Willow Glen Resident

News

David Cueva challenges Chirco for District 9 council seat

By Alicia Upano

A newcomer has entered the race for the San Jose City Council District 9 seat, giving voters a choice at the polls on June 6.

Meriwest Credit Union account analyst David Cueva is running against Councilwoman Judy Chirco.

Chirco's district includes a portion of Willow Glen.

Cueva has toyed with the idea of serving on the city council since last year, after being frustrated over the city's utility contracts, he said. As a man who projects financial losses before they happen, Cueva wants to see the city become more fiscally responsible. He points to the $700,000 used for ballpark-related environmental and architectural studies.

"If you're in the red, you don't have money to spend on things like that," Cueva said. "I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines and complaining and not getting in the game."

As part of his campaign, Cueva has been going door to door in District 9, speaking to residents about everything from potholes to cut-through traffic resulting from the controversial Hacienda Gardens project.

Chirco emphasizes children and community as part of her campaign platform. Chirco served on the Cambrian School District board for nine years. Today, she chairs the Building Strong Neighborhoods committee and is vice chairwoman for the All Children Achieve committee.

During her term, she created the Cambrian Business Association to help unite District 9's small businesses. Chirco also fought to keep the Kirk Community Center from closing. The center is home to the Young People's Theatre and the senior nutrition program, which serves District 9's sizable senior population healthy meals and provides them with a sense of community, Chirco said.

"I'm very proud of the last four years. I think I've represented District 9 very well," Chirco said. "We work really hard to be in constant communication with the community."

Both Chirco and Cueva are San Jose natives. Chirco grew up in the Cambrian Park community and graduated from Camden High School in 1962. She has two sons. After her youngest began school, Chirco went back to school to finish her degree, a bachelor's of science in social service from San José State University in 1994. Before she was elected in 2002, she and her husband ran a property management business.

Cueva grew up in District 7, on the edge of the Willow Glen school boundaries. He attended Willow Glen Middle School, which was known as Markham Middle School at the time. He graduated from Willow Glen High School in 1984. He attended San José City College while working a variety of jobs, including fundraising for amateur athletes and night security. Then he went to work for a variety of high-tech companies, including Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard and Siemens. While he was at Siemens, he went back to school part time working on a business degree. When his accounts receivable department was relocated to Florida in 2001, he returned to school full time. He earned two bachelor's degrees, one in business administration and the other in business management from the University of Phoenix in 2005.

Construction worker Kevin Fanning is also running, but does not appear to be actively campaigning for the seat.

For more information on San Jose City Councilwoman Judy Chirco, visit www. sanjoseca.gov/district9 or call 408.535. 4909. David Cueva can be reached at 408.264.9900 or via email at cuevad@hotmail.com.