Candidate for
Council Member; City of Hayward; 2 Year Term

While I was a child in Hayward, my parents worked hard to make ends meet. My sister and brother and I had very little parental supervision or involvement and I had the responsibility of watching over them. As a student I experienced the effects of school closures and benefited from free & reduced lunch programs at school. I was lucky to be a GATE student and I'm grateful for the educational opportunities I was afforded in my earlier school years. I attended Lorin Eden from K-3rd, Southgate from 4-7th and Mt. Eden from 8-12th grades.

Although I grew up awkward & shy, at 16 I started working internationally as a model. My world travel enabled me to receive a "real life" education with persons of other cultures. In spite of my frequent absence from school, I took extra classes both here and abroad and finished high school a semester early. Although I enjoyed a fast-paced lifestyle, I stayed away from drugs and alcohol. I kept working overseas for several years and became homesick from all the travel. I missed my family and finally came home.

In 1991 I got involved in the real estate industry and started out as a loan agent. For that job, I shied away from telling my real age for fear that nobody in their right mind would want to hire 19-year old for a job like that. Despite my age, I was a top-performing loan agent as a rookie.

In 1992, I joined the management team of a small chain of bay area restaurants called "Rickshaw". I'm no stranger to hard work. My duties ranged from scrubbing the floors to negotiating leases with big landlords for new restaurant sites and finding franchisees. I had the courage to make difficult decisions replace underperforming and non-compliant managers, many of whom were more than twice my age. For streamlining restaurants' operations, I instituted new policies and procedures. In the beginning, I had a reputation for being a "hot-head" but have since become much more mellow.

In 1995 after removing myself from the chain's management, I opened Hayward's Rickshaw Express restaurant on Jackson Street. During that time, I was faced with the task of increasing revenue and making payroll. I ran a clean, disciplined operation and after 10 years of success in that location, I sold the restaurant in 2005.

One of the things I miss about owning the restaurant is the opportunity to make an impression on many of the youth I employed who were going through a similar scenario that I experienced growing up: Not enough parental supervision, involvement or guidance. Not much older than many of the youth I employed, I fulfilled a need in mentoring and oftentimes disciplining those kids as measures to prepare them for what will be expected of them in other careers later in life. I recall having some of the youth I hired write essays on issues such as "the importance of being responsible" when they displayed behaviors that needed improvement.

Since selling the restaurant, I've worked as a real estate consultant, accustomed to representing and advocating for people in my work. I've received many awards and recognitions for my business and civic accomplishments & contributions. Often I host the IMPACT Show and moderate on various issues that affect our community. I'd love to explore starting a film commission in Hayward that can help the local economy and put Hayward "on the map"...

No stranger to community service leadership, I've built a reputation for being a bold leader. In 1998, I was invited to become a Rotarian in Hayward and have held many leadership positions within Rotary, including President from 2003-2004 and for a second term from 2004-2005. My presidency enabled me to support on a group level many organizations dear to my heart and that I strongly believed in. These organizations include the Hayward Police Explorers, Rotary's Third Grade Dictionary Project, The Kids' Breakfast Club and the Sulphur Creek Nature Center, among many others. During my term(s) as President, I was affectionately referred to as the "Dragon Lady". To this day, I'm still the youngest member of my Rotary Club.

Over the last several years, I've been very active in my neighborhood association, the historic Prospect Hill. I've been described as the driving force behind improved neighborhood communication, crime-awareness and unity among neighbors. At Prospect Hill, I started the National Night Out Block Parties which led to a stronger relationship between the residents with each other and with the police department.

Please, please take the time to get to know me and what I stand for.

Please visit my website at http://www.AnnaMayForHayward.com and send an email to vote@AnnaMayForHayward.com. You can also call me any time at (510) 886-ANNA.