Duplicate of Stockton City Council District 3Candidate for Council Member

Ernesto Gonzalez was born in Stockton, CA to two hard-working individuals in 1984.  His native-Stocktonian parents sacrificed constantly to provide all of their children more opportunities than should have been possible at that time.  Ernesto excelled in school and also learned the value of community work through volunteering early in life. He graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 2002 and went on to major in political science at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, CA.  

After college, the country was going through a difficult time and jobs were hard to come by.  Ernesto would eventually begin his nine-year nonprofit career at an agency in Los Angeles, CA in 2009.  Over the last nine years, Ernesto has focused much of his career on youth development and mentorship in Stockton, while also working with youth in Tracy, San Francisco and Sonoma.  For almost two years now, Ernesto has been the site director of a family resource center on the south side of Stockton. He remains active in the communities of Stockton through civic engagement and volunteering.

A commitment to empathy, honesty and respect have remained constant not only throughout a career dedicated to helping others, but also throughout his life.  In 2017, Ernesto married the love of his life and they will welcome their first child into this world in August of 2018. He is running for office to be a voice of the people and to help solve the problems that continue to plague this city.  His love of Stockton and his belief in the people here have always remained unwavering. His vision for a brighter future for Stockton is centered around inspiring hope, doing what is just and working for a greater good for all.

Without getting into history and the complexities of political ideologies, I would like to say that  my philosophies on life are similar to my political philosophies. People should make the effort to be kind, compassionate, and respectful to each other.  Human beings are imperfect, but we must try to learn from our mistakes and try to improve so that progress is possible. We are all charged with making this world better than it was before we entered it.  While many of the issues we face are complex, what they all have in common is a relationship to how we all treat each other. I would have to say that greed and indifference are what influences people the most to be more selfish than selfless.  We all have responsibilities and needs that require some sort of monetary gain. When profit becomes more important than progress, greed is winning. When we see people suffering or injustices occurring and we do nothing, indifference is prevailing.  Elected positions are an opportunity to use your acquired skills, knowledge and experiences to represent your community and help improve the quality of life of the people you represent. When considering who to vote for, we must look at what drives a person and what is important to them.  I believe there is a correlation between the kind of person someone is and how they would function in an elected position. Government gets its authority from the people it is supposed to serve. Liberty and justice for all are major components of the social contract between government and citizens, but I believe that transparency is also very important here.  When we trust our government, the relationship becomes more legitimate.