To serve and represent

Chula Vista and national city voters will have an opportunity in November to elect members to the city council and other offices. now through october the star-news is publishing interviews with candidates to help educate voters.

Chula Vista Councilwoman Jill Galvez

Chula Vista City Council Candidate Jill Galvez has been through the challenges of campaigning several times.

The District 2 northwest Chula Vista candidate has run for an elected position on three occasions, each time falling just shy of victory.

In 2002, Galvez was a candidate for the Chula Vista Elementary School board, she said losing by a small margin. She campaigned for the same position again in 2004 in a race she said she barely lost.

Galvez then became civically engaged in local government, and in 2010 she ran for Chula Vista City Council in a then-city-wide race.

In that contest, she missed proceeding to the General Election, finishing 53 votes behind current Councilwoman Pat Aguilar.

Three years ago, when Chula Vista Mayor Mary Salas left her council seat to become the city’s mayor, Galvez was one of 44 applicants for the appointment to her vacant seat.

Now, Galvez,51, is trying her hand on the city council one final time.

This time, the Democratic candidate is one of two candidates vying for the northwest Chula Vista Council seat to replace the woman who defeated her in 2010.
She beat out four other candidates – Patrick MacFarland, Steve Castaneda, Jesse Navarro and Max Zaker — in June’s Primary election, and is in a November runoff against Steve Stenberg to represent Chula Vista’s District 2, which includes neighborhoods in central Chula Vista, downtown Chula Vista and Terra Nova.

“I’m running to be a devoted, dedicated full-time public servant with a passion for protecting and enhancing the community that we call home,” she said.
Representing her community is a goal Galvez said she’s been planning for quite a while.

“Sometimes it feels like I’ve been preparing my whole life for this position. And I’ve honestly never worked harder for any single goal in my life than I work to be a public servant.”

Galvez has experience serving on numerous boards, committees and organizations.
She’s a former board member of the Chula Vista Heritage Museum, a former member of the now disbanded Downtown Chula Vista Review Commission
Currently, she’s involved with the Chula Vista Historic Home Tour.

Throughout the campaign trail, Galvez has been an advocate for public safety.
She publicly supported Measure A, a half-cent general sales tax increase that voters approved in June to help with hiring more police officers and firefighters.
She said although revenue from Measure A goes to the general fund, as a councilwoman she said will be committed to allocating those funds towards public safety like the tax stated it would.

“We just passed Measure A, it’s the second half-cent sales tax that our community is willing to spend because they had faith and confidence in the city,” she said. “And I will absolutely guarantee that what our local government has pledged is kept.”
Other campaign pledges Galvez has made in her campaign is to bury powerlines in the district.

She said since the 1970s residents and business owners have been paying a percentage of the local utility budget for the undergrounding of powerlines. She said if elected, she will push to see progress being made on the undergrounding of powerlines.

She also said she’ll work hard to ensure the Bayfront finally gets built. As the Bayfront gets built, she said Chula Vista will become a tourist destination. She said in anticipating visitors coming in she would like to propose an ordinance that would regulate massage parlors and some hotels in the city to prevent undesirable activities.

A native of Michigan, Galvez moved to Chula Vista with her husband Victor, a Chula Vista native in 1992.

She holds an Engineering degree from Michigan State University and has worked for IBM in their federal systems and general systems divisions.

Her first job when she moved out to San Diego was for AT&T’s Southern California division in where she managed the company’s operating budget revenues in human resources.

She said this budgetary experience will help her manage the complex budget of the second largest city in San Diego County.

1 COMMENT

  1. 10/30/18 Hello, this is about a flyer I received (I throw most of the flyers out as it is the ones trying to get name recognition so people will vote; however, I’m so upset about the BAYFRONT project which will make your constituents suffer with more traffic, traffic fatalities within this area. I believe this should have had a “thorough audit” before being built as I’m pretty sure many people within Chula Vista government (high positions) will benefit from this building. I’m very unimpressed with government officials stating how good this Bayfront project with the 18 story hotel, convention center and stores and restaurants. The voters and citizens basically get no say on how this will impact our city negatively. You may call it progress as the mayor’s office does but it isn’t.
    There should be a moritorium on all building of homes, hotels, etc. until our drought is solved and our water shortage is resolved. Why are you building more homes and this Bayfront project is being built and we (the constituents) have lost our beautiful landscapes. Why do we now have “TIERS” in our Sweetwater and SDGE bills and CPUC allows both corporations to stick it to us and get to raise (never lower) our bill increases. I’m getting sick of NO REPRESENTATION by the council and other top ranking officials. You represent yourselves only – that is like extortion and racketeering (to me). On “F” street near Third Ave. why were these stupid landscaping pieces done in the middle of each street? That was a waste of money there and a waste of money on Third Ave. towards “H” Street. What a waste of money!!!!

    How can we grow and thrive in Chula Vista (according to your flyer) if we have little water to use and we have heavy traffic during the days on Freeway 5, 54 and 805. Tell me how this helps your constituents, please. I will not be voting for you or the incumbent mayor as you are going against wishes of many Chula Vistans who don’t want more crime, more traffic and fatalities. You are bad for Chula Vista, Jill Galvez.