Cindy Chavez
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| Cynthia Marie Chavez | |
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District 3 Councilmember/Vice Mayor
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| In office December 31, 1998 – December 31, 2006 (Appointed Vice Mayor in 2005) |
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| Preceded by | David Pandori |
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| Succeeded by | Sam T. Liccardo |
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| Born | April 7, 1964 Alamogordo, New Mexico |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Mike K. Potter |
| Profession | Councilmember / Politician |
Cindy Chavez (born April 7, 1964) served as Vice Mayor of the city of San Jose, California while a member of the San José City Council. She represented District Three (which includes downtown San Jose) on the San Jose City Council. Chavez was first elected to the Council in 1998 and re-elected in 2002. In 2005, she was chosen by San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales and confirmed by her colleagues to serve as vice mayor. Prior to her service as a city councilmember, Chavez was the staff director at the South Bay Labor Council and a policy aide for Ron Gonzales when he was a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. [1]
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[edit] Education
- Chavez was educated at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward.
- She graduated in 1987 with a B.A. in Political Science from San Jose State University.
[edit] Politics
Chavez was nominated by Gonzales, and voted unanimously by the Council as Vice Mayor of San Jose, and chairs the council meetings in the Mayors absence.
[edit] Campaign for Mayor
In 2006 Chavez ran for mayor in a field of five major candidates hoping to succeed termed-out Ron Gonzales. In the vote held on November 7, 2006, she was outpolled by Chuck Reed. She collected just 40.3% of the vote while Mr. Reed gained 59.7% of the vote.
During the early stages of the campaign Chavez out-raised her opponents and was the frontrunner in some polls. Chavez also secured many high profile endorsements, including the Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith, the Silicon Valley Young Democrats, Congressman Mike Honda and former San Jose mayor Susan Hammer[2], former US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta[citations needed] and former US President Bill Clinton[citations needed]. However, after she came in second place in the primary voting held on June 6, 2006; Ms. Chavez was never able to regain her early lead and her opponent, Chuck Reed, was leading in all the major polls going into the run-off election. In the event, the polls slightly underestimated Reed's final margin of victory.
[edit] Issues in the Primary Campaign
During the campaign, the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce was criticized by Chavez supporters for sending a mailer exposing the back room deals Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez made and the lack of public notice for the $4 million San Jose Grand Prix subsidy.[3] The Chamber was found to have violated city law in so doing.[4] Further court battles led to a federal court ruling that the city law violated free speech rights and the city was ordered to pay the Chamber's legal costs.[5]
[edit] Assessment of the Primary Voting
In the June 6, 2006 primary, Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez finished in second place with 23.17% of the vote, behind Chuck Reed, who received 28.79%. Pundits attributed Chavez’s second-place showing in the mayoral primary to voter anger over her perceived alliance with Mayor Ron Gonzales, who was censured following disclosure of a secret deal to pay $11 million to trash hauler Norcal Waste Systems and later indicted by a Grand Jury along with Norcal and mayoral policy director Joseph Guerra. Chavez tried to distance herself from the mayor’s controversial practice of quiet dealmaking, but she drew fire following the revelation in the Mercury News of email correspondence disclosing that Chavez withheld information from fellow councilmembers about an effort to give a $4 million subsidy to the San Jose Grand Prix auto. Gonzales was arrested on June 22, 2006 on fraud and bribery charges related to his role in the Norcal matter.
[edit] General Election Results
With the largest margin in several decades, Cindy Chavez lost to Chuck Reed in a nearly 40% to 60% outcome in the San Jose’s Mayors race. In District 3, which she represented, Sam Liccardo won over Manny Diaz.
Cindy Chavez is now a private citizen living in San Jose, raising her son Brennan Mateo.
[edit] Family
She lives with her husband, Mike Potter, the District Director for State Assemblymember Joe Coto, and their son Brennan Mateo (b. 2001) in the Naglee Park neighborhood of San Jose.
[edit] References
- ^ "Chavez on the 'front end of change'" by Daniel DeBolt Almaden Times Weekly May 4, 2006
- ^ Chavez Gets Nod from S.J. FilAms by Lance Cardozo Dwyer Philippine News May 17, 2006
- ^ Chamber mailer creating backlash by Timothy Roberts Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal May 26, 2006
- ^ Chamber rebuked over Anti-Chavez Mailers by John Woolfolk San Jose Mercury News
- ^ Vote on donor limits delayed by John Woolfolk Mercury News Oct 4, 2006
