Council Member — Duplicate of Stockton City Council District 3

My Dad started Canepa's Car Wash in 1955. Stockton has always been my home.

• Paul is a lifelong resident of Stockton.
  
  
• He has worked downtown since 1989.
  
  
• After graduating college, he returned to the family business which was established in 1955.
  
  
• He is the youngest of 7 children.

• Paul has a passion for public service.
  
  
• He was elected twice as a member of the Board of Trustees for Lincoln Unified School District.
  
  
• Paul was also appointed to the City of Stockton Parks and Recreation Committee.
  
  
• He was elected to the City Council, District 3, in 2011.
  
  
• He was appointed Vice-Mayor January 29th, 2013.
  
  

Crime Reduction and Police Staffing

I want to double down on fighting crime in Stockton. While our numbers on the force are higher crime rates are still unbearable. Our police department is still overworked and understaffed. I am adamantly opposed to my opponents support for “Cash for Criminals”

I want to give our police department the tools and manpower they need to target criminals and gangs. I support vocational training programs that create opportunities for our younger citizens.

Protecting Swenson

I have lived by Swenson most of my life. Swenson is part of the rich history of Stockton and must be preserved. We cannot allow the destruction of our neighborhoods and community assets. Swenson is a community asset that provides valuable greenspace and recreation that should not be paved over with nearly 1000 homes in an already congested area. As a former city council member, I have always stood for transparency and fairness. As your representative I assure you I will stand up to the corrupt tactics being used to sneak the proposed sale and development of Swenson Golf Course by City Council. This issue was my motivation for running for Council. I could not sit and standby on the sidelines while my community is under attack by special interests.

Fiscal Accountability

Transparency is the basis for good government. When I am elected I will make sure that a full audit of Measure A funds is completed to ensure Stocktonians that the tax revenues are being spent correctly on law enforcement like promised. AS a former city council member, I read every line of the budget. I questioned City staff on keeping money local when at all possible. As a small business owner I recognize the importance of keeping expenses low and you have to be prepared for future downturns.

Susan Lofthus, City Councilwoman representing Stockton’s 3^rd District A lifelong resident of Stockton, Lofthus represents the 3^rd District whose boundaries are Hammer Lane to the north, March Lane to the south, Lincoln Village to the West and neighborhoods east of West Lane.

Susan currently serves as Chair of the City’s Water Committee, Vice Chair of the Stockton Crime Prevention Committee as well as being a member of the Delta Protection Commission, the San Joaquin County Council of Governments, the Stockton Port Liaison, the California League of Cities, the Council’s liaison to the LGBT community, the City’s Community Improvement Committee and the Proposition 47 Committee that will soon disburse more than $6 million helping San Joaquin County residents.

In November of 2014, Lofthus received over 57% of the vote - defeating her opponent by nearly 30%.  Susan’s hard work and dedication have earned her the support of State Senator Cathleen Galgiani, Assemblymember Susan Eggman, Sheriff Steve Moore, San Joaquin County Superintendent of School James Mousalimas, County Supervisors Kathy Miller and Miguel Villapudua, Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, Stockton Vice-Mayor Elbert Holman, Councilmembers Susan Lenz and Jesus Andrade, Stockton Unified School Boardmember Kathy Garcia and former County Supervisors Moses Zapien, Larry Ruhstaller and Carlos Villapudua .  In addition, Councilwoman Lofthus has the support of the Stockton Police Officers Association.

     Susan Lofthus was born in Stockton, California on July 18, 1956.  She is a lifelong Stockton resident who grew up in town and graduated from Lincoln High School.  She earned her Bachelors of Science degree as a Paralegal from Humphrey’s University and her Human Resource Management Certificate from Stanislaus State University.  After graduation, she chose to stay in Stockton where she earned her Senior Staff Claims Law Associate Degree and graduated from the Leadership Stockton program.  

      She currently works as the Quality Control and Compliance Manager at New Directions, a residential treatment facility that helps local residents improve their lives by providing job training, counselling and by helping residents stay clean from alcohol and drugs.  Susan currently serves as a Board Trustee at Humphrey’s University, as well as being a lifelong volunteer in a number of community organizations and activities including the Leadership Stockton Alumni Association, the Eleanor Project and the Substance Abuse Advisory Committee.  She is also involved raising funds for her daughter’s elementary school and as a PTA member.    

             Susan has and continues to hold monthly Community Office Hours to discuss issues of interest to city residents at the Starbucks on Benjamin Holt and I-5 on the first Wednesday of each month from 4:30 to 5:30 pm.

I believe that elected officials serve the people who put them in office.  Government should be accountable and responsive to the taxpayers who pay their salaries.

Ernesto Gonzalez was born in Stockton, CA to two hard-working individuals in 1984.  His native-Stocktonian parents sacrificed constantly to provide all of their children more opportunities than should have been possible at that time.  Ernesto excelled in school and also learned the value of community work through volunteering early in life. He graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 2002 and went on to major in political science at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, CA.  

After college, the country was going through a difficult time and jobs were hard to come by.  Ernesto would eventually begin his nine-year nonprofit career at an agency in Los Angeles, CA in 2009.  Over the last nine years, Ernesto has focused much of his career on youth development and mentorship in Stockton, while also working with youth in Tracy, San Francisco and Sonoma.  For almost two years now, Ernesto has been the site director of a family resource center on the south side of Stockton. He remains active in the communities of Stockton through civic engagement and volunteering.

A commitment to empathy, honesty and respect have remained constant not only throughout a career dedicated to helping others, but also throughout his life.  In 2017, Ernesto married the love of his life and they will welcome their first child into this world in August of 2018. He is running for office to be a voice of the people and to help solve the problems that continue to plague this city.  His love of Stockton and his belief in the people here have always remained unwavering. His vision for a brighter future for Stockton is centered around inspiring hope, doing what is just and working for a greater good for all.

Without getting into history and the complexities of political ideologies, I would like to say that  my philosophies on life are similar to my political philosophies. People should make the effort to be kind, compassionate, and respectful to each other.  Human beings are imperfect, but we must try to learn from our mistakes and try to improve so that progress is possible. We are all charged with making this world better than it was before we entered it.  While many of the issues we face are complex, what they all have in common is a relationship to how we all treat each other. I would have to say that greed and indifference are what influences people the most to be more selfish than selfless.  We all have responsibilities and needs that require some sort of monetary gain. When profit becomes more important than progress, greed is winning. When we see people suffering or injustices occurring and we do nothing, indifference is prevailing.  Elected positions are an opportunity to use your acquired skills, knowledge and experiences to represent your community and help improve the quality of life of the people you represent. When considering who to vote for, we must look at what drives a person and what is important to them.  I believe there is a correlation between the kind of person someone is and how they would function in an elected position. Government gets its authority from the people it is supposed to serve. Liberty and justice for all are major components of the social contract between government and citizens, but I believe that transparency is also very important here.  When we trust our government, the relationship becomes more legitimate.