The South Santa Clara County Valley Memorial Special District, a roughly 250-member club of ex-soldiers who gather for regular meetings and social events, will be electing two directors to its five person board in the Nov. 5 election.
“This is the first time incumbents have been challenged – the first time in 16 years,” noted current board member Ray Sanchez.
Board members oversee the district’s Veterans Memorial Building at 74 W. Sixth Street in Gilroy.
The veteran’s district in Gilroy hosts a range of gatherings throughout the year including services on Memorial Day and a community breakfast on Veteran’s Day. The Gilroy post also has an old-timey bar where ex-soldiers enjoy hanging out together. Other community clubs and groups rent the building regularly.
Board members must be Gilroy, Morgan Hill or San Martin residents and are not paid for their services. The current board consists of President John Ceballos, Vice President Philip Garcia, Secretary Nick Marquez and directors Ray Sanchez and Gabe Perez.
Meet the candidates
Gabe Perez, 64, current director of the South Santa Clara Valley Memorial District, Gilroy resident
Perez has served on the board for five years in the capacities of director and president. He served in the Air Force for six years and currently works for Santa Clara County’s Roads and Airports Department. Perez has been a part of the VFW 6309, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Gilroy for 30 years and has served as commander of the post.
He also organized and dedicated a plaque to Vietnam and Korean war veterans at the Veterans Memorial Building, a task which involved writing to government officials to get a list with the names of the veterans the plaque should honor. In the next term, Perez would like to redo the building’s kitchen, lighting, and – if time and money allow – the bathroom.
“We have a lot to offer for the veterans but apparently they are not aware, so we are going to try to reach them as best as we can,” said Perez.
He estimates that 250 veterans participate in district activities but at least 600 to 700 veterans live in the area.
Philip Garcia, current board vice president
Garcia served three years in the military, including a year in Vietnam. In a brief interview, Garcia said he had no special issues of concern for the upcoming year. He did not return calls for additional comments.
Jesse Sanchez, 60, safety and security supervisor for Saint Louise Regional Hospital, Gilroy resident
Sanchez served 20 years in the Army. He considers himself one of the younger veterans in the group and said he would like to see other young veterans and active service members participate more in the district.
“I’d like to get the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans involved,” he said.
Sanchez is a life member of Post 217, the American Legion Post in Gilroy, and attends the group’s monthly business meetings. He has also participated in VFW 6309, where he served as a commander of the post for a two-year term from 2006 to 2008.
Robert Armendariz, 62, retired maintenance worker, Gilroy resident
Armendariz served two years in the Army. He has been involved in Post 217 for 30 years and has served as commander of the post. This is Armendariz’s first year running for director. His goals for the term are to make restrooms in the Veterans Memorial Building handicapped accessible; improve lighting in the building; and install a wheelchair accessible ramp to the side of the building so that veterans using wheelchairs can enter from the front and the side entrance.
A look back: Civil Grand Jury investigation into Memorial Special District Board
Garcia and Perez are among the five board members investigated in a June 2012 Civil Grand Jury report that accused the organization of financial mismanagement and improper attempts to oust a board member.
The Grand Jury found the district violated the Brown Act in October 2011 when they tried to remove an elected board member without jumping through the proper hoops. The Grand Jury also said the board conducted an unlawful closed-session meeting; failed to provide ethics training to board members every two years; and failed to follow appropriate protocol for authorizing purchases, according to the report.
Requirements for special districts include inviting the community to their board meetings, posting their meeting agendas and minutes for all to see, carrying out all their business in the public eye, and keeping financial records open and transparent.
“We had loopholes and we’re trying to clear them up,” said Perez, who previously explained the district hired an attorney and worked to set new bylaws.
Perez responded to the Grand Jury’s report with a letter in November 2012. He refuted some of their “misinformation” and also updated the panel on the district’s progress, which included the forming of a mission statement and following the Brown Act requirements.
“They slapped our hands, basically,” he told the Dispatch in April. “We were not educated of our guidelines. I don’t think it’s being ignorant, it’s being uneducated. We want to do things par and course.”
Perez wrote he was “not knowledgeable of the process of removing a board member” and has since been notified by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors of the correct process, which involves sending a letter to the Registrar of Voters Office.
As the investigation unfolded, the Grand Jury also determined Perez used $8,000 for kitchen remodels without consulting the other four board members – an allegation Perez insisted wasn’t true. He said the decision was never made by one individual since funds cannot be allocated without board approval. He also said bids were sent to multiple architects but only one responded. The architect was paid $1,350.66 and not $8,000 for his work, Perez added.
No court proceedings came of the investigation, according to Perez. He said the Grand Jury turned matters over to the Local Agency Formation Commission, which Perez describes as the watchdog organization for special districts.
The SSCVMD district receives about $100,000 annually from county property taxes to be used for various events and outreaches to local veterans, their families and the community at large.
