Small Loans, a Big Help

00:00:00:01 – 00:00:03:18
David Martin
This is the good government show.

00:00:03:23 – 00:00:43:51
Juan Gonzalez
Part of being a responsible leader in government is recognizing that you have to spend less than you receive, and there’s always a tradeoff of which investments do you make to deliver good government? But the genesis of the idea really does. The credit goes to city staff for the great work that they’re doing in San Leandro. You can do more with the same or less.

00:00:43:56 – 00:01:02:06
Juan Gonzalez
Good government serves the needs of residents and specifically improves their quality of life. The ethnic diversity of San Leandro is paramount to the success of our city.

00:01:02:11 – 00:01:21:09
David Martin
They call them microloans. They may be small loans, just $1,000, something like that, but the impact is huge. That’s on this episode. Welcome to the Good Government show. I’m Dave Martin. First, help us show the message of good government by liking us and sharing us where we are on our social media. Or your favorite social media. Make sure to review us and send us everywhere.

00:01:21:20 – 00:01:36:28
David Martin
We all need to talk about good government. Juan Gonzalez is the mayor of the City of San Leandro. That’s a small city on the east side of San Francisco Bay. He’s in his first term as the city’s mayor. We met at the Conference of Mayors. And as you’ll hear, we talk during the conference, that’s people talking behind us in the background.

00:01:36:42 – 00:01:59:13
David Martin
And he’s also on the National League of Cities, small city council. What drew me to Mayor Gonzalez was a program his city has that helps small business. Really, it helps independent artists and artisans. They turn their craft into a business. And I’ll let him tell you about all the success stories. So coming up, those very success stories from San Leandro, California mayor Juan Gonzalez.

00:01:59:18 – 00:02:25:53
David Martin
We have a new partner here in the Good Government Show, Hello Nation. This is a new digital magazine that showcases the best of cities across the nation. We’d all prefer if good news traveled faster. And hello, nation. Positive stories don’t just get told, they get amplified. Hello nation helps businesses, leaders and communities share positive stories that matter building trust, credibility and meaningful connection through professionally produced podcast, digital features and targeted distribution.

00:02:26:06 – 00:02:50:26
David Martin
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00:02:50:31 – 00:03:12:15
David Martin
Let Hello Nation lift you up and lead the conversation. Visit. Hello nation.com to learn more. Once you wrap up this episode of The Good Government Show, give a listen to our friends over at Good News for lefties. This daily podcast highlights news stories that show there’s more good news out there. Other people in government are really trying to do the right thing.

00:03:12:29 – 00:03:25:53
David Martin
That’s good news for lefties. Listen where you’re listening now. Welcome to the Good Government show. I’m happy to have with me Mayor Wayne Gonzalez of the city of San Leandro, California. Welcome to the show.

00:03:25:55 – 00:03:27:37
Juan Gonzalez
Good morning. And thank you for having me.

00:03:27:39 – 00:03:50:17
David Martin
Thank you. And so we met at something called the Latino Alliance here at the Conference of Mayors. And it was a session where Latino mayors and I think someone coined the phrase, Latino curious, could work together and talk about issues that they all had in common. You’re from, San Leandro, California. Tell us where that is.

00:03:50:17 – 00:03:51:49
David Martin
And tell me a little bit about your city.

00:03:51:50 – 00:04:09:45
Juan Gonzalez
Of San Leandro is in the San Francisco Bay area. San Francisco’s immediately south of Oakland. California is a beautiful city, wonderful weather, and most notably known for Ghirardelli chocolate. So those little squares say San Leandro, California, right on the bottom.

00:04:09:46 – 00:04:11:22
David Martin
Those are very good chocolates.

00:04:11:26 – 00:04:14:57
Juan Gonzalez
They are indeed. We are proud to have them in our city.

00:04:15:08 – 00:04:34:11
David Martin
So you were talking, and this is when I came in, and this is what I really wanted to chat with you about. A program you call the small business technical assistance, and you gave a couple of examples of just some, some small donations, not donations, but small grants you were able to make that really made a difference and change some people’s lives.

00:04:34:11 – 00:04:37:44
David Martin
So tell me what the Small Business Technical Assistance Program is.

00:04:37:49 – 00:05:13:14
Juan Gonzalez
So the program offered two primary types of assistance. First, giving classes. Giving mentorship. Giving guidance. Counseling to small business owners focused on areas that small business owners wanted to learn more about. So instead of pushing, they asked and they received what they wanted. The program also entailed some micro donations. And we have examples where recipients would use that money to enable them to enter, let’s say, festivals, where they could then sell their product.

00:05:13:23 – 00:05:13:42
David Martin
Okay.

00:05:13:43 – 00:05:24:44
Juan Gonzalez
And by offering just a little bit of money, it gave them the confidence to say, I can do this and in fact help them succeed by exposing them in combination with those classes.

00:05:24:48 – 00:05:29:04
David Martin
You talk about micro donations instead of small amount of money. How much money are we talking about here?

00:05:29:13 – 00:05:50:22
Juan Gonzalez
Oftentimes the numbers were approximately $1,500, enabling people to set up booths at festivals to share their goods. So combined with what they learned in the classroom, okay, with the real world experience of going out there and pitching their goods, we saw increased success. So businesses, this.

00:05:50:22 – 00:05:56:37
David Martin
Sounds like kind of artesian kind of products, clothing, jewelry, things like that. Yes.

00:05:56:42 – 00:06:10:59
Juan Gonzalez
Exactly. One of the recipients helps to recycle textiles. So things that would typically end up in landfill are being repurposed. She takes that fabric and then turns it into products that people buy.

