Candidate for
Councilmember; City of Soledad

Hello my name is Stefanie De La Rosa and I am running for Soledad City Council. As a Soledad resident I feel that there needs to be a change in the City Council. What it needs is a fresh voice and a new perspective to advocate for families, children and neighborhoods. I am prepared to take on this challenge with enthusiasm, energy, accessibility and willingness to work directly with people in our neighborhoods. We need to put our families first.

One of my greatest points of concentration is the "Community" as well as where the new growth is leading us. I feel that my main priority is my responsibility to the people, the families and the children of Soledad. My responsibility is to build a better relationship between the citizens, businesses and the public safety departments of the City. We need to enhance what we currently have and develop areas of need.

Which brings me to my areas of concentration:

·Cooperating in more Youth Activities

We need to develop new activities for children of all ages. We must do this in order to keep kids occupied and out of harms way. If we, as a city, don't provide children the avenues to get involved they may turn elsewhere. I would like to see increased involvement with the YMCA. I would like to see more intervention in the parks, specifically cleaning up existing parks, more suitable restroom facilities, and continuing development of projects like the skateboard park.

·Meet the communities needs for childcare

With the increased availability of single-family residences, more families are moving to Soledad. Many of these families have young children. In this day and age, it is the norm that both parents work. One of the things that I feel is missing in Soledad is sufficient childcare facilities. As a councilmember, I would like to see the City get involved and develop these facilities or offer incentives to developers who will build these types of centers. Furthermore, the facilities shouldn't be restricted by income; they should be available to all income levels.

·Work to see that there is increased housing for all income levels

Basic economics tells us that when demand is low supply runs high. With the surge of the housing demand and the limited housing, stock prices in the area have skyrocketed beyond affordability for our community residents. I feel that as a potential Councilmember we need to assure that we are doing everything possible to provide housing for all income levels. This can be accomplished through the use of Redevelopment Funds and or other means. I would like to think that as a community we don't want our families and children being forced to live in sub-standard housing or in rented garages. I believe all people regardless of income level deserve adequate housing.

·Working together (Police and the public) to address issue of speeding in our neighborhoods and keeping our children safe!!

In keeping with the theme of "Community," I feel that Safety and Customer Service is another issue. Our citizens need to feel safe in our homes and in the community. I am greatly supportive of the Police and Fire departments. In the last couple of years, I have seen many improvements in both departments. With our population boom I would like to see growth take place in those departments as well. There are two problems in the community I keep hearing about time and again, they are speeding through neighborhood and unfriendly Police Officers. I think that while safety is important, customer service is equally important. I would like to work with the Police and Fire departments to make sure that our streets and homes are safe for our children and that our officers make customer service a priority.

·Help to attract businesses - especially in the retail area, to increase jobs and keep our tax dollars in Soledad.

With the incredible amount of growth that is happening and will continue to happen in Soledad, we need to not only be able to capture tax dollars but create new job opportunities. These opportunities will provide upward mobility for our citizens currently working in the agricultural industry. With the coming of a new shopping center, I am hopeful that the added revenue base generated by the sales will be used to continue retail development throughout the City. Along with the excitement of the new shopping center, I support what is happening in our Old Town section as well. I am speaking of the formation of the Soledad Old Town Association. Together with the Old Town Association, I hope to assist existing businesses boost their attraction to Soledad's tax dollars as well.