My accomplishments:

• Championed the start of a 5-year street maintenance plan to prevent the continual decline in pavement condition throughout the City (succeeded!). In each of the last 2-year budget cycles (2021/2022 and 2023/2024), a total of $4 million annually is specific to our streets, more than twice the amount in earlier budgets, and an amount reflected in the maintenance work that occurred in 2022 and 2023, and will continue in 2024 and 2025. 
• Chaired the Ad Hoc Committee of the City Council and met regularly with Sharks Ice/Entertainment throughout 2021, leading to a Term Sheet from which the City Council and Sharks Ice could form the construction and operation agreement we have today to add two NHL-size ice rinks to the Gilroy Sports Park (succeeded!).  We will shortly go to bid for the construction of the Sharks Ice Gilroy facility. Go Gilroy! 
• Worked to prioritize the hiring of an executive team within the City. At the time of my candidacy for mayor in mid-2020, only one of our executive positions was filled by a permanent employee. The rest were interim employees. By late 2020, we hired our City Administrator, Fire Chief and Police Chief. In the following years we filled positions for Public Works Director (twice!), Community Development Director, Finance Director, and Utilities Director (a position created to better manage the magnitude of responsibilities under Public Works). We added the title of Deputy City Administrator to our Human Resources Director. 
• Championed the start of a Pension Trust that shows we are fiscally prudent and aware of our rapidly escalating unfunded obligations for our employees' retirement (CalPERS) (succeeded!). Our long-term pension liabilities in Gilroy exceed $120 million with no financial means in sight to cover them. With this Trust, the Council has funded to date $3.5 million to bridge the shortfall when we can no longer meet the quickly rising annual minimum payments against this long-term debt. The money earmarked in this Trust is miniscule next to the magnitude of the unfunded retirement obligations we face, but it is there to buy us time when we and other cities fall short of even the annual minimum payments (For perspective, the annual minimum payment for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 is $13.6 million and $14.7 million, respectively). 
• Pushed to fund the City’s share of the cost to build a fourth fire station in the southwest quadrant (succeeded!) That success in 2019 put the Glen Loma Development on notice that the City was ready to build the Santa Teresa Fire Station pending receipt of their portion of the costs. We're still waiting, and possibly headed for litigation.
• Maintained ongoing support for the downtown facade improvement program meant to encourage building owners downtown to take pride in the appearance of their buildings. Saw through the completion of the multi-purpose parking lot on 7th and Eigleberry that also dramatically improved the visibility of the Gilroy Veterans’ Hall and will complement the soon-to-be completed pedestrian alley between the parking lot and Monterey Street all the way to 4th Street. Continue to support the addition of new businesses, clean sidewalks, downtown events/celebrations and the overall success of our downtown business owners.  
• Championed three new City ordinances: (1) regulate sidewalk/mobile vending on public property (particularly in our downtown); (2) impose stricter fines and added Host liability for use of illegal fireworks; and (3) remove unhoused camping from areas where public health and safety are compromised (succeeded! All ordinances passed).
• Supported the creation of a Housing and Community Services Manager, a position that was filled in March 2024, to manage the effects of nearly 100 housing bills signed into law since 2016, and to provide more focused efforts on housing and assistance to those experiencing homelessness in Gilroy. In addition, our direct outreach program to members of the unhoused community through our Quality-of-Life Police Officers was made permanent by the City Council in January 2024. A full report on how we manage the unhoused and the effects on nearby residents and businesses may be found here under "Item Attachments".
• Supported the following efforts for trash clean up and to reduce illegal dumping: the City initiated in 2022 a two-person crew assigned weekly to citywide trash clean up; instituted bi-annual mattress recycling opportunities that have garnered mind boggling numbers of mattresses; added a free service from Recology to take up to two bulky items from your curbside per year; the City initiated a “Fight Dirty” campaign that gives the community organized opportunities to participate in trash clean up in various parts of the city throughout the year.
• Serve on the VTA Board (Valley Transportation Authority) to fight for Gilroy’s transportation service and road repair/improvement dollars from county tax measures. Smaller city representatives on VTA, like myself, fight hard to ensure that countywide Measure B dollars are properly allocated each year to cities for local streets and roads, as promised to the voters, and not consumed by larger projects in certain cities. I’ve also heightened the Board’s awareness of south county, noting that one congestion management report that was titled as a countywide study excluded Gilroy and Morgan Hill altogether. Regarding the widening of 101 for which existing reports go from Cochrane in Morgan Hill to 10th Street in Gilroy, I pointed out the need to continue south to Hwy 25 to avoid in Gilroy the same traffic congestion on 101 currently existing through Morgan Hill. In the works for the VTA Mobility Partnership on which I also sit (a partnership between Santa Clara and San Benito counties) is the 101/25 interchange for which construction will begin by the end of 2024 that will greatly improve traffic flow through this area. Scheduled to take 3 years, this first phase will be followed by extending Santa Teresa Blvd. south to connect directly to 101. Together with Gavilan College, I have been working to secure funding in hopes of expediting the construction of the Santa Teresa extension. 
• In 2019, and together with Morgan Hill, I fought to preserve Express Bus Service to Gilroy and for improvements to CalTrain’s PM schedule. Succeeded! Albeit with fewer daily express bus trips and with schedules that accommodate specific employer sponsors, the alternative was to lose express bus service altogether. We managed to get a better PM arrival schedule from CalTrain that went into effect in October 2019, and in September 2023 we succeeded in getting a 4th commuter train, something I and many before me have pushed for years, bringing us closer to train frequency enjoyed by the rest of the county.
• Thwarted a permanent housing development proposal that would have consumed over 50% of the parking lot of Gilroy’s only transit center, crippling our potential for better transit service pending that of High Speed Rail. I led the City Council to pursue instead a nearby site that would not jeopardize future transit service and the ability of our residents to park and ride (succeeded!). Today, the City is party to a Memorandum of Understanding with the County's Office of Supportive Housing to build 100% affordable housing near the Transit Center with 2016 Measure A funding that has been earmarked for this project.
• In 2019, led the effort for City Council approval to deliver city water to farmworker housing otherwise unable to get potable water. This farmworker housing site, located next to the Ochoa housing where access to city water and sewer services was already available, had been abandoned. Access to city sewer services was available, but access to potable water was not (succeeded!)
• Serve on the SCRWA Board, South County Regional Wastewater Authority, addressing the wastewater and sewer treatment service needs of Gilroy and Morgan Hill now and into the future. The costs to operate this impressive facility are shared by Gilroy and Morgan Hill in a current ratio of 55/45, respectively. Accomplishments on my watch include increased production of recycled water and overall capacity increase for water treatment.  Most recently (2023), we celebrated the completion of Valley Water’s recycled water pipeline project along Luchessa Ave, increasing the potential for recycled water consumers as we increase recycled water output and preserve potable water. In progress at SCRWA is an $86 million capacity expansion project that will increase capacity by 30% and support a Gilroy population of up to 108,000 people.
• Meet regularly with the Directors of Visit Gilroy and the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, and since early 2023 the President of Gavilan College, to continually work towards an aggressive and focused plan to generate new revenue by attracting businesses, investors, and jobs, and to promote our workforce and education opportunities.

