Candidate for
County Supervisor; Santa Clara County; Supervisorial District 2

Cindy Chavez has been a driving force in Silicon Valley politics and labor issues for more than two decades. As a two-term member of the San Jose City Council, she built a strong reputation as an advocate for improving the quality of life throughout San Jose. She was a leader in developing cutting-edge community-based programs to address crime, education, small business development and neighborhood revitalization. Elected to the City Council in 1998 and re-elected in 2002, Chavez served two years as vice mayor. Her terms were distinguished by implementing goals to make every neighborhood safe, enhancing opportunities for residents and providing guidance on improving city government's service to them.

As the Executive Officer of the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council and Executive Director of Working Partnerships USA, her work was highlighted by her ability to build new collaborations to create innovative policy that improves the lives of working families throughout Silicon Valley. Few public leaders can count the kind of successes that Chavez achieved early in her public service: ground-breaking health insurance for Santa Clara County's children, which served as a national model, unprecedented construction of diverse housing and a genuine city-schools partnership in downtown San Jose.

Often described as a savvy consensus builder and possessing a down to earth charm, Chavez has also contributed to local high technology initiatives, the arts and guided the political participation of emerging ethnic communities. Chavez was a member of the Board of Directors of Joint Venture, Silicon Valley Network and the California Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nanotechnology. She also serves on the National Board of Planned Parenthood and is a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum. Chavez was named by the Silicon Valley Business Journal in its surveys of "Influential Women in Business" and served on the Board of the Silicon Valley Women's Alliance. She was a recipient of the California Assembly's Housing Leadership Award and the Blue Cross of California's Community Service Award. Cindy Chavez was voted "Legislator of the Year" by the Silicon Valley Asian Pacific American Democratic Club and 2012 Woman of the Year by the California State Assembly.

Cindy and her husband Mike Potter and their son Brennan live in the Naglee Park neighborhood of San Jose.