00:06:11:05 – 00:06:12:17
David Martin
What? What is she selling?

00:06:12:20 – 00:06:22:48
Juan Gonzalez
So she sells all sorts of different things like bags, vests and other things that you would wear as textiles. And some things are not even to be worn, but simply to be used.

00:06:22:48 – 00:06:30:26
David Martin
To be used. Can you tell like what its previous life was, or does she just puts it in and uses it and it makes a brand something brand new?

00:06:30:35 – 00:06:36:48
Juan Gonzalez
You know, when you’re talking about something like denim, yes. We can assume that it was used for jeans. Generally speaking.

00:06:36:48 – 00:06:40:20
David Martin
Right. Okay. So how many of these success stories have you had?

00:06:40:23 – 00:06:50:42
Juan Gonzalez
Oh, there are many success stories about really just making government either more responsive to the people or being able to deliver the same service or more service for lower cost.

00:06:50:53 – 00:06:55:41
David Martin
And how much? How long have you been doing this? This, small business technical assistance program.

00:06:55:51 – 00:06:59:15
Juan Gonzalez
So that started it at the end of 2023.

00:06:59:20 – 00:07:00:28
David Martin
Okay. So in relatively.

00:07:00:28 – 00:07:05:12
Juan Gonzalez
New it’s relatively new. And we have success stories that are coming to the forefront.

00:07:05:16 – 00:07:11:59
David Martin
So give me a couple of success stories. This is a good government show I like to hear about good government in action. So brag a little bit on your program.

00:07:12:11 – 00:07:15:08
Juan Gonzalez
So kind of brag beyond just this program.

00:07:15:13 – 00:07:17:39
David Martin
Yes. But we’ll stay with this program first. Yeah.

00:07:17:46 – 00:07:27:01
Juan Gonzalez
So for this program in particular, we’ve got an individual who was looking to broaden her sticker making business.

00:07:27:01 – 00:07:27:41
David Martin
Sticker, make.

00:07:27:50 – 00:07:30:52
Juan Gonzalez
Sticker making. How complicated could sticker making be? You might.

00:07:30:52 – 00:07:32:27
David Martin
Say I don’t, I would say.

00:07:32:27 – 00:07:40:35
Juan Gonzalez
But her stickers would were bringing joy to people. I said, okay, well, what else can I do? And so she started to expand into embroidery.

00:07:40:40 – 00:07:40:56
David Martin
Okay.

00:07:40:58 – 00:07:59:00
Juan Gonzalez
By literally buying one embroidery machine and saying, let me try a few things, I’ll digitize some of my art and I’ll deliver it to the public. Well, guess what? To get out there and connect with people. You kind of go to festivals, to art festival, starts a lot, festivals and the like. You got to be on social media.

00:07:59:06 – 00:08:22:49
Juan Gonzalez
And what she found was that this enabled her to get out into those booth spaces without having to put her own capital out there. And maybe to most business people that are with a successful business. $200 for a festival might not seem like a lot, but to a startup, yeah, that can be a significant investment, particularly when you’re dealing with folks with lower income.

00:08:22:53 – 00:08:24:59
David Martin
So how much did this woman, get?

00:08:25:06 – 00:08:37:09
Juan Gonzalez
So she was. Yeah. So she receive $1,500 and use that to attend multiple festivals, including the city’s own cherry Festival, which attracts tens of thousands of people.

00:08:37:11 – 00:08:38:03
David Martin
You have a cherry festival?

00:08:38:05 – 00:08:40:22
Juan Gonzalez
Yes we do. Look, San Leandro, the cherry city.

00:08:40:34 – 00:08:41:14
David Martin
I didn’t know that.

00:08:41:16 – 00:08:41:49
Juan Gonzalez
There you go.

00:08:41:50 – 00:08:44:28
David Martin
And now northern Michigan and. No, it’s Redding, California.

00:08:44:39 – 00:08:45:24
Juan Gonzalez
There you go.

00:08:45:26 – 00:08:46:06
David Martin
All right.

00:08:46:11 – 00:09:07:54
Juan Gonzalez
Long history of cherries in San Leandro. But what we found is that she was able to be successful by being present, strutting her merchandise. And she was able to do that without investing in the booth itself. Okay. Because she was able to use this micro grant and she attended multiple festivals. The demand for her product, especially the embroidery product, has grown.

00:09:08:01 – 00:09:30:37
Juan Gonzalez
Right. And today she is buying her third machine. And because she’s delivering more orders with more machines. She literally said to me a couple of days ago, I have to hire somebody. So she’s converting her business from a sole proprietorship into an LLC, so she can set up a business that hires people in our community.

00:09:30:48 – 00:09:42:25
David Martin
So she got a grant for $1,500. She expanded from beyond the sticker business to an embroidery business when she bought a sewing machine. Did the grant money help her by the sewing machine?

00:09:42:29 – 00:09:45:20
Juan Gonzalez
I wish I could say yes. I don’t know for sure, but what I know.

00:09:45:22 – 00:09:48:16
David Martin
But it certainly got her into the festival so she was able to make more money.

00:09:48:20 – 00:10:07:02
Juan Gonzalez
Exactly. I earned a multiple right, which yielded increased demand because her products are cute. And then that increased demand. The increased sales. Drove her to buy more equipment. Right? Invest more capital. And now she’s to the point of actually hiring a coworker.

00:10:07:15 – 00:10:11:05
David Martin
So now she’s up to three machines and an employee, all from the $1,600 grant.

00:10:11:10 – 00:10:13:16
Juan Gonzalez
And her own entrepreneurial spirit.

