Gilbert Alvarado wants to continue the work

Second in a series of profiles of Shafter City Council candidates running for three open seats on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Other articles can be found on The ShafterPress.com.

Gilbert Alvarado has served Shafter for almost two decades as a city councilman, including one term as mayor. He hopes to be re-elected to the council to see the city continue to thrive and to play a role in that process. As a committed public servant, he has demonstrated a passion for public service and wishes to continue the work he has already set in motion.

He believes he is the right candidate: "It is my heart, my testimony, my fruits. I am a very approachable person, and I am honest and fair." His vision for Shafter is to cultivate economic development, expand public safety and education, support small businesses and grow housing. "Because growing housing is all connected. Without housing, you don't get the brand-name businesses like a Walmart or a Home Depot. My vision is to develop housing, support small businesses and attract more big businesses to town."

What he enjoys most about being a councilman is his ability to help others. "I am able to do that, and I can help everyone, especially the underdogs. Unfortunately, the underdogs don't get treated the same, but because of my position, I can help the underdogs. And I have people even coming to my house for help. And I do thank the Lord I can help them."

Alvarado was raised in Oxnard and moved to Shafter in the late 1990s. He works for the Semitropic Water Storage District and has been there for 18 years. Before that, he spent about eight years in the oil industry with McJunkin. Alvarado first became involved in politics as a coach for the Shafter Recreation and Parks District. When his wife started working full-time, he became more engaged in his children's education, attending PTA meetings and school conferences and taking on leadership roles. Other parents encouraged him to run for the City Council, which became the impetus for his decision. From there, he never looked back – he says it was the best decision he ever made.

He is the president of the Lions Club, and a man of faith as a member of La Rosa de Saron Church. He has three daughters – Alexis Neri, Jessica Hamill and Hannah Garza – who all live in Shafter, and he is an enthusiastic grandfather of six. He has been happily married to his wife, Martha, for 35 years.

Alvarado is an out-of-the-box thinker. When he started as a councilman in 2008, he was told it would cost $80,000 to repair the restroom at Rodriguez Park, which was boarded up because it had been vandalized. He reached out to a local pastor. "Pastor Seymore got ahold of Teen Challenge, and they did all of the labor, and the city bought the parts. To get that restroom up and running was one of my personal goals, and we did it. It's an accomplishment as a councilman that I am proud of."

Another accomplishment he can point to is spearheading the creation of Veteran's Park and moving the Gladiators football team from Kirschenmann Park, where they trained; it wasn't a proper place for them to practice, so that pushed him more to have the park be a place for soccer teams to play and a place for the Gladiators to practice and store their equipment. The city bought half of the land, while the other half belonged to the Richland School District. Soccer players playing on dirt fields at the park approached him, knowing he was on the council and aware of what he had done at Rodriguez Park, and asked him to create a new park. Although delayed initially because of funding and an issue about splitting costs between the city and the school district, he persistently pushed the issue.

Eventually, grants were secured, a house on the site was demolished and new storage was built, moving the Gladiators to what is now Veterans Park. He takes satisfaction in enhancing the quality of life for Shafter residents by providing spaces for families to gather for recreation and healthy living.

He can also point to the city's skate park: "I want to thank the current mayor [Chad Givens] for acknowledging me for getting it done. It's something I wanted to do years back, but the council then didn't agree. As years went by, we finally got the skate park. And now, after all the time that has gone by, he acknowledged that I was the one that spearheaded that at the ribbon cutting."

His message to the people of Shafter: "I want to thank you for the opportunity for allowing me to serve the community because Shafter is a great place to live."