City Council Candidate Profile: Virgil de la Vega

Hercules Patch has asked each candidate to fill out a questionnaire to give residents information about his or her background. More election coverage.

BASIC BACKGROUND

Full, legal name: Virgilio de la Vega

Employment: Hewlett Packard, business consultant

Age: 59; Philippines

Spouse or domestic partner: Rosalind

Children: John, 24

Education:
De La Salle University, Manila, bachelor's in economics, 1974
Saint Mary’s College, Moraga, California, masters's in business administration, 1993

Military service: None

Have you or a business you owned or had principal interest in ever filed bankruptcy?  No

How long have you lived in Hercules?  22 years

As an adult, have you been convicted or charged with a crime other than a minor traffic violation? No.

Campaign website: www.vdelavega.com

PREVIOUS ELECTED AND APPOINTED POSITIONS

Elected offices: none

Unsuccessful campaigns for public office: none

Appointed positions:

• Hercules Community Services Commissioner, 2007-2009

THIS CAMPAIGN

What is the primary reason you are running for this office?
I am just a concerned citizen who stepped up to the plate after learning of the city’s dire financial condition, knowing that I have some of the urgently-needed financial skills to help the city get out of its financial mess. I will complement the new Council’s skills. It will be made up of members who have varied expertise in different fields of city management, e.g. planning, legal, public administration, including the financial skills which I will provide.  

What will be your top three priorities if you get elected and why?

Since our most immediate problems are financial in nature, my top three priorities will be focused on financial goals: 

• As a first-aid measure, to stabilize the city’s financial situation through cash management,  cost control, and correct budgeting so that the city can  continue to provide basic services.
• To strengthen financial controls using financial systems and up-to-date financial reports so that the Council can monitor revenues, expenditures, and programs, to be able to react to financial problems promptly, and to prevent illegal activities.
• To find and support source of “new growth” revenues.

What sets you apart from the other candidates?

All of the candidates, and the current council members, are experts in their respective fields.  However, considering the financial issues the city is facing, the most urgent needs are in operating and capital budgeting, financial analysis, and financial controls.  There are many significant issues that are now being tackled by the Ad Hoc Finance Committee which require a good working knowledge of these skills.  I have acquired such skills in my academic and work experience.  I am most familiar with analyzing financial statements and with the use of financial analysis tools that are required to make good decisions.  Also, I have diversity of experience in other fields such as Information Technology and Business Analysis.  These experiences will enhance the quality of my decisions.

About how much money do you expect your campaign to spend on this election?  $3,000

THE ISSUES

• Causes of the current financial crisis
• Making government more transparent
• Public safety in tough economic times
• Hercules Municipal Utility
• Market Hall deal
• Bayfront-Intermodal Transit Center
• City Council culpability
• Hercules Redevelopment Agency