00:10:13:20 – 00:10:20:03
David Martin
Yeah. No. And that, listen, you have to have that kind of drive. How many? How many people in all have you given this grants out to?

00:10:20:08 – 00:10:25:17
Juan Gonzalez
So we’ve been supporting through training and or grants. 53 individuals.

00:10:25:28 – 00:10:27:25
David Martin
53. That’s pretty good in two years. Yep.

00:10:27:37 – 00:10:34:40
Juan Gonzalez
And we’ve got individuals who are very excited about the program and are in turn starting to give back to the program directly.

00:10:34:42 – 00:10:35:30
David Martin
How are they giving back?

00:10:35:45 – 00:10:58:33
Juan Gonzalez
Oh, one of the things that we see is training. They themselves are becoming trainers. They’re sharing their stories. Okay. And one of the more beautiful stories involves a lady named Teresa, who made a very conscious decision to give back to younger people in her community by training them, in her case, also on sewing and the reuse of textiles.

00:10:58:48 – 00:10:59:43
David Martin
So what is she making?

00:10:59:51 – 00:11:05:03
Juan Gonzalez
So she makes textile products using old clothing. Okay. She repurposes.

00:11:05:18 – 00:11:07:55
David Martin
The shoe making bags or shirts or sweaters or.

00:11:08:00 – 00:11:09:25
Juan Gonzalez
A little bit of everything.

00:11:09:30 – 00:11:13:00
David Martin
Okay. And she started again with a $1,500 grant with her.

00:11:13:09 – 00:11:15:18
Juan Gonzalez
She actually did not receive money.

00:11:15:23 – 00:11:15:47
David Martin
Oh, she.

00:11:15:47 – 00:11:18:09
Juan Gonzalez
Just received training.

00:11:18:11 – 00:11:18:31
David Martin
Okay.

00:11:18:33 – 00:11:44:33
Juan Gonzalez
That training gave her greater confidence. It inspired her to do more education. She joined the Nasdaq Entrepreneur Center trainings. And through that, we began to realize that there is so much to be learned out there in the world in terms of how to become a more effective entrepreneur. So for her, the transformational effort was her dedication to self-improvement and training with that confidence.

00:11:44:46 – 00:11:50:22
Juan Gonzalez
She then has turned into a trainer of others and has increased the success of her business.

00:11:50:29 – 00:11:53:06
David Martin
How did this idea come together? How did it become an idea?

00:11:53:08 – 00:12:21:58
Juan Gonzalez
So coming out of the pandemic, we knew that many small businesses were particularly impacted. And what was so powerful about that experience was knowing that we could actually connect with our immigrant community, our second generation community, by reaching out in their languages. In our particular city, over 50% of the households speak a foreign language at home. 40% were actually born in another country.

00:12:22:03 – 00:12:34:39
Juan Gonzalez
So by by building those bridges, by direct community outreach, we were able to take a situation of distrust and show people that we actually care and can support the growth of that entrepreneurial spirit.

00:12:34:44 – 00:12:38:19
David Martin
And I am guessing, Juan Gonzalez, that Spanish is spoken in your home as well.

00:12:38:27 – 00:12:41:35
Juan Gonzalez
Spanish was spoken in my home growing up.

00:12:41:35 – 00:12:42:02
David Martin
Okay.

00:12:42:04 – 00:12:47:46
Juan Gonzalez
And I would speak Spanish with my children as well to just prepare them for a multicultural world.

00:12:47:51 – 00:12:53:47
David Martin
Does it matter that you are a native Spanish speaker when you are talking with these folks who are in the program?

00:12:53:51 – 00:13:08:20
Juan Gonzalez
I will say that, speaking Spanish with residents for whom English is not their first language. Right. And really enables a connection that is beyond just communicating.

00:13:08:25 – 00:13:08:45
David Martin
Okay.

00:13:08:46 – 00:13:20:50
Juan Gonzalez
It is connection at a cultural level. It’s connection at an experience level. And by choosing words that they understand instead of words that they think they kind of sort of understand.

00:13:20:55 – 00:13:22:41
David Martin
That would be when I speak Spanish. Okay.

00:13:22:46 – 00:13:32:35
Juan Gonzalez
It certainly helps make that connection and eases people, deepens trust, and quite frankly, improves their faith in government.

00:13:32:40 – 00:13:36:43
David Martin
What are the future plans for the, small business assistance?

00:13:36:48 – 00:14:01:34
Juan Gonzalez
So at present, we’re looking for funding sources. So the expenditures were $35,000. And we know that there are many opportunities out there from various funding sources. And we’re looking for that additional funding because as you probably recognize currently in many city governments, we’re facing budgetary shortfalls as well as revenues. Sales revenues are shrinking.

00:14:01:38 – 00:14:05:18
David Martin
But you said this whole program was $35,000.

00:14:05:20 – 00:14:10:22
Juan Gonzalez
The amount of money that we spent as a city of San Leandro, 35,000. We were also.

00:14:10:27 – 00:14:11:38
David Martin
Kind of nothing.

00:14:11:43 – 00:14:12:07
Juan Gonzalez
Yeah.

00:14:12:11 – 00:14:17:31
David Martin
I mean, it’s not nothing, but that’s not a significant amount of money compared to the rest of the city budget. It’s insignificant.

00:14:17:31 – 00:14:53:26
Juan Gonzalez
Almost. Again, part of being a responsible leader in government is recognizing that you have to spend less than you receive. So very recently, we had some very difficult discussions with city staff indicating that we had a multi-million dollar budget deficit. And so part of this process of balancing a budget is making some difficult choices, because we have other places where we are investing money to decrease the cost of delivering service to residents.

