October 5, 2006

Chavez announces business agenda

Los Angeles mayor endorses her candidacy

Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez announced a number of proposals on Monday to strengthen San Jose’s business and economic climate. She announced the measures during a press conference surrounded by six business owners and officials and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who also endorsed her candidacy for mayor.

Mayoral candidate Cindy Chavez (right) is joined by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who endorsed her for mayor of San Jose.

“As your next mayor, my job is to cultivate a diverse economy that can take advantage of a boom and weather a downturn,” said Chavez at the conference. “The blueprint I am offering today is the first in many steps to attract new businesses and jobs to San Jose.”

Her proposals include commitments “leading the state in building affordable housing throughout the city…Interlinking [local] companies and in schools to raise interest in math and science and restoring arts and music…” as well as continued support for the police department.

As she has said in previous campaign speeches and during debates, she seeks increased support for business incubators while decreasing application and permit processing 30 percent. She also called for quarterly meetings between city officials and business leaders to discuss barriers and create ideas to make the city a “more effective marketplace.”

Chavez also wants to open a business intelligence office to discover opportunities to grow and expand business as well as pursue clean energy and green business startups.

Finally, if she is elected, Chavez hopes to “implement an optional insurance pool that will provide access to health coverage for small businesses and their employees,” and to “create partnerships at state and federal levels to advocate for San Jose and the region…expanding R&D tax credits, immigration reform and Sarbanes/Oxley reform.”

Business leaders joining Chavez and Villaraigosa were Boots Del Biaggio, president and CEO of Sand Hill Capital; Gary Fazzino, a vice president at Hewlett-Packard; John Armando, owner of Raisch Products; H.G. Nguyen, from the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce; Sandra Green, owner of Computerific; Frank Ettefach, owner of Copyland; and Nancy Avila, owner of the Melting Pot.