Just down the street from his childhood house, Rodney Loche remembers a time when Hayward families packed the benches behind East Avenue Elementary, which he attended.

On Saturdays, the crack of a bat could be heard from all around the neighborhood; the snack stands would be filled with customers waiting for a cold drink on a hot afternoon. Girl’s softball, pee wee league and little league games occupied the three busy fields, bringing the community together.

“[There were] hundreds of people, and it was just lovely,” he said. “And then after so many years, I’d drive by there and there was nothing but weeds.”

As a candidate for Hayward City Council elections on June 3, Loche says if he were elected he would like to someday see the baseball fields full again. He believes Hayward needs more alternative activities that involve members of the community of all ages.

This ideal aligns with current councilmembers Al Mendall and Mark Salinas, who both say they would like to reintroduce a bowling alley, since the one on Mission Boulevard and Industrial Parkway is closed.

Currently the city council has three main priorities: safety, cleanliness and green sustainability. And while, Loche agrees upon these priorities, he believes education, safety and development are fundamental to the cities growth, both economically and socially.

“One thing we haven’t done well is make use of the resources we have in our city,” said Loche, in regards to education.

In terms of education, Loche believes the nearby colleges, California State University, East Bay and Chabot College, should create a strong partnership, which he would model after California State University, Long Beach’s Seamless Education Foundation, which partners with the city school district to “ensure that more student would graduate from high school prepared for college,” according to the CSUEB website.

City council unanimously passed a 5 percent cut to city employees in SEIU local 1021, in February where workers lost “roughly $200 from every paycheck for one year,” reported KTVU news. He understands the reason behind the council’s vote, but thinks they could have spent more time creating a better agreement having taken only four days to decide, said Loche.

Economically, Loche believes public development is key and would like to create friendlier environments, by cutting down the waiting period to receive permits.

Loche’s history with Hayward can be regarded as sentimental; a trait that he shares with his wife, whom he met through mutual friends and family as a junior at Hayward High School.

Patricia Loche, his wife, has fond memories of Roche’s gentleman-like demeanor, a characteristic that he still holds today in her eyes. She admitted upon first sight, she thought he was well beyond his years.

Over 26 years the two of them have built a powerful connection.

“I’m happy he’s doing something he’s passionate about,” she said about his candidacy. “It’s funny how our lives have just sort of correlated together now. We’re both in service learning, we’re in community engagement type of careers, so it’s exciting. It just funny to see it now, we’ve come full circle.”

Loche works as the director of community development at Social Vocational Services, a non-profit organization, that helps people with disabilities find jobs, most whom he says have never had one.

“The first time he met my son he saw my son’s potentials,” said Meredith Schonherr, whose son Darryl Wilson is enrolled in the vocational service program.

“Rodney acted, voluntarily, as a mentor to my son,” Schonherr said. “He never had a father figure and Rodney has given him that outlook on life,” she said.

Two years ago, she explained, her son, who was diagnosed earlier with depression and as bipolar, made him introverted and shy. He had a hard time keeping friends and would become depressed with feelings of inadequacy.

But those episodes have ceased since Rodney helped him get a job at Target.

“It was the best thing I ever did for my son,” she said. “He made a big difference in my life, and could in the community as a whole,”

Loche has also voluntarily served the city of Hayward for more than a decade as chair on both the Citizens Advisory Commission, a district committee under the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District, and the Planning Commission, which involves planning for development policy issues around the area.

“He’s outstanding and always put a lot of thought into his vote,” said Councilmember Al Mendall, about Rodney’s work ethic on the committees. “And I’ve always admired him for that.”

In late 2010, Anderson Pugash for Simeon Commercial Properties requested zoning applications for a small strip mall off Mt. Eden Business Park, according to the Hayward Planning Commission website. Mendall remembers it well, and said it was a gamble. The project contained a liquor store; he and Rodney shared the same sentiment.

“It’s good,” said Mendal. “But we don’t want any more liquor stores.”

They denied the developer.

“It’s difficult to say no in hopes of something better,” Mendall added.

And while both believe development is good, they agreed it could be better. The developer came back a year later without the liquor store plans and the zoning was passed.

Rodney has published three books, a children’s book called “The Gadget 2000” along with two other fiction books: “Heroes of the Heart” and “Low Road to Heaven.” His interest in book writing arose out of Hayward High’s student newspaper Haypress, where he used to have a column, called “Me to You.”

After getting his first book published, he fell back into writing and started contributing to the Examiner.com, a hub for freelancer journalist across the United States.

Rodney has a deep-seeded connection with Hayward, having grown up and lived here for more than 40 years.

“I loved growing up in Hayward, and that’s one of the reasons I’m running,” said Loche. “Hayward has served me well,” he said. “My hope is that I can serve Hayward in the same way it has served me, because I’m a better person for having grown up in this city.”