00:14:53:31 – 00:14:59:31
Juan Gonzalez
So there’s always a trade off of which investments do you make to deliver good government?

00:14:59:39 – 00:15:05:39
David Martin
I’d thank you for saying good government, but $35,000 seems to be money. Very well spent.

00:15:05:52 – 00:15:31:59
Juan Gonzalez
Is it the money that we spend in the city of San Leandro is well spent, whether we spend it through our library programs, where there are many programs that connect us to residents and meet them in their need as they learn a new language, English, whether it’s working with our police department to implement public safety cameras, which has helped reduce crime 31%.

00:15:32:04 – 00:15:45:12
Juan Gonzalez
Okay, so each of these are good investments, right? Some have very dramatic results. Some have nice results. But we’re always facing those tradeoffs.

00:15:45:17 – 00:15:53:46
David Martin
I know you’re itching to talk about other good government in, San Leandro, but just go back to the small business. Technical assistance. Anybody else you want to brag about?

00:15:53:51 – 00:16:15:24
Juan Gonzalez
Those are the stories that I have handy right now. I’m a big believer in sharing stories where I personally know the stories. Okay? And not just have talking points, because when I know the story, I can I can share it with authenticity and specificity. And so thank you for probing. But at this time, those are the stories that I personally feel comfortable.

00:16:15:31 – 00:16:25:50
David Martin
So what’s your gut? But there are 51 other stories out there that are somewhat similar to different degrees of success. Has everyone who’s entered this program and taken advantage of this been successful?

00:16:25:55 – 00:16:30:00
Juan Gonzalez
Again, without knowing the specifics of each individual story, it’s hard for me to say.

00:16:30:01 – 00:16:31:03
David Martin
Was this your idea?

00:16:31:08 – 00:16:40:15
Juan Gonzalez
Not specifically my idea. You know, mayors take credit for everything that happens during their term. But the real credit goes to city staff.

00:16:40:20 – 00:16:40:36
David Martin
Who.

00:16:40:45 – 00:16:49:05
Juan Gonzalez
Are on the economic development team. Saw a very specific need. Then, of course, the city council supports the funding of these efforts.

00:16:49:05 – 00:16:49:23
David Martin
Right?

00:16:49:25 – 00:17:02:22
Juan Gonzalez
Right. So we can pat ourselves on the back as being good team players. But the genesis of the idea really does. The credit goes to city staff for the great work that they’re doing in San Leandro.

00:17:02:34 – 00:17:19:48
David Martin
And you know what? One of the things we like to talk to people about here on The Good Government Show is those are the people who actually, you know, like sit down at their desk with a colleague for a cup of coffee and go, how can we make this better? And then they come up with a plan, and then they present it to their boss, who ultimately presents it to the mayor.

00:17:19:48 – 00:17:23:04
David Martin
And everybody goes, that is a great idea. And that’s where good ideas come from, right?

00:17:23:08 – 00:17:34:26
Juan Gonzalez
Good idea. Genesis is often in the staff and in the community. The community comes to us with all sorts of great ideas. And if we’re effective leaders, we’re listening.

00:17:34:31 – 00:17:34:50
David Martin
Right.

00:17:34:51 – 00:17:42:47
Juan Gonzalez
And we’re we’re filtering through all of those things that people come to us with. So please, for folks in the public, share your good ideas as well.

00:17:42:49 – 00:17:55:20
David Martin
Okay. You, hit on something I wanted to just kind of circle back to. We’ve done a few stories about libraries here. Tell me what, good government. You’re you’re delivering in your city’s libraries.

00:17:55:24 – 00:18:27:21
Juan Gonzalez
So in San Leandro, we deliver literally hundreds of thousands of visits to our libraries. We deliver hundreds of programs ranging from reading to young children encouraging teenagers to read. We’re currently building a program that unites student IDs from the school district, you know, and automatically turns them into the library card so that people don’t have to have an extra app on their phone, an extra card in their pocket.

00:18:27:21 – 00:18:35:02
Juan Gonzalez
Okay? They can literally use their school ID when they come after school to the library to do their homework.

00:18:35:12 – 00:18:37:46
David Martin
How many actual libraries do you have in town?

00:18:37:51 – 00:19:10:44
Juan Gonzalez
So in San Leandro we have a large main branch. We have an ancillary branch in, what we call the manor section of town. And we’re about to rebuild our third library. These smaller libraries are on the order of now, 10,000ft². 5000ft². So they’re not tiny. But these branch libraries do serve the local needs of those communities, making them more bike accessible, more pedestrian accessible, making them truly a neighborhood asset.

00:19:10:49 – 00:19:15:54
David Martin
All right. Now you have an opportunity to brag about your city and all the good government that you’re doing in San Leandro.

00:19:16:02 – 00:19:47:51
Juan Gonzalez
You’re super proud of having come from the private sector into government, including the private sector. There’s such a focus on efficiency and whether it be how we deliver our summertime programing. I’m very proud to report that this year, with the same number of full time staff, we’re delivering over 300 more programs. So we hired 300. So we’re better leveraging the infrastructure that we’ve built to deliver more services.

00:19:48:06 – 00:20:39:01
Juan Gonzalez
And because we charge for a number of these programs and because we do give grants to economically disadvantaged families, we’re able to revenue neutrally expand services by just expecting more of our full time staff and leveraging technology for registration and the like. So you can do more with the same or less. And when I say or less, I’m being very specific, because when I think about the movement towards online permitting, right, the the number of hours that have been cut from staff time that, people are going back and forth with folks by phone calls and by emails and my in-person visits, which are now either reduced or eliminated because all the information is put

00:20:39:01 – 00:20:52:50
Juan Gonzalez
through a digital portal and folks are able to read that online. You can through the digital portal. As a city, we can say, I’m sorry, your application is not complete yet. Please upload this document. Oh.