I look back not just on my accomplishments but those of the City Council and of City Staff.

• The ice rinks coming to the Gilroy Sports Park have been and continue to be one of the most exciting endeavors of my first term as Mayor. Sharks Ice Gilroy!
• The potential for what could develop around Gilroy Gardens to complement the Theme Park is full of possibilities that we continue to vet. 
• We've put a huge jolt into street maintenance that had been underfunded for far too long. 
• Advocating for dollars for Gilroy for the 101/25 interchange project, including continued work to secure funding for the Santa Teresa extension, for the 101/10th Street widening from Chestnut to Arroyo Circle, and for more train and bus service from our Transit Center have all been wins for Gilroy. No one on the VTA Board or CalTrain Board fails to consider Gilroy anymore. 
• Advocating for Gilroy's proportionate share of Measure A dollars through the Office of Supportive Housing and bringing to the City Council for their approval an MOU to lock that in.
• Pushing back where developers think they can cite "Builders Remedy" and ignore the process by which every development is analyzed to identify the impacts of their proposed project. Our General Plan and zoning have meaning, established to balance housing with jobs and commercial/economic development that pay for city services. No matter where developments are proposed, their impacts on the community must be identified and addressed.
• Establishing and funding a trust that shows we are fiscally prudent and aware that we may otherwise be unable to meet our employees' retirement obligations. No more kicking the can down the road while the problem grows.

These decisions and direction by the City Council bring the crucial financial backbone to support our city services, to foster a healthy economy, and to maintain our quality of life. As a City, we have lots more to do, but we've also accomplished a lot together. Let's keep the momentum going!

RECENT EVENTS

Regarding increases to councilmember stipends, each councilmember receives a monthly stipend that is adjusted annually by a cost-of-living factor. Today, and through the end of 2024, those stipends are $1,020 per month for councilmembers and $1,530 per month for the mayor (the mayor receives 50% more than councilmembers per Gilroy’s policy). Earlier this year, state law changed the minimum stipend for councilmembers of general law cities to $1600 per month. Gilroy is a charter city and therefore did not have to change from our existing councilmember pay, but being cognizant that an exceptionally low stipend might discourage people from running for office, the council majority voted to increase Councilmember stipends to $1600 per month beginning in 2025, and the mayor’s stipend remains at Gilroy’s existing policy of 50% more than councilmembers, raising the mayor’s monthly stipend to $2400 after the upcoming election. These stipend increases, though small, are meant to offer monthly pay that’s more consistent with similar cities and encourage a larger pool of candidates willing to run for office, and they take effect for the elected body following the next election.

Regarding political campaign mailers, social media ads and text messages being sent to Gilroy voters displaying "Ad paid for by Building Tomorrow, Sponsored by California Friends and Family, LP.", hiding behind this name and paying for these ads is a developer with a pending application before the City of Gilroy.  They have been promoting the 3 city council incumbents and my opponent while smearing me and spending six figures to do it. Take note of any political ads displaying California Friends and Family and who is hiding behind them.  Letter: Developer tries to buy a council majority | Gilroy Dispatch | Gilroy, California 

Regarding campaign violation accusations from this same developer, it's just more of the same. I have none.