1. His pragmatic approach has been successful everywhere
Don Gage is the right candidate at the right time. He has time and time again demonstrated the leadership ability Gilroy so desperately needs and his track record of public service is far superior to the two candidates who are opposing him.
After serving on the Gilroy City Council and as Gilroy mayor, Gage went on to become a Santa Clara County Supervisor for District One and, after a distinguished decade, during which he won accolades from all ends of our county’s wide-ranging political spectrum, he won a seat on the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board.
Gage gets it. He listens. He understands that you have to work with everyone. He believes politics work when approached with pragmatism. He has the rare ability to strongly disagree with another person’s position and still maintain a positive working relationship. He could write a book on how to win friends and influence people. Gage gets things done because he works with people to achieve in-common goals. The overarching goal he will keep in mind is simple: what’s best for our community.
2. Proven leadership skills will move Gilroy into a better place swiftly
His government management experience outside Gilroy is a vast benefit. Bringing together the knowledge of his hometown and his experience on regional levels gives Gilroy a leader who is fully prepared to leave behind the vagaries plaguing the current Council and mayor behind and move swiftly into a new era.
Gage has been through the trenches at the county level with cutbacks. He’s nobody’s fiscal food. Union concessions are a government reality and he will work hard to keep the benefit and payroll costs – particularly for Gilroy’s public safety sector – in check.
Repairing the relationship with the Gilroy Unified School District – without handing over the keys to the city vault – is also on his agenda. Typically, his common sense assessment is on point: good schools equal a better community, so let’s talk and hash it out.
3. Gage understands: if anything matters, then everything matters
Communication in a leadership capacity is critical and Gage’s skills are exactly what Gilroy needs now. There is so much repair work to be done in so many arenas. Gage’s actions won’t please everyone, but Gilroy will get back on track and will have a leader with experience and common sense. He’s simply the right candidate at the right time. Don Gage for mayor, hands down.
