Farmers Insurance agent Sherry Gogue has been active in the National City community since she first arrived in the city that she calls home.
Her most recent involvement includes her serving on the boards of National City Girls Softball and Las Palmas Little League.
Gogue has also been active in the business community working on the Mile of Cars and eventually owning a used car lot more than 10 years ago.
Recently, Gogue and her husband Roy started a nonprofit called “Adrian’s Way,” which aims to help at-risk kids from Sweetwater Union High School find a successful career path or assist them with getting into college.
With all of her community engagement, Gogue said she really wants to take the next step in her service to the community.
The small business owner is one of six candidates on the November ballot vying for one of two seats on the National City City Council.
“I love National City,” she said about why she wanted to run for office. “I have been involved in a lot of things and it’s time to step up (and run for city council) and help the city move forward.”
Gogue, 57, said she’s always been civically engaged with city government, attending numerous city council meetings over the years to get informed on the issues that concern the community.
If elected, Gogue said her number one priority will be public safety. She wants to re-establish the community’s trust with the National City Police Department.
She said she also wants to support police officers by giving them the resources they need to keep National City safe.
“Without having good public safety, local businesses won’t thrive, residents will move out and we don’t want that,” she said. “We want people to raise their families here and keep their families here.”
Her other priority, she said will be to provide more quality city services to residents. In addition, she said she also wants to do a better job at promoting the city services that are currently available to residents because many residents simply do not know which services are available to them.
Gogue said National City has so much potential but that it is being held back by all of the political in-house conflict that takes place on the dais.
“I want to keep the community moving forward,” she said. “And I feel it’s been hindered on the progress that can be made here and I think maybe I can envision some good ideas to help that (forward progress.)
Gogue, a homeowner, said she does not support Measure W, a measure for rent control because the measure is full of flaws and poorly written.
“People think the short-term fix will help us, it will actually hurt us in the long run,” she said.
Gogue said if the rent control measure passes, homeowners will not be able to rent out their properties at fair market value. She said a rent city appointed board will tell landlords how much they can rent out their property. She added that if passed, commercial investors wouldn’t want to invest in National City.
Gogue said an alternative to rent control is building commercial properties that have retail on the bottom and residents on the top.
Originally from Maine, ] first came to National City in 1984 after a brief stint in the U.S. Army. She has since made her home in National City where she lives with her husband.
Gogue said being a small business owner has prepared her for the responsibilities of a city council member.
“I know how to make decisions, I know how to do research,” she said. “Being that I’m a small business owner and that I’m pretty successful, I know I can do this.”
