Longtime Gilroy resident Danny Mitchell has thrown his hat into the ring for the Gilroy City Council race in November.
Mitchell, who has lived in the city for 60 years, recently retired after 25 years with Gilroy-based Heinzen Manufacturing, where he served as a partner and chief financial officer.
Mitchell said he wants to bring his expertise in finance to the city council, which is needed in a time when the city is facing a financial crisis due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. He pointed to his time at Heinzen Manufacturing, where he said he helped grow the company from $3 million in sales annually to $30 million when he retired.
He has served as vice chair of operations and finance for the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce for the last three years, as well as serving on the Gilroy General Plan Advisory Committee for 2040. Mitchell’s experience also includes chair of the Gilroy Elks Lodge board of trustees and various capacities at South Valley Community Church, where he helped establish its finance committee.
“I’m determined that I can bring my experiences as a CFO and leader and assist in the city’s challenges,” he said. “I am now running for a council seat to do just this.”
At the age of 9, Mitchell and his family moved to Gilroy from South Dakota, where his parents opened Becky’s Burger Pit Restaurant downtown. At age 16, Mitchell found work picking prunes and apricots in Gilroy. He later owned a Sambo’s Restaurant in San Jose and returned to college at age 28 to earn a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
If elected, Mitchell said he will work on tackling Gilroy’s fiscal recovery, as well as ensuring public safety is properly funded to meet the needs of a growing population. With parks and recreation facing budget cuts, Mitchell said he would “champion to keep these areas from the cutting block so our families can enjoy the benefit of this fine community.”
Gilroy Bicycle Pedestrian Commission chair Zach Hilton announced June 1 that he would join the Gilroy City Council race, and earlier this year, community activist Rebeca Armendariz announced her candidacy for one of the council seats. On May 21, longtime Gilroy City Councilmember Dion Bracco revealed that he will be running for the mayor’s seat.
In addition to the mayor’s position, three city council seats will be open in the November election, currently occupied by Carol Marques, Fred Tovar and Cat Tucker.
The nomination period for candidates to declare their intentions for the Nov. 3 election opens July 13 and runs through Aug. 7. For information, visit tinyurl.com/u83vdru.
