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Freddy Carvajal
Freddy Fitzgerald Carvajal was a candidate for District 1 on the Anaheim City Council in California. Although Anaheim's city council elections are officially nonpartisan, Carvajal is known to be affiliated with the Democratic Party.[1] He was defeated in the general election on November 8, 2016.
District 1 was a new district in 2016. In 2014, voters approved a ballot measure to expand the Anaheim City Council in 2016 from four council members to six council members.[2] Starting with the 2016 elections, city council members were also selected in by-district elections rather than at-large elections.[2]
Biography
Fitzgerald Carvajal is an insurance broker who is active in local Democratic politics.[3] In April 2016, he hosted a precinct walk in support of former state Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva's bid to regain the seat she previously held in California's 65th Assembly District.[4]
In October 2015, he participated in a successful Orange County Young Democrats-led effort to elect Connor Traut and Leonard Lahtinen chair and vice chair of the West Anaheim Neighborhood Council.[4][5]
Campaign themes
2016
Fitzgerald Carvajal participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Solving our homelessness crisis along with public safety issues and economic development.[6][7] | ” |
When asked what he would most like to change about the city, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Our current City Council Majority[6][7] | ” |
When asked what he is most proud of about the city, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | All of its kind hearted and hard working people.[6][7] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Civil rights | |
| Homelessness | |
| Crime reduction/prevention | |
| K-12 education | |
| Unemployment | |
| Housing | |
| Environment | |
| City services (trash, utilities, etc.) | |
| Government transparency | |
| Transportation | |
| Public pensions/retirement funds | |
| Recreational opportunities | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer four questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| Very important | |
| Local | |
| A combination of all the options provided is the best solution. We must increase our under staffed police presence but, not with the intentions to harrass the community as much as to become part of it. Public outreach programs are an excellent start to have the community and the police force interact and come closer to each other. I also believe is vital to increase ecominic opportunities as this always translates into less crime. | |
| Our city has focused on helping large hospitality and entertainment corporations set and grow their businesses in Anaheim. However, I am afraid we have invested so much in one particular sector it has left us vulnerable. It is time to redirect our focus and give similar incentive packages to our small business sector. This will diversify our investments and help bring more opportunity and less inequality for the community. |
Additional themes
In an interview posted on Facebook, Fitzgerald Carvajal said:[8]
| “ |
We have a lot of things that we need to work on in West Anaheim. We have been neglected for quite a bit sometime now. So, one of the things that I would definitely want to focus on is homelessness. Unfortunately, we have a large population of homeless in our area, and that's one of the main focus. You know, it breaks my heart to go to—you know, we were just talking about it—almost every park in Anaheim and find someone in this situation... There's a lot of plans out there [to address homelessness]. One that's been very successful both internationally and in other states is called 'housing first.' Basically, it's a program in which, like it sounds, you house people who are on the streets first. Take care of that basic need and then we'll build upon that to provide the services that they need... We have a lot of people contacting us, asking how they can get involved [in the campaign], how they can be part of it, because as a community, it feels—when I knock on doors, it feels—like the community doesn't feel well-represented, doesn't feel that they're connected with their city council. Almost like they've been neglected for so long they don't believe in it. When I come knock on their doors and tell them, hey, I'm one of you, I went to high school here, I grew up here, my parents, family, everybody lives here, so they feel like finally one of our own is getting in there and making something happen. At least making the issues a priority, the issues that they believe are important to them.[7] |
” |
Elections
2016
The city of Anaheim, California, held elections for city council on November 8, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was August 12, 2016. Because of a switch from at-large to by-district elections, four of the six city council seats were up for election.[9][10] The following candidates ran in the Anaheim City Council District 1 general election.[11]
| Anaheim City Council, District 1 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Denise Barnes |
27.28% | 3,646 |
| Steven Chavez Lodge | 25.10% | 3,355 |
| Leonard Lahtinen | 21.38% | 2,858 |
| Mark Daniels | 14.22% | 1,901 |
| Orlando Perez | 6.06% | 810 |
| Angel VanStark | 2.99% | 400 |
| Freddy Carvajal | 2.97% | 397 |
| Total Votes | 13,367 | |
| Source: Orange County Elections, "Official Results for Election," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Freddy Carvajal Anaheim. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Anaheim, California
- Municipal elections in Anaheim, California (2016)
- United States municipal elections, 2016
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Anaheim Blog, "UPDATED: Final List of Anaheim City Council Candidates," August 15, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 City of Anaheim, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed August 31, 2016
- ↑ City of Anaheim, "Qualified Candidate List - November 8, 2016 Election
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Anaheim Blog, "Two New Candidates in Council District 1," May 24, 2016
- ↑ Anaheim Blog, "Democratic Campaign to 'Take Back Anaheim' Is Underway," October 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey, 2016, "Freddy Fitzgerald Carvajal's Responses," October 7, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Facebook, "Luis Zuniga on July 26, 2016," accessed August 31, 2016
- ↑ City of Anaheim, "Elections 2016," accessed March 11, 2016
- ↑ KPCC, "5 changes for Anaheim now that district elections are coming," February 10, 2016
- ↑ City of Anaheim, "Qualified Candidate List - November 8, 2016 Election," accessed August 15, 2016
