As part of the Vallejo campaign process I helped organize a candidates night for the public sponsored by United Democrats of Southern Solano County. I lined up the venue, chaired the question committee, and moderated the evening. A number of club members helped with refreshments and set up.
If the video dosen't appear in your browser visit YouTube to see the video: United Democrats Candidates Night Part 1 of 5
Jump the fold for a disscusson of the importance of the City of Vallejo Economic Development Strategic Plan in the 2013 City Council race.
United Democrats Candidates Nights on YouTube:
Part 1 of 5 - Vallejo Economic Development Strategic Plan
Part 2 of 5 - Medical Marijuana
Part 3 of 5 - Planning Department Permit Process and Fees
Part 4 of 5 - Municipal Equality Index
Part 5 of 5 - Measure B: Funding Commissions and Public Safety
The Vallejo Economic Development Strategic Plan (VEDSP) was prepared by RDA Global Inc. and published September 11, 2012. And, even though It is a little over a year old its message is still relevant. Only the numbers need updating, not the strategic marketing plan presented based on numbers collected in 2012. (
Download PDF of the VEDSP)
The VEDSP identifies our major community assets to be a highly-skilled and available workforce, low costs of doing business, and location & transportation infrastructure. It also identifies our main challenges, including negative views of Vallejo, crime and public safety, government inefficiency, and slow Mare Island remediation.
At the United Democrats meetings over a year ago the VEDSP was introduced as something we wanted to make into an issue for the election. So, this document was discussed and handed out at a number of meetings. Labor's Jump Start slate specifically ran on the promise of implementing the marketing plan. Labor was our close partner in this election campaign and wanted business friendly candidates to back.
Over the months running up to the election I talked at length with our candidates about the plan. Specifically, I spent a great deal of time talking to Anthony Summers, the only Jump Start candidate that lost, about the plan and it putting a great deal of importance in the image and substance of our City being Human Rights and LBGT friendly in order to attract business to re-locate to Vallejo.
I was pleasantly surprised with the enthusiasm Anthony brought to the discussion of VEDSP from his personal experience in the Human Resources field. He said he had often encountered great businesses that could move to Vallejo. But our city was behind on the Municipal Equality Index score, and the community did not seem friendly enough for the diversity of the business's employees.
Anthony like the Jess Malgapo, Pippin Dew, Rozzana Verder-Aliga the candidates that Labor and the Solano County Democratic Central committee endorsed supported implementation of the plan.
At the public candidates night I drew a random question about the plan. "Pick one of Vallejo’s assets in the plan and talk about how you would promote it if elected using suggestions from the plan." Each of the candidates were given same question and they were expected to answer from their study of the plan. Watch the video yourself and judge how well they answered the question in the very short time available.
For more information on the 2013 Vallejo City Council race see:
Vallejo City Council Race 2013 - Introduction
Vallejo City Council Race 2013 - Meme Warfare
Vallejo City Council Race 2013 - Category Collapse Disorder
Vallejo City Council Race 2013 - Jump Start Vallejo
Vallejo City Council Race 2013 - Cartoons & Correspondence
Vallejo City Council Race 2013 - Election Results
A bit about Vallejo by request:
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is the tenth most populous city in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is located on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay. Vallejo is named for General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (the neighboring city of Benicia is named for his wife).
Vallejo is home to the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom theme park (formerly Marine World and Marine World Africa USA); the now-defunct Mare Island Naval Shipyard; the regional office for Region 5 of the United States Forest Service; the California Maritime Academy (part of the California State University system); the Vallejo Center campus of Solano Community College; and Touro University California, a graduate school offering programs in osteopathic medicine, education, pharmacy, physician assistant studies, and public health. Ferry service runs from a terminal on Mare Island Strait to San Francisco, through the BayLink division of SolTrans.
Vallejo has twice served as the capital of the state of California: once in 1852 and again in 1853, both periods being brief.[2] The State Capitol building burned to the ground in the 1880s and the Vallejo Fire Department requested aid from the Fire Department at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. As there were no bridges at that time, the Mare Island Fire Department had to be ferried across the Napa River, arriving to find only the foundation remaining. This was the first recorded mutual aid response in the state of California.
From Wikipedia: Vallejo, California
Regards,
Jonathan Gordon (linkage)
Vallejo Street Prophet
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of United Democrats of Southern Solano County, The Solano County Democratic Central Committee, California State Democratic Party, or the National Democratic Party.