Consejo Municipal, Distrito 4 — Ciudad de Chula Vista

A LIFETTIME OF SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY

Mike Diaz was born in Mexico, went to Castle Park High School, became a U.S. citizen, married his high school sweetheart, and became a firefighter. Debi and Mike have two daughters and four grandchildren. Mike and Debi live in the Castle Park neighborhood where they grew up. After Mike retired from the fire department he taught at Sweetwater High School.

MIKE AND HIS WIFE ARE VERY INVOLVED IN THEIR CHURCH

They taught Sunday school together. Mike ran their Salt and Light ministry and today he is very involved in prison ministry work.

Andrea Cardenas is a life-long resident of Southwest Chula Vista. She is the youngest of three and was born into an immigrant, working-class household. Her father was a labor attorney in Mexico before falling critically ill, causing him to retire from his profession. This resulted in Andrea’s family having to face homelessness and food insecurity for a significant part of her childhood. 

Her path for civic engagement began at the age of 14, when she was invited to volunteer for the California Democratic Party at their Headquarters in National City, CA. Since then, Andrea found her passion in engaging people from disenfranchised communities, in particular, young people, in the political process. 

Andrea is a product of Chula Vista public schools. She graduated with Honors from Hilltop Senior High School in 2009 before attending the University of California, Riverside and receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Public Policy.

After she graduated from UC Riverside, Andrea was hired to serve as a Community Representative for the Mayor of San Diego where she advised on issues regarding Binational Affairs as well as represented the 8^th District of the City of San Diego, which included the communities of Barrio Logan, Sherman Heights, San Ysidro, Nestor, and Otay Mesa. 

Andrea has also had the opportunity to work with Casa Familiar, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing critical social services to the community of San Ysidro. In her capacity at Casa Familiar, Andrea helped establish the first “Ventanilla de Asesoria Financiera” a financial help desk based out of the Mexican Consulate that provides financial literacy and education opportunities for Mexican Nationals, immigrants, and underserved communities. 

Politically, Andrea Cardenas has played a key role in helping elect several of our South San Diego County regional leaders, including, but not limited to, Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas-Salas, National City Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis, and Imperial Beach Councilwoman Paloma Aguirre. 

Andrea is a progressive leader and business owner, whose unique blend of community advocacy and work in the public sector make her the best choice to represent the residents of the 4^th District on the Chula Vista City Council, and ensure they receive their fair share of city services.