Sanchez sees communication, fiscal responsibility as key
Eugenia Sanchez, appointed as mayor of Hollister at a Dec. 1
city council meeting, first got into politics for her children.
When her kids, now 15 and 17, were in kindergarten and second
grade she got involved at their school.
Sanchez sees communication, fiscal responsibility as key
Eugenia Sanchez, appointed as mayor of Hollister at a Dec. 1 city council meeting, first got into politics for her children.
When her kids, now 15 and 17, were in kindergarten and second grade she got involved at their school.
“I got involved first as a parent volunteer in the classroom, as a room mother,” Sanchez said on a recent Sunday morning, dressed in a black blazer with her gold city council badge on the lapel.
From there she joined the District Language Advisory Committee and the English Language Advisory Committee in Hollister, since her children were enrolled in bilingual education. That led to attending many an evening meeting of the Hollister School District Board of Education.
After years on the committee, Sanchez ran for school board herself in 2002 and won a seat. After one term on the board, including a year as President, she decided to run for the city council in 2006.
“At the end of the fourth year I had to decide if I wanted to run for school board or the city council,” Sanchez said. “I decided to run for city council. I really wanted to be part of the process of making decisions for the city as a whole.”
The issues that Sanchez ran on two years ago are reflected in the city council’s goals for 2008, and in the things she lists as top priorities as she takes on the role of Mayor. She listed public safety, fiscal responsibility and an “open-door policy” as her top priorities then and now. The city council also had a goal of looking at affordable and diverse housing.
When it comes to communication, Sanchez has made herself available to her constituents. Though she works out of town in Gilroy, as a full-day kindergarten teacher at Las Animas Elementary School, she said she is often available anytime after 2:30 p.m. on weekdays and most weekends. In November she made an appearance at the migrant education program parents’ meeting, where she gave out her cell phone number to anyone who had questions or concerns.
“I do know people in my district, quite a lot of people” she said, of District 2, which incorporates much of the West side of Hollister. “They talk to me about things that are happening and what we can do.”
The sewer rate increases were a hot topic with residents in her district, some whom she says speak mostly Spanish.
“Everything is televised on CMAP, but not everyone has access to it,” Sanchez said. “And we have a Web site in English and Spanish.”
As mayor, she said she will plan forums in the community where people can gather to share their ideas and concerns outside of a formal council meeting. She also mentioned a monthly or bimonthly newsletter about city council happenings that could be distributed to other agencies in the community.
“It could keep them abreast and informed of what we are doing,” she said.
On that note, Sanchez said one of the biggest accomplishments in the first half of her term has been the city council members’ movement toward collaborating with other agencies. The council is working with other agencies such as the county Board of Supervisors, the Hollister School District, the county Office of Education and the San Benito High School District to fund a gang coordinator position. In addition the city is splitting the cost of two school resource officers with the Hollister School District.
As mayor she said she will encourage the council to meet early in 2009 to look at their goals and rethink them, especially given the economic situation.
Sanchez acknowledged that the council has taken missteps in the past when it comes to money, including the 2008 rally T-shirt debacle in which the city ended up losing money and still has stock on hand.
“We thought we were going to make a profit out of investing in the T-shirts,” Sanchez said. “Of course sometimes things don’t turn out as you think they might turnout so I guess this is something that we learned we might not want to proceed with in the future.”
But she emphasized that with the passage of Measure T, a sales tax increase, the city council has not had to layoff employees as the economy has slowed, as other nearby cities have had to do.
With the sewer moratorium lifted, Sanchez said the council will need to look carefully at which projects are approved, especially if they are to meet their goal of adding diverse and affordable housing to the community.
“Any project will definitely need to go through planning and city council,” she said. “There is a general plan that needs to be followed. The projects that we really want to come in, we definitely want to benefit our community.”
She noted that South County Housing, a nonprofit agency, is set to build apartments in the city limits.
“When I was running for office one of the biggest concerns was that we were letting just any developer come in, and take our money and just leaving us with problems behind,” she said. “I think we are going to be very diligent in terms of what is being built.”
Sanchez will serve as mayor for one year, when the city council will vote again to decide on an appointment. In the past, the city council has generally rotated through the districts, though on Dec. 1 the members opted to skip the District 1 appointment as the councilmember, Victor Gomez, is new to the council.
“It’s great that I was given that opportunity,” Sanchez said. “I really thank them for their support and confidence in me as mayor.”