Cerritos City Council candidate Gerad Valencia at candidate forum sponsored by the Cerritos Regional Chamber of Commerce. Randy Economy Photo
“It’s not easy to run a campaign on $532.87 but it was a challenge I was willing to take on.” – Gerad Valencia, Candidate For Cerritos City Council
By Brian Hews
Gerad Valencia is new to Cerritos politics, but you would never know if by the way the first time candidate has been performing on the campaign trail these past four months.
Valencia is a fresh face in this year’s heated Cerritos City Council campaign that most longtime observers equate to a game of “tackle football, without wearing pads.”
Valencia may not get elected next week, his campaign is spending less than $600.00 compared to his opposition that will spend more than $500,000 combined when all the final campaign receipts are tallied.
Nonetheless, Valencia has been impressive in his first bid for public office and when you ask him why he is running against the long odds, he told Los Cerritos Community Newspaper that “the simple answer is to make a difference, but that answer is so cliché.”
“How many politicians actually make a difference during their term? What makes you different if you follow the same old format when running for office? Finding money to back you is pretty easy if you’re willing to take on a special interest cause,” Valencia said.
The married “stays at home dad” has not been a wall flower during this campaign season’s televised debates, and isn’t intimidated by the process of running for elected office.
“I did not want to go the traditional route while running my campaign. I have sought no endorsements or monetary contributions. I’m not a politician. I am a typical resident who is willing to tell the truth. I am not afraid to tell the truth for fear of job security,” Valencia said.
“My intention was never to win for the sake of winning. Instead, I want the community to prosper by someone who actually stands by solid beliefs and makes sound judgments,” he candidly told LCCN.
“We have the most amazing freedoms in this country. One freedom I am unwilling to sacrifice in this campaign is my freedom to speak freely. I have the liberty to say what I believe because I don’t fear someone else taking away my campaign funds for doing so,” Valencia said.
To date he points out that he has spent a “meager $532.87.”
“Some of my opponents have spent nearly 100 times that amount for their campaigns. It’s not easy to run a campaign on $532.87 but it was a challenge I was willing to take on, Valencia said.
“I learned at a young age to be self-sufficient. I have what it takes to do my own campaign research, my own website, and my own responses. My responses have real substance. I’m not a mouthful of catch phrases like some of my opponents. I hope your readers can take the time to view the public forum videos of the candidates before they vote,” Valencia said.
He has “backed up” his grassroots effort by producing a couple of hard hitting videos that appear on his website www.GeradValencia.org.
“The residents of Cerritos have energetically fueled my campaign. The residents of Cerritos are the reason we candidates are supposed to run,” he quipped.
“I’m on the side of the everyday Cerritos resident because I am one. Pride in my city is my benefit for securing a spot on the Cerritos City Council. My children call Cerritos home. It’s my motivation to have them continually call Cerritos home,” Valencia said.
Election day is next Tuesday.
Mr. Valencia, it seems, may be part of the solution this city needs.
He’s an outsider looking at the city’s problems from an untainted view. He’s a young father who will be held accountable to the families in Cerritos. Whereas candidates like Chen, Ray, Kang, and Ma will be held accountable to the establishment. Their donors The organizations they belong to. The system.
Carol Chen and George Ray have been in the “system” for far too long. We know from their records they have done very little to ensure tax payer money is spent wisely. Ray help boot out one of Cho’s appointees, about 4-years ago.
And what did that appointee do wrong? He challenged the “system.” He questioned bad spending and bad policy from the inside. He requested public documents. And for that Cho removed the appointee and the city council voted to support Cho. Which was just as much a vote against the city and the residents. A vote against all of us. It was a vote for their own self-serving, greedy self-interest.
Valencia hits the nail on the head seeing the issues with the waste at the CCPA and other areas. Ray and Chen on the other hand can care less. After all it’s not their money.
If they cared they would have done something by now.
Valencia (at a candidate forum) says stop the lifetime benefits for Council Members. Ray and Chen have done nothing in the decades they’ve been in the “system” to speak out against or stop the waste.
Valencia is the “outsider.” He’s not been tainted by the “system.”
Tuesday, February 26, 2013 |Cerritos City Council candidate Gerad Valencia |
http://www.GeradValencia.org.
Cerritos election was starving for a {{Breath of Fresh Air!}} Gerad is delivering; plus more. City needs a new Millennium candidate, someone who is a Virgin to politics, compared to:
• Sanchez Sisters.
• Reagan.
• Arnold.
Cerritos Council has seated way too many war time vets, RETIREES, along with menopaused WW2 Baby Breeders, which are happy with the current status quo.
Residents and voters of 90703 should be honored; someone educated in today’s mindset is running and not playing the race and sex cards. Environmentalist should applaud Gerad for not polluting the landscape with disgusting campaign YARD signs here and yonder and outlining cities. His tongue appeases the NOW Business Portfolio………
Finally………..candidate speaks great English, understands our native tongue, does not have circumcised eye lids, nor tattoo inked smiles. Someone who does not have to abstain from voting!!!
From the (3) forums, he sounds like a man to deliver for 2013 and not from the 1940’s, nor being purchased from:
• ABC Unions
• Employees Unions
• China and Korean contributions.
• War Time Vets
• Computer Literate.
• Never heard: Whitney, China, Korea during the debates!!!!
Korean Cho and his entourage broke promises:
• Joint Venture Project with United HOA.
• RV Parking Ordinance.
• Anti Homo Phobia.
• Overnight Parking Ordinances.
Chen is all about union ceremony with USA and China. Ray is older then God. Frank is another realtor, which this city needs like another Performing Arts Center. Ghostly Kang never showed to one forum debate !!
Gerad should be the other vote casted for CERRITOS- CITY –COUNCIL 2013. Gerad’s family can be honored to have a true leader in their family.
http://hmg.theserver.me/loscerritosnews/2013/02/26/upstart-cerritos-city-council-hopeful-gerad-valencia-shines-in-campaign/
Gerad gets my vote. He’s the only candidate who recognizes that $7-8 million annual losses at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center are a big problem that needs to be addressed. All the rest of the candidates want to pretend that everything is OK there.
I’ve asked but none of the other candidates are willing to commit to even just making year-by-year income and expense information for the CCPA available to the public. As a matter of fact George Ray said he didn’t want me to publish the email dialogue we had on this issue.
It’s our city–why shouldn’t the candidates who want to represent us be in favor of giving us a clear financial picture of what the CCPA is costing us?