I am a fourth-generation San Leandro resident with deep roots in the city. My working-class family provided me with opportunities to see what’s best about San Leandro. Our City, like the entire East Bay, is changing rapidly—and often not for the best.  The people who built San Leandro can no longer afford to live here, work here. and raise a family here.  The community that makes San Leandro and raised me is disappearing.

By day, I am a tradesman with the Sheet Metal Workers.  I am no stranger to hard work and to getting things done.  When the County issued the shelter-in-place ordinance, I decided to act and find a way to help my neighbors.

With the help of friends and the generosity of local leaders, I went about helping those in need and distributing over 3000 meals from my driveway.

As your Councilmember, I promise to work tirelessly to find solutions to the many issues facing San Leandro today. I will put the needs of community first.  Business-as-usual in City Hall is obviously not working for us.

Lead by Values 

Every policy position that I take and every vote I cast as your City Councilor will be made after careful consideration and reflecting on my core values: 

• Engaging and Supporting Community
• Protecting Vulnerable Residents
• Building a Resilient Community
• Supporting Working Families
• Taking Action

 Engaging and Supporting Community

The people of San Leandro should be involved in the decisions of their government. We need to encourage participation, do more to support community groups, and reach out to underrepresented communities to make sure their voices are heard. I will look to the residents of San Leandro for input on important decisions.

 Protecting Vulnerable Residents

Not everyone has the same ability to be engaged civically. Different neighborhoods and people have varying levels of control capacity, connections, and social and economic power to influence government decisions. I will make sure that our less affluent and more marginalized neighbors will have a voice on the council. 

Everyone deserves stable housing. I will vote to protect tenants from evictions and massive rent increases and homeowners from foreclosures. I support assistance for our homeless population and will champion strategies to get people off the streets and keep people in stable homes.

 Building a Resilient Community

We have challenges ahead of us. We’re still dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic which we can expect to have economic repercussions. There is also the looming threat of climate change that will affect our community. We must be prepared. I am not satisfied with our city’s response to coronavirus. We need to and can do better. When the shelter-in-place orders went into effect, I sprang into action making checkup calls to vulnerable residents, delivering groceries and providing meals to those in need. 

When something goes wrong, we need to take care of each other. Our community connections can save lives. We need more robust neighborhood emergency planning that would help us respond to a pandemic, economic downturn, fire, earthquake or other disaster. Our city can help coordinate this and provide resources for networks of community groups.

We must also make sure that everyone in San Leandro feels invested and connected with their community. That means making sure we can keep homeowners and renters in their homes. We need protections from foreclosures and evictions. Our city can help provide a safety net and assistance for homeowners and renters.

Protecting Our Environment. I will work to support regional, state and national efforts to reduce carbon emissions and our reliance on fossil fuels. We can be leaders in a transition to a sustainable economy. I support sustainable infrastructure projects that will provide good jobs and clean energy for our community. We need a Green New Deal for San Leandro.

Bridging the Digital Divide. With COVID-19, it is more important than ever that we make sure that all San Leandro residents have access to reliable internet connections. Families with school aged children without reliable internet are in danger of falling behind. Seniors without connections are more isolated and may not get the resources they need. As a Parks and Recreation Commissioner I successfully pushed to get public wifi at all our parks. I want to make sure that everyone has access to a reliable internet connection.

Supporting Working Families

One of the top reasons people move to San Leandro is to raise families. Juggling family and work life was difficult enough under normal times. Under Covid-19 and without public support it has become untenable. I will support our public schools, fight for universal after-care programs, and develop solutions with the community to increase potential for telecommuting, even after Covid. I support our local businesses. Having a vibrant local economy provides jobs, reduces commutes, and provides local services that our residents need.  

Taking Action

We need our city to be responsive to the needs of our community. As a community organizer and advocate I have made myself available as a point of contact for concerns of residents. I will continue and expand upon this as your City Councilmember. Our city needs to be forward thinking, working to prevent problems as well as providing timely response.

Keeping Our Community Clean. Our living environment affects our quality of life. I am dedicated to improving the quality of life for everyone in San Leandro. This means maintaining our neighborhoods and public spaces. We can do more to make sure that our city is keeping our public parks, neighborhoods and commercial spaces clean and accessible. I’ve led community clean ups to help maintain our public spaces and have responded to resident’s concerns about waste, litter and dumping. The city should make sure blighted areas are cleaned up.

As your Councilmember, nothing is more important to me than your health, safety, and financial stability. I will ensure the City continues to be ready for any type of emergency.

I will continue the fight to protect 911 emergency response capacity; maintain health and economic programs; expand job creation; and help vulnerable San Leandrans who need extra support as we all work through the economic and health impacts of COVID-19.

My wife Katherine and I chose to raise our family here because San Leandro is a community built on a culture and legacy of diversity and caring for others, values we want our daughters –Rachel and Sarah– to continue to learn first-hand from the both of us. Working together, we can protect the vital safety-net programs that assist local families who are struggling harder than ever to meet basic needs.

I will continue my partnerships with residents, community and business leaders, neighborhood associations, and elected officials to maintain the partnerships for after-school programs for children and teens, provide solutions to address homelessness, expand housing for future generations that our workforce can afford, help local businesses thrive and repair our streets and potholes--making our roads safer while creating jobs.

Please contact me at ehernandez@sanleandro.org if I can assist you with any concern, where I will work with my council colleagues to address items in our San Leandro neighborhood or on city-wide issues. We all agree that we can and will get through this together!

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Councilmember Ed Hernandez’s core vision for San Leandro is a safe, healthy, and thriving city.  In these challenging times, Ed will continue his leadership to maintain our San Leandro quality of life.

Councilmember Ed Hernandez Priorities

Local Recovery

Working together, San Leandro can continue to be a thriving, vibrant city.

I will work closely with:

• Our locally owned shops and stores,
• The Chamber of Commerce, and
• City staff to support our local and small businesses through this transition. 

I will continue efforts to:

• Attract high- paying jobs for residents,
• Address homeless and housing insecurity, and
• expand housing for all, particularly near mass transit.

Focusing on local recovery, will keep the community we all love diverse and allow future generations and our local workforce to live here.

911 Emergency Response

San Leandro must maintain adequate 911 emergency and medical response capacity in the event of any future health or natural catastrophe. 

We must:

• Enhance emergency and disaster preparedness,
• Use new technology to assist first responders in rendering aid to those who need it,
• Maintain youth violence prevention, gang intervention, and neighborhood police patrols, and neighborhood watch programs.

These are my top priorities for keeping San Leandro's young people and families safe.

Street and Road Repair

I am as tired as many of you of driving over our potholes and buckled streets!  As we have poured tons of asphalt onto our roads, there is more to do.  Addressing these infrastructure needs not only keeps pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, and first responders safe, but helps put people back to work during these tough times.  I have been a vocal advocate for improving walkability, safety, and access for non-motorized vehicles. 

Education

As the father of two young daughters, nothing is more important to me than their education.  I will strengthen City-School partnerships to help bridge the “Digital Divide” for families with difficult access to computers or Wi-Fi.  Maintaining City after-school programs for children and teams at our City parks, paths and playfields will help keep our kids motivated, off the street, and out of trouble.