Velazquez pledges to focus on education, job creation
Local business owner and restaurateur Ignacio Velazquez is
running for the Republican nomination for the 28th Assembly
District seat that includes San Benito and southern Santa Clara
counties.
A resident of San Benito County since 1993, Velazquez, 40, moved
to this area from Santa Ana and settled in Hollister because of its
unique way of life.
”
I went to San Jose and didn’t like what they were doing with
that city at all, and I looked at San Juan and really like that
city, but there was no place to live.
”
Velazquez pledges to focus on education, job creation
Local business owner and restaurateur Ignacio Velazquez is running for the Republican nomination for the 28th Assembly District seat that includes San Benito and southern Santa Clara counties.
A resident of San Benito County since 1993, Velazquez, 40, moved to this area from Santa Ana and settled in Hollister because of its unique way of life. “I went to San Jose and didn’t like what they were doing with that city at all, and I looked at San Juan and really like that city, but there was no place to live.”
Velazquez lives in town with his wife and infant son. He owns and operates a large electrical contracting company based in San Benito County and is the proprietor of The Vault restaurant in downtown Hollister.
Velazquez has limited past political experience. He served as president of the San Benito County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce from 1999 to 2001 and the president of the Hollister Downtown Association in 2002. He is a past president of the San Benito County Center for the Arts. He also has experience managing the campaigns of past political candidates, including Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz.
He claimed that he was tired of the “same old partisan politics in Sacramento” which have “created a poisoned atmosphere of distrust and disgust among California voters who have lost almost all faith that government can really solve problems and address their needs.”
Convinced that an accomplished business owner can’t possibly know less than the politicians, he said he wants to eliminate the roadblocks and obstacles state government places in the way of individuals who want a part of the ‘American Dream’: buying a first home, building a business, or raising a family.
His ambitious platform includes reconstructing government. Velazquez said that the people need to return power and dollars from Sacramento back to the cities and counties where county supervisors, city council members, school boards – as well as parents and business owners know best how to address the challenges facing their communities.
“It’s time for a change in state government,” Velazquez said. It’s time for communities to receive their fair share. There’s too much wasted money in Sacramento. That money needs to stay local where it can help leaders that know what’s best for their own communities.”
He claims that one of his biggest concerns is political corruption. The corruption needs to stop. “Leaders need to represent their people, not attack them. The county (San Benito) has spent $4 million in lawsuits against citizens. That money needs to go where it can do the most good.” Velazquez claims he has taken a leading role in fighting political corruption in San Benito County, observing “corruption in government must be rooted out regardless of whether it’s centered in the state capital or the county seat.
Some of the members of local government have other thoughts on Velazquez and his views. District Attorney John Sarsfield said that Velazquez filed a shakedown lawsuit against the county and the board of supervisors in 2004, and is convinced that the man is trying to pick the pockets of the same taxpayers he claims to want to serve.
Velazquez said education is also a top priority. His feeling is that the expenditure of more than $50 billion per year on California’s educational system isn’t buying taxpayers better schools or better teachers, but more bureaucracy and control by the politicians in the capital. He said he wants to see tax dollars returned to the local communities where they can empower school boards, teachers, and parents to make those decisions that will improve the quality of education in this state.
“Education is the key to everything. It provides for more higher-paying jobs and keeps kids safer from gangs. Youth feel they have no options so they get into illegal activities, whereas if they’re shown their potential they can turn away from negative behavior,” said Velazquez.
Velazquez also cites job creation as a key objective. Velazquez said that businesses wouldn’t come to the community when the highways can’t support their needs. This leads to higher unemployment levels that put a bigger strain on the economy. “People need a chance at life.”
Velazquez claims the issue of growth is tearing apart many of the region’s communities and that the rhetoric on both sides is heated and extreme. He wants people to recognize that growth is inevitable; the key is how it is managed. Sensible land-use planning means centering growth in the cities (where infrastructure already exists), preserving prime farmland, avoiding sprawl, and insisting that roads, water, sewers and schools are in place before large-scale developments are approved.
“Sprawl happens, but it’s not desirable. San Benito County should be a destination community, not a suburb of San Jose. We have some great wineries here and amazing scenery, but we need more tourism dollars.”
Velazquez said he’s also proud of the fact that he’s not indebted to any special interest groups or agencies and that nobody “owns him.”
Other candidates in the 28th Assembly District include Democrat Ana Ventura-Phares of Watsonville and Robert Perkins a Republican and executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau. The office is currently held by Simon Salinas, D-Salinas. Salinas has announced as a Democratic candidate for state Senate District 12, which covers this region..
The official kickoff to the assembly race doesn’t get under way until March and the election is on June 3.