00:20:52:55 – 00:20:54:46
David Martin
You have, I said, are we talking about AI here?

00:20:54:48 – 00:21:04:56
Juan Gonzalez
AI is an element of it, but we’re really talking just about going digital, about enabling folks to interact with us through a web portal.

00:21:04:59 – 00:21:05:15
David Martin
Okay.

00:21:05:18 – 00:21:23:45
Juan Gonzalez
So people can upload information right off their phones if they want to do it off of laptops, if they want to do it from their desks at home. However, folks do that by interacting with us digitally. They’re able to deal with that, much more effectively. And may I leave you one last thought?

00:21:23:45 – 00:21:24:58
David Martin
Yeah. No, please.

00:21:25:03 – 00:21:36:16
Juan Gonzalez
For me, if we think about the 1950s, what did we do in the 1950s to interact with our government? We either went down to City Hall, okay.

00:21:36:21 – 00:21:38:27
David Martin
Which was not that old, but. Okay.

00:21:38:32 – 00:22:06:12
Juan Gonzalez
20 minutes, ten minutes going there, ten minutes coming back. Right. And then you sat in City Hall waiting for your turn to speak with someone. And when you were done, you told them, hey, there’s a pothole over on Beginner Street. Yeah, not a very efficient use of time. Then people started using the telephone. But guess what? Today, within one minute, 60s standing in front of the pothole, you pull out your phone, you click the My San Leandro app.

00:22:06:17 – 00:22:34:29
Juan Gonzalez
Second step, you take a picture. Third step, you categorize it as the need pothole debris in the road. Did or not. Yeah. If you want to, you can submit a comment. Then you push send. That automatically goes into a database of activities which are then allocated to public works, or to PD, or to another group within our city to be able to address, and the system generates for them.

00:22:34:31 – 00:22:46:09
Juan Gonzalez
Here’s a list of things that you need to address. So no more needs for phone calls, no trips to City Hall that are wasting your time as a resident, and we’re able to do so much more.

00:22:46:14 – 00:22:48:28
David Martin
Are you a tech? Do you have a technology background?

00:22:48:33 – 00:23:01:40
Juan Gonzalez
So my background, I was, graduate school at MIT. So I’ve got a significant focus on how we can use data analysis and technology to drive efficient government to make life better for our residents.

00:23:01:42 – 00:23:02:31
David Martin
Are you an engineer?

00:23:02:38 – 00:23:10:01
Juan Gonzalez
Some people think of me as an engineer, but now I’m an economist by training. Okay, our data analytics. Economics.

00:23:10:05 – 00:23:12:40
David Martin
Wow. Okay. And you’re the mayor. How long you been there?

00:23:12:53 – 00:23:15:06
Juan Gonzalez
I’ve been mayor for two and a half years.

00:23:15:11 – 00:23:16:40
David Martin
We were a city council before that.

00:23:16:45 – 00:23:17:28
Juan Gonzalez
I was not.

00:23:17:40 – 00:23:17:58
David Martin
Oh.

00:23:17:58 – 00:23:29:09
Juan Gonzalez
So, first foray into politics. First foray into elected office. Started, for many, many years in the consulting world. I was a partner at KPMG for many years.

00:23:29:11 – 00:23:29:34
David Martin
Okay.

00:23:29:42 – 00:23:35:27
Juan Gonzalez
And then decided to give back to my city and to the public through this sort of work.

00:23:35:32 – 00:23:59:18
David Martin
All right. Well, coming up, we’re going to get your true thoughts on government. That was all the easy part. The Good Government show is sponsored by our. That’s. Oh, you are for our community. Get involved. We hear that all the time from government leaders. Our brands. With your governments name and logo, your staff and the people you serve are connected and part of your community.

00:23:59:31 – 00:24:24:58
David Martin
From any device your members provide reliable data and meaningful feedback. Ask a question like do we want more parkland or better homeless services? More engage conversations come through the our app. Visit our co that’s ou rco.com and book a demonstration. After you get done with this episode, hear more good government stories with our friends at how to Really Run a City.

00:24:25:03 – 00:24:53:07
David Martin
Former mayors Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter, a Philadelphia, and their co-host, journalist and author Larry Platt talk with guests and other mayors about how to really get stuff done in cities around the nation. Check them out where you’re listening now or through their nonprofit news site, The Philadelphia Citizen. Dot org slash podcasts. So we have the Good Government Show questionnaire, which gets to the heart of your thoughts on government.

00:24:53:11 – 00:24:54:15
David Martin
Are you ready?

00:24:54:20 – 00:24:55:06
Juan Gonzalez
I am ready.

00:24:55:06 – 00:24:56:08
David Martin
Are you ready? Okay, good.

00:24:56:09 – 00:24:57:09
Juan Gonzalez
Is this a lightning round?

00:24:57:10 – 00:25:00:48
David Martin
This is a lightning round. Yes, this is a lightning round. Define good government.

00:25:00:59 – 00:25:06:38
Juan Gonzalez
Good government serves the needs of residents and specifically improves their quality of life.

00:25:06:42 – 00:25:08:18
David Martin
That’s it. It’s that simple.

00:25:08:27 – 00:25:15:35
Juan Gonzalez
You improve the quality of life of your residents in a balanced budget. Of course you are serving your residents well.

00:25:15:45 – 00:25:20:46
David Martin
If someone is frustrated with the way government is working, yours in particular, what should they do?

