Tenure On The City Council
Chavez was first elected to the Council in 1998 and re-elected in 2002. In 2005, she was chosen by the San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales and confirmed by her City Council colleagues to serve as Vice Mayor. As Vice Mayor, Cindy Chavez maintained a reputation as an advocate for improving the quality of life in neighborhoods throughout San Jose. She was a leader in developing innovative community based programs to address crime, education, small business development and neighborhood revitalization. Elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2002, her tenure was distinguished by implementing goals to make every neighborhood safe and enhancing opportunities for residents and providing guidance on improving city government's service to them. Recognizing the need for increased community-based improvements, Chavez continued to be a force behind allocating more Redevelopment Agency funds for enhancing neighborhoods.
Working with the Mayor and her City Council colleagues, Chavez established the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative, a program that uses Redevelopment Agency resources to improve neighborhood conditions, enhance community safety, strengthen local neighborhood associations, and expand community services.
As a former Downtown District Three Council Representative, Chavez served on numerous committees. She formally Chaired the Rules Committee and served on the Downtown Parking Board, Guadalupe River Park Task Force, Police and Fire Retirement Board, San Jose Beautiful, and the SJ/SC Treatment Plant Advisory Committee. Additionally, she served on many other local and regional bodies including the Valley Transportation Authority as Vice-Chair, VTA Policy Advisory Board, Nanotechnology Infrastructure and Assets Subcommittee, and many others.
Prior to her election as a City Council member, Chavez had served as the Staff Director of Working Partnerships USA and as the Director of Education and Outreach for the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council. She also served for three years as budget and policy aide to then Supervisor Ron Gonzales. As Vice Mayor, Chavez's focus on quality-of-life concerns led to a greater emphasis on the delivery of basic services, from removing graffiti and slowing down traffic speeding through neighborhoods to creating more green space, protecting children's health, creating stronger partnerships between colleagues and after school programs for youth.
Read more about this topic: Cindy Chavez
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