared a war on graffiti and assigned me to head the anti-graffiti initiative. Fines for vandals were increased and provisions for seeking civil damages of parents who children who did graffiti were enacted. But I also set about to reduce the anti-graffiti bureaucracy by combining all efforts under the police department. The city was able to double its anti-graffiti efforts without increasing operating expenses, and the initiative has produced tangible results.

Downtown

We have initiated three strategic planning areas to attract private investment in Downtown when the economy bounces back -- which it will.

As Mayor, I will take that one step further and complete a Downtown master plan --including immediate attention to parking - to guide investment and development for years to come.

The City is studying ways to reduce fees and other costs of infill construction to help attract developers and to achieve the goal of 3,000 market rate units in the greater Downtown. We know that when we have people living there, we will be well on our way to a sustainable City core.

A true rebirth of the Downtown will also require us to address other nagging issues like the sanitation, nutrition and public health issues that are attendant to our ever-expanding homeless population.

Growth

During the 90's and early 2000's growth sprawled in Stockton. Some of worst neighborhoods now were not built all that long ago. Last year I voted to adopt a General Plan that will require all new development to pay for itself. Not just brick and mortar, but police and fire protection, too. We will require jobs-to-housing ratios that will keep Stockton economically strong. We'll require infill to rebuild older neighborhoods, and we'll build green to improve our environment. The new General Plan in conjunction with the aggressive economic development I outlined earlier will mean that when new construction finally begins, we'll be building houses for people who work and live right here, not in the Bay Area.

Budget

We have established reserve policies, restructured our pension obligation and retiree medical obligations to save millions, established debt policies, and cleaned up inter-fund loans. We will shortly adopt core values for the budgeting process and policies addressing revenues and expenses. We have been addressing structural problems within the current process and we are developing a longer planning horizon to build financial sustainability into City initiatives.

All of this is dreadfully boring stuff, except that none of it was in place when I joined the Council four years ago, and all of it is essential for a fiscally sound organization. As chair of the Council's budget committee, I have been a strong and resolute voice for these reforms.

When I was on the School Board, I developed a tiered budget process that prioritized spending in terms of its impact on the classroom, our ultimate priority. In the midst of the City's current budget crisis, the Council will be seriously considering every single service the City provides in terms of its impact on quality of life on our citizens. A priority-driven budget process will serve the City well for generations to come.

Trees

Our trees are one of our true treasures, and people want to take pride in them. But
Stockton is in danger of losing its urban forest. It's a neglect that has accumulated
over the years, and we must act before it becomes irreversible. Two things need to
happen immediately. First, the City must designate someone who will oversee the
urban forest and scrutinize every City project and development in terms of it
impact on trees. This individual would have clear authority to make
recommendations directly to the council.

The second thing we must do is to create a tree foundation modeled after Sacramento's. Their organization has been in existence for many years and has made a significant impact on that city's trees. Stockton has increased its support of tree maintenance over the years, but to really close the gap will require a strong, viable public-private partnership with foundation leadership and oversight that is independent of the City.

Access for Persons with Disabilities

It has been increasingly obvious that the physical make-up of our city presents challenges for persons with disabilities. The City has made up ground in the recent past, and I think we are on the right track. But we need to do more. The recently formed Task Force for Persons with Disabilities has done excellent work with their outreach, education, and advocacy. But it is now time to convert the Task Force into a fully sanctioned board or commission with clear and distinct authority so that people with disabilities can have a voice and be ensured of equal access and convenience to public venues throughout Stockton.

City Hall

We must reconnect City Hall with the citizens of Stockton. The Mayor must be a voice for Stockton, and that can't happen unless he is out among the people. I intend to throw open the doors of City Hall once a month to allow people to come and visit with me, no appointment necessary. In fact, we'll hold our first open house during my first week in office.

I'll also make my personal e-mail address available to citizens so that anyone can ask a question or express an idea.

In addition to that, I will require department heads and senior City staff to join me for regular public meetings. Citizens will have the opportunity to speak directly with department heads. And we won't stop there. We'll hold staff accountable for following through. By listening to citizens we will be reminded of why City government exists in the first place.

And we'll communicate better. I intend to offer the press, as the watchdog for the people in a free society, an office at City Hall. I will hold weekly press conferences open to the public where anyone can ask me anything they want.

Upon taking office, I will ask the city manager to sit with the new council to discuss personnel. Shaking up City Hall by rewarding the best and brightest employees can inspire everyone to make a real difference– and that will set a new standard for City service.

And finally, I will ensure that anyone who calls City Hall during business hours and the police department anytime will be answered by a real live person on the first call. Technology can help us get caught up in many ways, but the interminable voice messages that we currently expose citizens to is frustrating. When people are troubled, they want to talk to a real person. We can and will do much better.

"Legacy"

I was recently asked in a public forum what I thought my legacy might be if I am elected. It was an interesting question I haven't stopped thinking about. I don't need my legacy to be a building or a program. To the extent that it's humanly possible, my legacy will be that we fundamentally improved the culture in Stockton, that we pursued greatness as a City with transparency and fiscal responsibility. And that we did this without leaving anyone behind. Literally we will have created a tapestry of progress on every front that mattered to us as a people and we will have empowered future generations to finish the journey that we began.

I'll listen. I'll lead.

And together, we'll make Stockton great!