00:25:20:51 – 00:25:46:00
Juan Gonzalez
Reach out to us directly. I receive emails, phone calls, personal visits. People come and speak at City Hall. People will speak with, staff members, expressing their frustration. And what’s really nice, also coming back to us with good news, because when they see those changes happening and they tell us that they see them, that inspires us to do more.

00:25:46:05 – 00:25:53:24
David Martin
What drew you to public service? You said you were, you know, consultants. And I had another career. What made you decide to run for mayor?

00:25:53:29 – 00:25:55:40
Juan Gonzalez
So I’ve always had an interest in service.

00:25:55:41 – 00:25:55:59
David Martin
Okay.

00:25:56:02 – 00:26:31:39
Juan Gonzalez
Whether it’s service, locally, with nonprofits, with my church, whether it’s service with the schools, served on PTA president and the like delivering, making meals, at shelters. Being a volunteer to oversee homeless folks that were sleeping in a shelter. All right. So there’s just always it’s always been part of me service the elected office. Because ultimately, I decided that, elected office where you’re actually in charge of budgets and you guide what city managers are doing, that’s someplace where you can have the greatest impact.

00:26:31:44 – 00:26:32:31
David Martin
Who inspires you?

00:26:32:45 – 00:26:58:46
Juan Gonzalez
Oh, there’s so many inspirations. My mom is an inspiration. I remember as a seven year old, we went out to a small Texas town where she was taking food to a little old lady who was living in a tiny, dark house. I was scared out of my mind as a child, but when I saw what my mother was doing and the joy that she brought to that, little old lady, it made a very specific impression.

00:26:58:51 – 00:27:03:44
Juan Gonzalez
Then I see people like Congressional Representative Barbara Jordan out of Houston because I grew up in Houston.

00:27:03:46 – 00:27:04:10
David Martin
Okay.

00:27:04:11 – 00:27:17:18
Juan Gonzalez
And the way that she could speak so eloquently about meeting the needs of the most vulnerable, those who really struggle to take care of themselves. That always sat in the back of my mind when I was in corporate America.

00:27:17:22 – 00:27:23:17
David Martin
Did you eventually see yourself going into public service? You know, did you always think at some point you’d run for office?

00:27:23:29 – 00:27:29:11
Juan Gonzalez
You know, I was one of those kids that when I was, literally quite young, I said, I’m going to be president one day.

00:27:29:22 – 00:27:30:05
David Martin
Okay.

00:27:30:10 – 00:27:30:58
Juan Gonzalez
And, you know.

00:27:31:02 – 00:27:34:01
David Martin
The reality is you’re on the path.

00:27:34:06 – 00:27:58:15
Juan Gonzalez
Okay. I think that the reality is that as a mayor, you have the greatest impact on folks, in their individual lives because you’re closest to the people. And I saw this as an opportunity to give back to my community, to take the skills that I had learned over you know, 30 some odd years in corporate, which was really how do you meet the needs of customers, of clients.

00:27:58:30 – 00:27:58:49
David Martin
Right.

00:27:58:53 – 00:28:05:44
Juan Gonzalez
And now I literally just replace that with constituents. How do you best meet the needs of constituents?

00:28:05:47 – 00:28:14:00
David Martin
Well, you’re in California. The governor of California seems to be gearing up for a presidential race. Do you expect to challenge him for president? Yeah. Well, you.

00:28:14:05 – 00:28:21:29
Juan Gonzalez
Yeah, I think I’m I’m plenty busy helping address the needs of the residents of San Leandro.

00:28:21:38 – 00:28:29:27
David Martin
All right, well, we will put off your your your presidential run announcement for another day. Were you in student government? Were you president, your senior class, or did you go like that?

00:28:29:31 – 00:28:34:04
Juan Gonzalez
It’s so funny that you ask that because it seems so insignificant at the time.

00:28:34:08 – 00:28:34:29
David Martin
But.

00:28:34:36 – 00:28:37:33
Juan Gonzalez
But I was junior class president.

00:28:37:38 – 00:28:38:42
David Martin
Not senior class.

00:28:38:46 – 00:28:49:57
Juan Gonzalez
Not senior class president. I was very heavily involved in speech and debate tournaments and all that, that kind of stuff. Way back in the day. And it’s so funny to see that today’s public policy is.

00:28:50:08 – 00:28:50:28
David Martin
Yeah.

00:28:50:33 – 00:28:57:48
Juan Gonzalez
Very much reflect the things that we were talking about back in high school debate, you know, 35, 40, I guess 40 some odd years ago.

00:28:57:59 – 00:29:09:28
David Martin
So your, your, your high school, debate team set you up for it to be mayor. You’ve been mayor for two years now. Before that, you were outside. Now you’re inside. What would you like people to know about government from the inside?

00:29:09:33 – 00:29:45:24
Juan Gonzalez
People within government staff. They do have a good heart, okay? They care about the city, and sometimes we hamstring them with state regulations. Federal regulations which slow down the work that they want to do. Sometimes we hamstring them by not investing in the technology that they need to do their jobs well and more effectively. Sometimes we hamstring them by not providing them the training that they need to avail themselves of the best tools that are out there.

00:29:45:29 – 00:30:06:00
Juan Gonzalez
But I can tell you that for most of those employees, it’s not for lack of heart, it’s not for lack of desire. And so it’s our job as leaders, as mayors and city council members, to give them the resources that they need so that we can hold them accountable to a higher standard of delivery.

00:30:06:05 – 00:30:07:09
David Martin
What’s the best part of your job?

