Please support Amanda for City Council

My name is Amanda Aanerud and I am running for City Council, District 6. I am a married mom of 4 children ages 24, 22, 9, and 2. In 1998 I moved from San Jose to Stockton because it afforded me the opportunity to buy a home and raise my family. I went back to school and earned my AA from San Joaquin Delta College and my BA in English from University of the Pacific.

I had been asked by several people to run for office but I was reluctant. I had always said I would help a very solid candidate get elected. When my great candidate had things come up so he could not run I was left with a difficult choice. I had planned on cashing out my home and moving out of California this summer, but something was holding me here. I just could not allow District 6 to have another term of weak leadership without doing all I could to try to prevent it. I made the commitment to live here for at least another 4 years. I know I have the knowledge and skills required, but it was frustrating that I could not list my work on the ballot because I was not paid for it. While I often take a leading role on projects I do what I do because I genuinely care about my community and not taking credit or being praised.

I am a strong Social Justice Activist, which means that I fight for issues that matter to you. Whether it is lobbying for more police for our community, taking a leadership role in the petition drive that resulted in a refund of bond overpayments for ALL homeowners in Weston Ranch and a sunset date for the Mello Roos bond, or building community my work has made positive impacts on our daily lives. I have written several legal petitions that have been approved and helped to run those campaigns. I have organized vigils and media to bring awareness, addressed the council, written articles that have been published nationally on topics like Universal Basic Income, Advance Peace and other topics pertaining to government transparency and accountability, planned community networking events, worked with various animal rescues and participated in many homeless outreach events.

There is no better feeling than empowering someone to find their voice or helping someone to be heard. I have advocated for victims of crime, domestic violence, rape survivors, and helped to coordinate services. As the parent of a child on the spectrum and having a severely disabled brother, the needs of disabled people and their families have always been a passion of mine. I have protected and preserved disabled people’s rights and supported their families by attending IEPs, court, and meeting with various people in the community to ensure their needs were being met. I have also assisted with immigration declarations and tutored English to try to help preserve families.

I want to transform South Stockton into a safe, clean community filled with opportunity and hope. One of my top goals is to have an independent audit of the city books and then implement the recommendations of the auditor. Without full knowledge of where the funds are being spent or account balances, there is no way we can make responsible spending choices. The city has squandered our tax money for way too long and given us nothing in return.

I want to reduce crime and I plan to do this by auditing the measure A funds, implementing hiring practices to recruit and retain the officers that we are currently paying for but have not hired, and transition to a community based policing model which is statistically proven to reduce crime. I want programs that have proven track records not dangerous experiments like Advance Peace which pays criminals not to shoot. I would like to see the Office of Violence Prevention audited and updated. We have many of the tools we need to reduce crime in Stockton, the problem is that we are not being efficient and do not follow through. We already have the funding in place so these updates should have a very limited impact on the budget.

District 6 is a desert wasteland with few businesses and crumbling infrastructure. I will do everything in my power to get the Big Box Ban on retail stores removed, create a more business-friendly environment with a streamlined permitting process and incentives to bring jobs and opportunity to Stockton. We need to support our small business owners because they provide jobs and they pay taxes that pay to maintain the city. There is a serious problem when there are streets in our district that have wooden curbs from the late 1800s, while streets in Brookside are resurfaced every two years. It is not right that Swenson got to keep their golf course yet the city lied and closed Van Buskirk leaving us with nothing. It is not right that other districts can pilfer our valuable commercial-zoned permits and exchange them for high-density housing that the developers have vowed not to build. The inequality in this city must stop. I promise that I will be the fierce advocate District 6 needs to change this.

Additionally, I would like to focus on homeless prevention and investigate the possibility of programs that help people to stay in their homes such as a voucher system similar to HEAP paid out of federal or state homeless or subsidized housing funds. Additionally, I would argue against any city plan which seeks to abandon the city’s homeless population in District 6. Each district should house a proportionate share because the city has not historically given us any additional resources to mitigate the increased crime and blight which is associated with the homeless shelters. I would also like to build a database of homeless resources so we know who has beds available, location, and qualifications so that we are maximizing our resources.

I believe many of the problems we face today are a result of a lack of available resources and connections. I would like to create community centers that act as the hub of our micro-communities offering satellite city services, parenting groups, addiction support, 4H, community gardens, work-study programs for youth, job readiness, tutoring, after school programs, and sports. Many of these programs are offered independently but I want to bring them into micro-communities in a coordinated and meaningful way so that people actually benefit from them. Not only would this give our kids productive things to do but we could improve outcomes for at-risk families and help to identify struggling families so they could be resourced before things fall apart, they lose their home, lose a child to the streets, or miss an early intervention opportunity.

My volunteer work has prepared me to be a council member because I know the process to make a change, I have a solid understanding of the issues, and I understand the limits of the office so I will not make promises to you that I cannot keep. If elected I am 1 of 7 equal votes. It takes 2 council members to put something on the agenda. Many of my ideas are minor shifts that result in big improvements to things we are already doing and do not require large budgets.

I will promise each of you that I will do my homework, ask questions and thoroughly research the agenda topics. I will make sure that the language of the resolutions passed is tight and concise so that there are no loopholes that allow for corruption. Since I do not work outside my home I have a lot more time to dedicate to my position on council and I will be fully prepared for and attend all council and related committee meetings. I will always put district 6 first and I will never vote for things that are not in our best interest. You do not have to worry about any conflicts of interest because I, nor anyone in my family benefits from any city deals and no one in my family owns a business or non-profit within San Joaquin County.

I want to be your councilwoman because I have the skills and temperament to accomplish more for district 6 than any of my opponents. I will not vote for outside interests, backroom deals, or favors. I will vote for you and to make District 6 the best it can be. I am very persuasive and persistent, but I also able to come to a fair compromise when required. An elected official is a public servant and I look forward to serving the people of my district. I am always available to discuss your ideas, questions, or concerns by Facebook, email, or phone.
Thank you for your confidence and vote.