Zermeño makes his case for Hayward mayor

Francisco Zermeño,
Hayward Councilmember

Hayward, my favorite and my adopted city, was born on March 11, 1876, as a suburb of the great San Francisco. It used to be Hayward’s, then Haywards, then finally just Hayward.

It is now a full urban city, with urban problems, and the headaches that come with being an urban center.

A mayor’s job is a daunting one, with all the many matters that need to be taken care of. There is a General Plan to look into every ten years, contract talks with nine different unions just about every year, 263 miles of streets to look after, land uses, controlled growth which cannot go into the hills, the bar or into Union City and San Leandro, a city hall with over 700 employees, and the many and varied needs and requests of our residents.

It is doable however, with good time management skills, an open mind, a good vision, a mixture of seriousness and joy of life, and, most importantly, the will to do the best that can be done, all in order to provide the services that our Hayward family deserves.

My interest lies in the health of our Hayward community, all of our community, not just a particular area.  Our most important issue at the moment is the Economy. Every resident clamors for a safe, a clean, and a green city. My platform is economy and I will key in on helping our small, medium, and large businesses, in order to be more business friendly.

We are working on that, BUT, if we don’t have the money in our treasury for those items, we will not be able to deliver the services that our residents deserve.

So, what I have been doing, am doing, and will do is work, diligently, constantly, and seriously, on us fine city having a vibrant economy. We wait for things to happen. I will push for things to happen. As a business owner, as founder of the Latino Business Roundtable, in 2004, and as the No. 1 cheerleader of Hayward, I pledge to push us to a healthy economy.

While I’m a firm believer in keeping one’s ego in check, I must admit a certain amount of personal pride. Over the last thirteen years of registering people to vote, in my classes, in Hayward businesses and streets, at our former business, at people’s home while knocking on doors, and at our street parties, I figure that I’ve singlehandedly registered to vote some 820 people! It is my civic duty, and I take it seriously.

I have been a union member for over 35 years, as well as held all the official positions, from membership chair to president and negotiator of our union at Chabot Las Positas faculty.

As my door hanger illustrates, one of my priorities is jobs, not just better ones, but more jobs in general, at a prevailing wage. In city projects, I maintain that we have local hires.

Our next Hayward mayor will need to lead with seriousness, experience, knowledge, and with a track record of supporting our unions. I am that candidate, and am ready for that task. I ask for your support, so that we can take our fine city forward.

For 35 years, I have worked to make Hayward a better place for my family and yours. As a professor, father, husband, business owner, and city councilmember, I work every day to make Hayward a place where businesses can thrive and families can feel safe.

My family and I have lived in Hayward for over three decades. Our children attended public schools in Hayward. My wife and I have run a family business and we are committed to providing jobs for the community, right here in Hayward.

I’m confident that Hayward can do better to live within its means, just as every family, and I know we can use our limited resources more efficiently, just as every business does.

I pledge to help restore pride and confidence in city hall and balance the books in a way that upholds our commitments to our downtown businesses, our local schools, our St. Rose Hospital, neighborhoods, and quality of life.

Before being elected to the city council in 2008, I served 10 years in appointed positions of community service, including the library and planning commission.  As a 35-year full-time tenured educator at Chabot College I have had the great honor to work with other educators, to help improve educational standards as well as to assist in making education accessible to our youth. I believe that the future of Hayward is linked to our schools and our higher education systems.

On the council, I have worked to develop our city’s 2014-2018 Economic Development Strategic Plan and our General Plan to effectively guide our future economic focus, the beautification of Hayward, and the refurbishing of downtown.

I am ready to lead our fine city, and believe that together we can make Hayward a better community in which to live, learn, work, shop and play.

Hayward on!