00:30:07:22 – 00:30:35:33
Juan Gonzalez
The best part of my job is meeting with residents and helping to address their concerns, because when you see the change happen and you see the smile and the thank you that comes back, that’s heartwarming. Being able to work with students in our high schools and elementary schools and give them a vision of what government can do and how they can play a role in the future in their government by becoming the leader.

00:30:35:38 – 00:30:47:10
Juan Gonzalez
But today, they can play a role by raising their hand and making an ask. That’s so heartwarming. And I’ll give you a very specific example. I was at an elementary school doing Read Across America Day.

00:30:47:13 – 00:30:47:39
David Martin
Okay.

00:30:47:48 – 00:31:09:36
Juan Gonzalez
And when I finished my book, they ask for permission to ask questions. And one little girl raised her hand, said, Mr. Mayor, can you fix the the crosswalk signal? The flashing light that’s directly in front of our school? I said, thank you for letting me know that it’s not working. I’ll get back to you within the week, okay?

00:31:09:40 – 00:31:22:57
Juan Gonzalez
Within that week, that flashing light was working again to help make it safer for the kids to cross. You know, the crosswalk when cars are everywhere at rush hour or drop off time.

00:31:22:57 – 00:31:25:07
David Martin
So just nobody had reported it?

00:31:25:12 – 00:31:35:45
Juan Gonzalez
Unclear, but what mattered, I’m sure to her, is that she raised her hand with the need, and the need was addressed. And that’s what people have to have confidence.

00:31:35:48 – 00:31:40:43
David Martin
She’s a hero of her school. That said, hey, she got the crosswalk. Thanks. That little girl right there.

00:31:40:52 – 00:32:04:20
Juan Gonzalez
She. And we’ve had other examples like that. Yeah. So as you know, there’s a growing movement to allow the pedestrian signal in urban areas to to turn green first so that pedestrians begin walking and then the traffic, the vehicular signal turns green. Well, that concept was brought to us by a middle school student, I don’t know, five years ago.

00:32:04:22 – 00:32:04:49
David Martin
Okay.

00:32:05:00 – 00:32:14:44
Juan Gonzalez
And, you know, we have been implementing that throughout our city. But she literally got an award for raising this concern, bringing forth this idea.

00:32:14:44 – 00:32:15:08
David Martin
Well, she.

00:32:15:08 – 00:32:32:51
Juan Gonzalez
Should. And so I think that the opportunity for good government is always there. We are good at certain things. We’re better at certain things and not as good at some things. But in the end, oftentimes the best ideas come from residents who have seen it someplace else.

00:32:32:56 – 00:32:41:38
David Martin
Well, I thought the answer to the question of what’s the best part of your job would be to go to the Cherry Festival and walk down the lines and go. We help them, we help them, we help them.

00:32:41:43 – 00:32:48:33
Juan Gonzalez
Well, let me tell you this about the Cherry Festival, for this was the third year that I’ve had the benefit of kind of serving as the emcee.

00:32:48:45 – 00:32:49:07
David Martin
Okay.

00:32:49:16 – 00:33:14:07
Juan Gonzalez
One thing that I take significant pride in is the fact that I meet every single vendor, every booth I visit. And I think the vendors for coming to our Cherry Festival. And I ask them, how’s it going? Because we can’t have a festival without the vendors, right? And if they’re having trouble. Last year we had trouble with our cell phone coverage.

00:33:14:12 – 00:33:19:54
Juan Gonzalez
And so vendors as they went to, complete the payment transaction, they were struggling.

00:33:19:54 – 00:33:20:17
David Martin
Sure.

00:33:20:29 – 00:33:29:33
Juan Gonzalez
And so, you know, by being present to them and immediately getting that feedback, we were able to pivot quickly and make some adjustments.

00:33:29:38 – 00:33:32:40
David Martin
So what concerns, are there that keep you up at night?

00:33:32:54 – 00:34:02:22
Juan Gonzalez
I will tell you that one lesson that I’ve learned in government is that there’s very few people who are there to advocate for capital, who speaks for the roads, who speaks for their roofs, who speaks for the things that need to replace like aging technology, infrastructure. Right. I have never had a resident come and pound on the lectern, right facing the dais, saying that technology that you’re using, it’s way too old.

00:34:02:27 – 00:34:20:08
Juan Gonzalez
I have had residents talk about potholes, sure, but not about the fundamental investment that needs to be done in reconstructing certain roads that are 70, 80 years old that you just can’t patch anymore and that have to be rebuilt.

00:34:20:13 – 00:34:32:27
David Martin
So other than cherry pie, what is the official dish of San Leandro? If I’m coming to your town, where are you going to take me. And how do I get a real flavor for celebrate?

00:34:32:29 – 00:34:37:14
Juan Gonzalez
Well, let me tell you, we have over 200 food establishments in San Leandro.

00:34:37:15 – 00:34:38:13
David Martin
200.

00:34:38:18 – 00:34:51:35
Juan Gonzalez
We have everything ranging from Mexican food, Korean food, Filipino food. We have southern cooking, barbecue.

00:34:51:40 – 00:34:52:01
David Martin
Now, with.

00:34:52:11 – 00:35:15:40
Juan Gonzalez
The ethnic diversity of San Leandro is paramount to the success of our city because we attract people from all over. And so I will literally take you for a feast. I was traveling across town. We will certainly partake of our microbreweries. All right. 21st amendment is based in San Leandro.

00:35:15:42 – 00:35:16:45
David Martin
I could work with you on that.

00:35:16:50 – 00:35:22:16
Juan Gonzalez
We will, taste some of our homegrown Ghirardelli chocolate. Well.

