Councilmember John McCann Most Qualified for Mayor

·         Endorsed by the Chula Vista Police Officers Association.

·         4-term City Councilmember

·         4-time Deputy Mayor under 3 different Mayors 

·         Navy & Decorated Iraq War Veteran​

·         Third Generation Chula Vistan

·         Successful Small Business Owner 30 years 

John McCann Plan: Common Sense for Chula Vista​

• Public Safety First - Endorsed by Chula Vista Police Officers Association

• Protect Taxpayers - John Opposes: Mileage Tax, Gas Tax & Sales Tax Increase

• Helping Small Business -Assisted in opening over 100 new small businesses

• Balance the Budget -Always supports Balanced Budgets & always will.  

• Combating Homelessness -Protecting Residents & Neighborhoods.  ​

A new day is dawning in Chula Vista. Our current mayor is retiring after serving our community well, we’re transitioning from a pandemic to an endemic where businesses and schools will stay open, and we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild our city stronger than ever with new leadership.

Like so many of us who grew up in Chula Vista, my story is shaped by people like you: A loving community of neighbors, teachers, community leaders, and family members who worked hard to give my generation a better life. My vision for Chula Vista comes from seeing our city through the eyes of working families, like mine.

I was born in East San Diego County and raised in Chula Vista by my mother, the child of Mexican immigrants. Growing up with a single parent, we lived on both sides of the 805, searching across West and East Chula Vista for housing we could afford. I worked as a janitor and groundskeeper at Eastlake Community Church while attending Eastlake High School to help make ends meet.

My mom and mentors inspired me to graduate from Southwestern College and SDSU, and pursue a life of service. What began as a community organizing job in Chula Vista turned into an opportunity that would change my life — working for President Barack Obama at the White House. After the White House, I served as an executive at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce advocating for small businesses, and as a federal official at the U.S. Department of Labor serving working families like the ones I grew up with. 

It’s from this improbable journey, that I write to you today, humbly asking for your support as the next Mayor of our city.

As a third-generation Chula Vistan and small business owner, I’m offering new leadership for a city on the verge of new possibilities as we hopefully transition into a post-pandemic economy. A new bayfront development and new university that will unleash new industries, jobs, housing opportunities, and new revenue to invest in long-neglected services like our roads, public safety, schools, housing, homelessness and small businesses. 

We won’t get there by recycling the same career politicians, who for decades, have failed to deliver long-overdue projects. We can’t wait 20 more years for these opportunities, we need a new mayor who has the energy to work hard, bring sides together to settle differences, and deliver results with a vision to innovate and rejuvenate Chula Vista from Broadway to 3rd Avenue, Otay Ranch to Millenia, east to west of the 805.

Councilmember Jill Galvez was sworn into office on 12/6/2018, representing District 2, Northwest Chula Vista. 

Since then, she has accomplished many things for her district, and continues to get things done throughout Chula Vista.

Jill's biggest accomplishment is the Chula Vista Community Shuttle for Northwest Chula Vista to combat senior isolation. Beginning May 2022, six electric shuttle vehicles (including one ADA van), driven Monday - Friday, 7am-7pm, will take seniors 55 and older anywhere they'd like to go - for FREE - door to door - in Northwest Chula Vista. Click here to watch or here to read the news story.

   Zaneta Encarnacion was born and raised in San Diego County and settled in Chula Vista from San Ysidro in 2004 with her husband, Myke, and son Matthew. 

Zaneta’s successful career in public service is a result of her ability to bring together nonprofit, business, and civic leaders to create positive change, always with a focus on ideas and solutions that are driven by the people most affected. She has a decade of executive leadership experience leading the two largest public institutions in the Chula Vista - the City in the Executive Branch of the Mayor and Council & Southwestern College in Executive Leadership as the Chief of Staff to the Superintendent/President and former Executive Director of the Office of Development and Foundation. She knows how local government works and how at times it doesn't. She is experienced and can get to work on Day One.

Zaneta began her career in public service working for UCSD, advocating to decrease violence against women and tobacco use among Asian communities across the state of California.  As the Chula Vista Mayor & Council Constituent Services Manager, she worked directly with individuals, groups, and businesses to address emerging needs in the community. She then worked at the County Office of Education managing a legislative advisory board addressing childcare and early education needs, specifically for low-income families. At The San Diego Foundation, Zaneta organized Chula Vista community engagement efforts to align philanthropic investment with community-identified needs. Currently, Zaneta serves as the Chief of Staff to Southwestern College’s Superintendent/President and is a member of the Executive Leadership Team, working on special projects that include COVID-19 response and developing university partnerships to bring more four-year degree opportunities to Chula Vista. 

Like so many in San Diego County, Zaneta’s story started with the military. She was raised by a single father who was a Vietnam combat veteran and a member of the graphics communications international union. However, her family struggled financially and relied on the generosity of others for childcare and other support. She went from a high school dropout to a community college graduate leading to a master’s degree in Public Administration and is now a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California (USC). 

Hear directly from Zaneta here

Zaneta believes in the power of community. As someone who has spent decades working with people from all walks of life in all pockets of our community, she has seen firsthand the resiliency and creative problem solving when done collectively. The answers to some of our toughest challenges are within our community and Zaneta is committed to bringing people together while elevating our voice and influence in the region.

I am a father of two wonderful bilingual young ladies who fill my life with love, joy, and purpose. My children are opposites in many ways and one example is with their Chula Vista Elementary School District educational experience. One child tested into the gifted system while the other receives assistance from an educational support team. My children have been fortunate as Chula Vista residents since 2013 to enjoy great support from CVESD and SUHD. For fifteen years I was married to a permanent resident alien and independently facilitated my spouse's legal migration to the United States. I am the middle son of three with one sister who was raised in a single parent household in Phoenix, Arizona. Family is of exceptional importance to me; I am fortunate to share my children with my two mothers and brothers who reside in Arizona and a sister with her family on the island of Kauai.

I lived in Chula Vista from 2013 to 2015 and was able to achieve a master’s degree in homeland security from San Diego State University while serving in the Army. I retired from the Army on March 31, 2021 after more than twenty years of active-duty service. My career serving the county as a medical evacuation helicopter pilot and medical operations officer led me to live all over the world from Germany, Republic of Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Alabama, Texas, Washington State, also Victorville, California. Most recently I lived in Tacoma, Washington where I worked on the I Corps Surgeon’s staff at Joint Base Lewis McChord. It was there that I supported the federal military response to the COVID-19 pandemic by helping to deploy an Army Hospital to Seattle and Army medical personnel across the country including Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. I also helped implement medical protections for the population of Joint Base Lewis McChord which is similar in population size to Chula Vista. My last duty in the military was an assignment to President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed which was the Federal Government’s response to COVID-19, subsequently changed to President Biden’s COVID Task Force. While assigned to Operation Warp Speed, I worked in San Bernadino and San Diego coordinating efforts by the Federal, State, local and other public heath stakeholders to increase awareness and collection COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma in Southern California. Convalescent plasma is a therapeutic solution that provides a viable option to minimize illness effects prior to having an FDA approved vaccine.

Humanitarian is the single best word I could use to describe myself. Spending two years saving lives as a MEDEVAC Helicopter Pilot/Leader during the peak of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars was just part of my humanitarian credentialing. As a registered independent, I am not tied to any group or affiliation and positioned to cherry pick the best ideas from all sides of the spectrum. I am running on a platform of fiscal accountability. The city is being swindled and the taxpayers are being fleeced; if you vote for me, I will stop it.