Candidate for
Mayor; City of Stockton

As Mayor I've had to make hard financial choices the past three years. The toughest job has been fighting to keep Stockton financially sound. Our city is on life support due to the foreclosure crisis, state budget cuts, and reckless spending in past administrations. We are in Chapter 9 Bankruptcy Court in order to stabilize our finances and restructure our debt obligations. This is the first step on our city's road to recovery. We will get Stockton back on track for a solid future. As Mayor I have shown the courage to be a firm and thoughtful leader in these tough financial times.

My priority as Mayor has always been public safety. We've secured federal money to keep police officers on our streets, and are using US Marshals to arrest the career criminals in our city, with a record 135 arrests this year. Through these efforts, 700 guns have been removed from our community. We are also hiring more police officers every day, with the goal of getting our police force up to 361 sworn officers by the first of next year. The Marshall Plan Committee has launched its first crime fighting initiative--Project Ceasefire--that will take guns and gangs off our streets. Project Ceasefire is a proven crime reduction plan that has shown 45-60% reductions in violent crime in other cities. Our partnership with other law enforcement agencies has been key in bringing Ceasefire to Stockton and tackling the crime in our city. We need to take back our city, one neighborhood at a time.

As your Mayor, I will continue to fight crime with every resource available. I will help small business expansion and job creation with reduced fees and streamlined permitting, and I will bring literacy skills to our most challenged children and families.

I'm not going to give up on this city. I would be honored to have your vote for Mayor.