Candidate for
Board Member; Sacramento City Unified School District; 4 Year Term

School Trustee Manny Hernandez, 55, has been a Sacramento resident for 32 years. He grew up in Sonoma County and came to Sacramento in 1972 to complete graduate studies in government.

The son of immigrants from Mexico, his parents first labored in the fields of California, and then fixed up old houses. From an early age, Manny's parents taught him the essential values of hard work, integrity, discipline and community service.

These values have served as the foundation of the service that he has provided to the Sascramento community throughout the years.

Manny has had an exemplary career as a legislative advisor at the State Capitol. Over a 25-year career in the State Legislature, Manny Hernandez has helped formulate our state's public policies on the complex issues of education reform, unemployment insurance benefits, injured workers' rights, consumer protection, insurance reform, and child safety in motor vehicles. Manny was a key assistant to former State Senator Art Torres and spearheaded legislation to reduce the threat of oil spills and industrial accidents from aboveground storage tanks. Manny helped write the law that prohibits school facilities from being located on land contaminated with toxics.

In 1996, after repeated requests by Sacramento Mayor Joe Serna Jr., Manny Hernandez agreed to run for the board of education of the Sacramento City Unified School District. He joined Mayor Serna and civic leader Phil Angelides in their effort to reform Sacramento city schools. Manny was elected that year in a resounding victory along with three other new members of the Board of Education.

For the last eight years as a trustee, Manny Hernandez has led in transforming the city's public schools. Today, students have needed textbooks, teachers are hired in a timely manner, and effective programs have been implemented district wide. As a result, Sacramento students have made major gains in reading and math tests.

Manny Hernandez was a key leader in the passage of the 1999 school bond proposal, Measure E, in the amount of $195 million. In November 2002, he again helped lead the effort to successfully pass another school improvement bond, "Measure I", for $225 million. The results are school roofs replaced, heating and air conditioning systems installed, and new schools constructed and opened.

He has served on the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Commission for Sacramento County, where he advised the board of supervisors on the use of federal funds for projects such as streetlights, sidewalks, and community centers (Member: 1985 to 1986). Manny also served on the Sacramento City Civil Service Commission, where he helped to settle employee/employer disputes involving city employees (Member: 1991 to 1997). He served as the Chairperson of the City Civil Service Commission in 1996 and 1997.

He has served on the board of directors of the California Human Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization that provides employment training, job placement, constructs housing, offers home insulation services, and operates child care centers that serve many disadvantaged persons and families. (Member: 1995 to 1997)

Manny Hernandez currently serves on the board of directors of La Familia Counseling Center, Inc., a nonprofit organization serving youth and families. This organization provides counseling, employment services, and a teen center for hundreds of youths in the Sacramento area. (Member: 2002 and 2003)

Manny is active in various community improvement groups in the Sacramento area, including the Sacramento Area CongregationsTogether (Sac ACT).

Manny and his spouse, Carmen, have three grown children, Leila, Roman and Victor. They are the proud grandparents of Paloma, Alaiya and Alexandrea.