By Mary Salas
With a population of nearly 250,000 residents Chula Vista is the second largest city in San Diego County. Chula Vista represents both the promise of growth and the strength of an established community.
In my capacity as a council member for this vibrant and diverse city, I am proud to have played a leadership role for over 20 years as a community volunteer, planning commissioner and assemblywoman. All that experience has prepared me to lead our community forward with the exciting opportunities that lay before us. As Chula Vista grows we must honor our citizens by serving their needs in the best way possible. I plan to do this as Mayor of Chula Vista by focusing on creating local jobs, addressing public safety, and improving roads and infrastructure.
While we are a large city, Chula Vista lacks local jobs for our citizens. Nearly three-quarters of the Chula Vista workforce leaves every morning for jobs outside of our community. We need to do a better job of increasing our jobs to housing ratio and to protect our industrial land space so that we can have room for companies to locate and expand. More local jobs means reduced commute times, less wear and tear on our roads and increased time for family in addition to expanding our revenue base to provide more services to our residents. I have a positive record of creating jobs and encouraging economic development. During my time on the city council I have led efforts to secure funding for new urban parks and thoroughfares, improving infrastructure and bringing jobs to the community.
My vision for this community means I will bring that same energy to the renewal of the west side of Chula Vista and the revitalization of our bay front. I am also looking forward to bringing a four-year university to Chula Vista. The education and job opportunities a university provides are ideal for our community and will breathe new life into the city’s workforce. It is important that while we bring jobs and build infrastructure here, Chula Vista remains a livable city.
As a life-long Chula Vista resident, I am proud of our record on public safety. We are among the safest cities in our region and that has everything to do with the dedication and experience of our top notch firefighters and police officers. Still, we must hire more police officers and make sure our firefighters receive paramedic training as the city grows. Public safety also means that we strengthen our code enforcement efforts to keep our city beautiful and graffiti free.
I am proud and grateful to have the support of so many Chula Vistans as well as our police and firefighters. With their confidence in me, I will use my experience to lead Chula Vista forward the right way as your new mayor.
Mary Salas is a Chula Vista City Council member, former California State Assembly member and candidate for mayor of Chula Vista. She was born and raised in Chula Vista and graduated from San Diego State University.