00:35:22:18 – 00:35:23:27
David Martin
Well, that’s good so far.

00:35:23:29 – 00:35:31:28
Juan Gonzalez
We will enjoy some sort of flavored drink flavored with the Tehrani Sirups that are made in San Leandro.

00:35:31:35 – 00:35:33:53
David Martin
Okay. And I’m sorry, I gotta ask to Ronnie.

00:35:33:53 – 00:35:57:12
Juan Gonzalez
Sir Ronnie flavored sir Trani for 100 years has been making flavored serves originally for, for the, Italian, iced, effervescent drinks. Okay, but now a number of the flavors used in coffees and other beverages across the United States are now, across the world.

00:35:57:23 – 00:35:59:40
David Martin
Okay. Sounds good. Sign me up.

00:35:59:45 – 00:36:01:10
Juan Gonzalez
We’re going to have some fun when you come back.

00:36:01:11 – 00:36:05:56
David Martin
It sounds like. It sounds like it. Add, a little bit of everything and cherry pie. Right.

00:36:06:01 – 00:36:07:36
Juan Gonzalez
And cherry pie indeed.

00:36:07:40 – 00:36:17:00
David Martin
All right, guys, so this is the good government show. And we always like to bring it back to good government. Two years as mayor. Give me a good government project that you’re really excited about. You’ve been able to get loan.

00:36:17:04 – 00:36:51:58
Juan Gonzalez
Let me tell you, when we talk about the internal systems that people don’t see, but that desperately need to be addressed. That’s things that I’m proud of. I am proud about the installation of license plate readers in our city that have helped to catch violent criminals that were passing through our city, but whose car triggered an alert. I’m proud of the investment that we’re making in changing our human resources IT system, our finance IT system.

00:36:52:03 – 00:37:06:08
Juan Gonzalez
Why? Because that’s going to enable online payments. It’s going to enable metrics reporting onto our website of how effectively we’re operating and show to residents how we’re decreasing costs.

00:37:06:08 – 00:37:06:52
David Martin
Okay.

00:37:06:57 – 00:37:40:44
Juan Gonzalez
I’m proud of the fact that our residents are beginning to stand up and say, you know what? Government’s really starting to work for us. We see it and we are thinking we, the residents, want to raise money for our city. When the residents themselves step forward and say, we think we need a bond in our city and we’re going to support this effort, that kind of grassroots interest in improving government and funding government, because people have trust in their government.

00:37:40:49 – 00:37:42:12
Juan Gonzalez
That’s a great story.

00:37:42:17 – 00:37:55:25
David Martin
That’s a great story. Mayor Juan Gonzalez, the third of San Leandro, California. Pleasure to meet you. Pleasure to talk with you. And good luck with these small business technical assistance. I look forward to hearing 51 more stories.

00:37:55:30 – 00:37:59:49
Juan Gonzalez
Thank you for having me.

00:37:59:54 – 00:38:17:46
David Martin
Want to hear more about good government? Check out another show I host leading Iowa. Good government in Iowa’s cities. I host the show with Brad Cavanaugh, mayor of Dubuque, Iowa, and the immediate past president of the Iowa League of Cities. Together, we talk to leaders in Iowa cities. We talk about what works and what good government looks like in Iowa.

00:38:17:51 – 00:38:26:19
David Martin
Joining us right here. We listening now that’s leading Iowa. Good government in Iowa. Cities.

00:38:26:24 – 00:38:48:21
David Martin
It was called the War to End all Wars. But it didn’t. Three royal cousins all kings. One from England, one from Germany and one from Russia blundered their way into a war. A completely avoidable war that left millions dead in the trenches across Europe. Good government show executive producer Jim Ludlow details the blunders, mistakes and bluster that started World War One that didn’t end all wars.

00:38:48:25 – 00:39:06:27
David Martin
The book The Royal Cousins details the events and creates an alternative history. Imagine if World War One never happened. It didn’t have to. Just read it yourself. Download the book today on Amazon. It’s just $0.99 and a timely look at history.

00:39:06:32 – 00:39:23:35
David Martin
If the other 51 success stories are anything like the details on the two we just heard, well, then there are 51 more stories of good government helping people. This time in San Leandro, California. And here’s what I liked about Mayor Gonzalez. When I asked him if it was his idea, his response was no, it was the staff and it was the community.

00:39:23:40 – 00:39:40:42
David Martin
They come to us with good ideas. All we had to do was listen. And that’s good government. Now, if you’re in the Bay area, make sure you’re taking the Cherry Festival. It’s in June and it’s been going on since 1909. And it’s a lot of cherry pie. And they do have a cherry pie eating contest. Something to think about,

00:39:40:47 – 00:40:03:21
David Martin
Well, that’s our show. Thanks for listening. Please like us. And share this with your friends and review us right here where you’re listening, and check out our website. Good government show.com for extras. Help us keep telling stories of good government and action everywhere. Join us again for another episode right here. I’m Dave Martin and this is a good government show.

00:40:03:26 – 00:40:25:03
David Martin
The Good Government show is a Valley Park production. Jim Ludlow, Dave Martin, that’s me and David Snyder are the executive producers. Our show is edited and produced by Jason Stershic. Please subscribe, then share and like us and review us. That’s the best way to make sure we’re able to keep telling these stories of our government working for all of us.

00:40:25:17 – 00:40:40:28
David Martin
Then listen to the next episode of The Good Government Show.

00:40:40:32 – 00:40:43:11
Narrator
This podcast is part of the democracy Group.

 

**This transcription was created using digital tools and has not been edited by a live person. We apologize for any discrepancies or errors.