Lt. Governor Gavin Newsome endorsed City Councilman David Alvarez after a student rally in front of Hepner Hall at San Diego State on Feb. 6 .
Alvarez, the Democrat Party’s candidate in the special election for San Diego’s mayor, visited SDSU to deliver a speech outlining his plans for the city’s future. He also encouraged students to vote on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
The rally attracted a crowd of about 60 people, as well as the attention of students and faculty eating at the farmer’s market.
Alvarez spent much of his time meeting with students and faculty one-on-one to answer questions and take photos with them.
During the rally, Alvarez told students he wants to focus his efforts on community rehabilitation.
“My prioritization has always been rebuilding our neighborhoods and crumbling infrastructure,” Alvarez said. “I’m putting in the services that people care about. The police protection and our parks and our libraries are very critical to the future success of our city.”
Alvarez said he plans to strengthen small businesses as well and the middle class by raising the minimum wage as a part of his plan to build up San Diego’s communities.
“One of the things I have always wanted to change is the inequality that exists between different communities,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez, a San Diego native, said the inequalities between local communities have troubled him since he was young.
“There are some communities that don’t have fire stations or park spaces and that has always bothered me,” Alvarez said.
The councilman urged college students to vote and make their voices heard to gain the attention of elected officials.
Alvarez also said he plans to focus some of his efforts on making more jobs available for college students by investing in the creation of small businesses and solid middle-class jobs.
Newsom said Alvarez exhibits strong leadership qualities and works to maintain community involvement.
“David knows that being a leader is about recognizing and empowering others to work together,” Newsom said. “The political atmosphere is about ‘co-creation’ and active involvement of self-organizing communities.”
The rally was organized with the help of the recently reinstated SDSU chapter of the College Democrats, who endorsed Alvarez last October during the first round of the run-off election.
SDSU College Democrats President and political science senior Jose Caballero said that club decided to endorse Alvarez because they felt he was the best candidate for mayor.
“He (Alvarez) brings equality and the sense of community back to San Diego,” Caballero said.
Alvarez has served on the San Diego City Council since 2010 and was the chair of the Natural Resources and Culture Committee, as well as the vice chair of the Land Use and Housing Committee. Alvarez was also member of both the Budget and Finance Committee and the Rules and Economic Development Committee.
Photo by Jenna Mackey, Senior Staff Photographer
