I am running to be the next City Attorney for the City of Chula Vista.   I have lived in Chula Vista since 1997, where my wife, Claudia, and I bought our first home.   I have been a lawyer for twenty-nine years, including the last twelve plus years as a Chula Vista Deputy City Attorney.  I am exceptionally and uniquely qualified to be the next Chula Vista City Attorney.  I bring a diverse background, broad and significant legal experience, and a commitment to principled leadership.  

I bring a diverse background that fuels my desire to service my community.  My brother and i grew up in Salinas, California. We were raised by my father, who first arrived in the US in the 1950's under the Bracero Program as a farm worker, and then became a sugar factory janitor.   A key event in 6^th grade drove me to become a lawyer and advocate for my community.   My father's work at the sugar factory was seasonal and in the winter my father received unemployment benefits.  That winter my father’s benefits were terminated.  I went with my father to the unemployment office and advocated and translated for my father, successfully restoring his unemployment benefits.   This was not first time I was called to help.  It was not uncommon for me to help my neighbors, too--translating and explaining documents to them. Helping my father and my neighbors motivated me to become a lawyer and to be an advocate for my community.  It has kept me humble and reminds me everyday that I must help and serve my community.  

We grew up in poverty, living in a two-room house.  For me, the choice was either work the fields or go to school.  I believe education can lift a person (and subsequent generations) out of poverty.  I was the first to graduate high school and go to college.  I am a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara with a double major in Law & Society and Spanish. I received my law degree from the University of San Diego, School of Law.  My brother followed right behind me and also graduated high school and college too.  

I have been married for over 27 years. My wife and I met in law school and, yes, she is a lawyer, too.  We have two daughters, Gabriela and Isabel.  Gabriela  graduated from the University of Chicago and is pursuing a Master’s in Education from Notre Dame.   Isabel is a sophomore at Scripps College majoring in nueroscience. 

I have always felt the need to serve and advocate for my community.   While in college, at age nineteen, I joined the Marine Corps Reserve and was a enlisted infantry mortarman and forward observer for a Weapons Company.  I also joined the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office and became a Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy, where I worked weekends patrolling in the City of Goleta, foot patrol with the UCPD, and mountain patrol.   As a Reserve Deputy I was able to help victims of crime in their time of need.  It was also during this time when I experienced  the importance of having high ethics and compassion. 

After law school, I became a Deputy Attorney General in the Criminal Division and worked on criminal felony appellate cases, advocating  in the California Court of Appeal and the Ninth Circuit.   I then went to the San Diego City Attorney's Office where I was a Deputy City Attorney.  I spent four years in the City's nationally renowned Domestic Violence Unit helping victims of domestic violence and elder abuse, and was later assigned to the Civil Division as a Police Legal Advisor to the San Diego Police Department.   I then became a Deputy Commissioner for the Board of Parole Hearings.  

When an opening came up in the Chula Vista City Attorney’s Office, I knew it was time to come home.  I am currently a Deputy City Attorney for the Chula Vista City Attorney’s Office, having been there for twelve plus years.   I have worked on a variety of City matters, including labor and employment law, redevelopment law (Redevelopment and Successor Agency), affordable housing, contracts, ordinances and resolutions, and governmental ethics laws.   I also advise various City boards and commissions, including the Board of Ethics, Civil Service Commission, Mobile Home Rent Review Commission, Sustainability Commission, Housing Advisory Commission, and Human Relations Commission. I believe boards and commissions are very important because they are the public's voice in helping the City make decisions.  I have helped update the Civil Service Rules; update the Board of Ethics processes and create the City’s Code of Ethics; negotiate and reach agreements with the City’s labor unions; saved the City twenty million dollars from being taken by the State when the State eliminated Redevelopment Agencies allowing those funds to be kept by the City for essential services; and, in times of crisis,I have prepared emergency declarations and the City’s eviction moratorium. 

I also serve my community when not at work.  I am a Board Member of Serving Seniors that provides meals to seniors, affordable housing, and wrap around services.   I am also a Board Member of the Chula Vista Community Foundation that provides grants to local non-profits that serve the Chula Vista residents.   

I am running to be the next City Attorney for the City of Chula Vista because Chula Vista is my home.  It’s where my wife and I bought our first home,where our children grew up, where i have seen my City grow, and where I see how amazing Chula Vistans are on a daily basis.  Chula Vista has done and will continue to do purposeful work in the future. Chula Vista has a future filled with opportunity.  I bring a wealth of experience, knowledge, and commitment to my community. I will ensure that the City fulfills its future.  

As City Attorney, I am committed to principled leadership that advances transparency in City activities; ensures high ethical standards so that we are vigilant and prevent corruption, fraud, waste and abuse and that we always put the public's interests above personal interests; seeking out community engagement by engaging with the community, listening and being responsive; and, ensuring the City acts in an inclusive and equitable non-discriminatory manner.   I am a tested and trusted leader, doing the job now to make sure the City receives unbiased, honest, and straightforward legal advice. I am ready to lead on day one.  I am the right person for Chula Vista City Attorney. I will work tireless to advocate for and protect the City and my fellow Chula Vistans.

The position of Chula Vista City Attorney's Office is a non-partisan office.  I am a democrat and i believe that we must serve all members of our community in their time of need in a just, diverse, inclusive, and  equitable manner.  I am the San Diego Democratic endorsed candidate for the Chula Vista City Attorney's Office.  

In terms of my philosphy of how I would lead the City Attorney's Office, as City Attorney I am committed to building a relationship with City Council and the public built upon trust, confidence, and accountability.  That trust, confidence, and accountabilty includes the knowlege that as City Attorney, I will be vigilant and demand that the City, including City Council, always acts in an ethical matter, putting the public's interest above personal interests. 

A City Attorney is not a policy maker and is not a sixth councilmember.  City policy is made by the Mayor and City Council.  As City Attorney, I would provide the legal support and advice in implementing their policies.  I would advise on the law, risks, and consequences of their actions so that they can make sound decisions for the benefit of the public.  I would do so by providing independent, honest, and straighforward legal advice that protects the interests of the community.   I have to earn City Council's and the public's trust every day and I am committed to doing so.   

Having been a lawyer for twenty-nine years, including the last twelve plus years as a Deputy City Attorney in the Chula Vista City Attorney's Office, I have worked dilgently to earn trust, confidence, and accountability required to be the next City Attorney.  My diverse background, broad and significant legal experience, and committment to principled leadership will further create and enhance the trust, confidence, and accountability I must earn from City Council and the public.  I am a tested and trusted lawyer and leader.