Charles Gibbs, Soledad City Council - KCOY Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo - News

Charles Gibbs, Soledad City Council

Party/Affiliation: Democrat
Current Job: Parole Agent and Realtor

Top 3 Priorities if Elected:

I WANT TO KEEP SOLEDAD A SAFE COMMUNITY FOR ITS CITIZENS 

I plan to work with the Soledad Police Department to see how we can promote community involvement between the police and its citizens. I would like to see more city attractions where the police department can introduce themselves to the public. This way our community can see Police Officers as "people" who are working hard to keep our streets safe, and not as a negative stigma.

TO PROMOTE BUSINESSES CURRENTLY OPERATING IN SOLEDAD

I have a blog page at www.vote4charlesgibbs.com in which I ask the citizens of Soledad what I can or the City of Soledad can do for them. I plan to use this information to see what the people really want.

One thing I feel that needs to be addressed is the promotion of the businesses here in Soledad. I feel that they are not getting the local exposure they deserve. I would like to work with the Soledad-Mission Chamber of Commerce to see what type of exposure they provide businesses and what else can be done. I would like to propose a "Business(es) of the week or month" flyer or notification to the public. This can be done by mass emails, signs in the chamber window, etc. I also want to see how businesses can help promote each other. By having the Citizens of Soledad and surrounding areas buy here locally, we create more revenue for the city.

TO ATTRACT NEW BUSINESSES TO CONSIDER DOING BUSINESS HERE 

To solicit new businesses, again I want to know what the citizens of Soledad want. With that information I can get with the Mayor and other City Council Members, to work on a proposal on how to bring that business to the city.

The City of Soledad had a five year plan to spruce up the downtown area and attract new businesses. With the current economy that plan has been put on hold. I plan to continue that plan by looking at potential federal grants, and other incentives the city may offer to attract businesses to come here.

Furthermore, I would like to work with the Small Business Development Workshop on how we can help local citizens become new business owners.