Candidate for
Council Member; City of San Gabriel

Quick Facts to know about Me:

• Active and contributing member of our community.
• Founding member of Friends of La Laguna.
• Committed to bringing a vision for community investment in San Gabriel.
• Committed to bringing stronger partnerships between the City and the community.
• Committed to making San Gabriel a safe, secure, livable city.

I hold a Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola Law School and have my own law practice specializing in consulting for construction companies. Prior to opening my legal practice I spent several years working for large general contractors.

I graduated from Saint Francis High School in La Canada-Flintridge and maintain a strong bond with my Alma Mater. In 1993 I graduated from California State University - Northridge with a degree in Speech Communications.

I have been married for twelve years to my wonderful wife Sonia and have two daughters who currently attend San Gabriel Unified Schools. We moved to San Gabriel because of the strong school system and great family venues that we found in our city.

Since moving here I have been actively involved in many community organizations. I have coached my daughters in PONY baseball, AYSO soccer and in the San Gabriel Girls Fast Pitch Softball league.

2. Community Involvement

I can distinguish myself from the other candidates in this election by my proven record of community involvement. Since moving to San Gabriel I have been involved in many organizations as I noted above, as well as the former Vice Chair of the SGUSD Facilities Oversight Committee. The organization with the biggest impact on the entire community is the Friends of La Laguna (FOLL).

Along with Eloy Zarate, Senya Lubisich and Eric Kirchhoff I am a founding member of FOLL. We had a humble beginning that originally focused on preventing the City from demolishing "Monster Park" or "Dinosaur Park". For more information on this effort please see http://www.friendsoflalaguna.com

We insisted on having a general goal in our 501(c)3 filing of "To educate, promote, preserve, and conserve the quality of life as it pertains to but not limited to, aesthetic and culturally significant features, facilities, and other aspects within the community." To this day we are thankful that we had a general (rather than specific) mission statement in our filing.

FOLL is the only San Gabriel based non-profit that partners directly with the City on many issues that involve quality of life. Since founding FOLL Eric and I have been very active in the "back-office" work while Senya and Eloy have taken more of the public relations role. However each of us is vital to the success of our efforts.

Looking back over the last 5 years I have forgotten just how much FOLL has achieved. I would like to highlight some of our accomplishments:

• FOLL successfully saved the La Laguna from demolition.
• FOLL has built a partnership and Trust within all departments of the City.
• FOLL has brought more than $300k in grants to the city.
• FOLL has been recognized regionally and nationally for our preservation efforts.
• FOLL has been awarded a CCHE grant that totals $400k that addresses graffiti prevention and removal.
• FOLL won Assemblyman Mike Eng's "There ought to be a law" competition. Our law made it to the Governor's desk.
• FOLL is currently working with Congressman Adam Schiff's office to get another grant for graffiti prevention and abatement.
• FOLL has organized community play dates at the La Laguna playground.
• FOLL has worked to develop safe routes to Schools; organized the "walking school bus" starting at the North Fire Station to Washington School.
• FOLL has worked to protect residential neighborhoods and bring awareness to of traffic and issues that affect police.
• FOLL has worked with Parks and Recreation to promote our parks.
• FOLL has provided input to help add to a positive image for the "National Night Out" program.
• FOLL supported banning smoking in City parks.