Candidate for
Council Member; City of Alameda

After twelve continuous years of public service in the city of Alameda, Dr. Stewart Chen made the decision to run for the Alameda City Councilmember position in the November 2012 General Election.

If elected, he promises to be the voice of the people and bring improvements to the community by collaboration, not by competition. He believes that, to be effective, public officials should be sensitive to the changing needs of their community.

My primary goal in running for City Council is to preserve and improve the quality of life in Alameda. This is our home and it has been good to us. My wife and I raised both of our children here. They attended Alameda public schools and grew up with the benefit of our parks, libraries, and hospital. I believe such facilities are important and I pledge to do my best to keep them accessible to all Alamedans. My other priorities include: development of Alameda Point, revitalization of Webster Street, balancing our budget, strengthening our aging infrastructure, expanding the safety net services, creating a culture of accountability among our public officials, and maintaining access to City Hall for our citizens. I believe we can achieve this as a community by electing city officials who care about our people's needs and are willing to work tirelessly to serve them.

I am a Chiropractor by profession and I have been in private practice for 24 years. For the past twelve years, I have devoted my personal time to public service. I served two terms on the Social Service and Human Relations Board, one term on the County's Human Relations Commission, and in November 2010, I was elected to the City of Alameda Health Care District Board. I also chaired numerous committees including Alamedans Together Against Hate, Friendship City Committee, Sight Savers Committee, Human Exploitation and Trafficking Awareness Committee, and the Community Relations Committee. In addition, I co-founded the Alameda Asian Pacific Cultural Festival and the Alameda Sister City Association.

As a member of the hospital board, I helped balance our 2013 fiscal budget and we were able to come up with a projected surplus of over $600,000. I managed to create a safe and friendly working environment for our 600 hospital employees and I'm proud to say that I was able to maintain labor peace between the hospital and our four labor unions. I also helped initiate several programs like the Kate Creedon Center for Advanced Wound Care, Orthopedic Spinal Surgery Department, and the takeover of the Waters Edge Skilled Nursing facility.

Please vote for Dr. Stewart Chen for Alameda City Council and help fulfill his vision of improving the quality of life in Alameda.