UPSTART: Cerritos City Council Hopeful Gerad Valencia Shines in Campaign

Cerritos City Council candidate Gerad Valencia at candidate forum sponsored by the Cerritos Regional Chamber of Commerce. Randy Economy Photo

“It’s not easy to run a campaign on $532.87 but it was a challenge I was willing to take on.” – Gerad Valencia, Candidate For Cerritos City Council

By Brian Hews

Gerad Valencia is new to Cerritos politics, but you would never know if by the way the first time candidate has been performing on the campaign trail these past four months.

Valencia is a fresh face in this year’s heated Cerritos City Council campaign that most longtime observers equate to a game of “tackle football, without wearing pads.”

Valencia may not get elected next week, his campaign is spending less than $600.00 compared to his opposition that will spend more than $500,000 combined when all the final campaign receipts are tallied.

Nonetheless, Valencia has been impressive in his first bid for public office and when you ask him why he is running against the long odds, he told Los Cerritos Community Newspaper that “the simple answer is to make a difference, but that answer is so cliché.”

“How many politicians actually make a difference during their term? What makes you different if you follow the same old format when running for office? Finding money to back you is pretty easy if you’re willing to take on a special interest cause,” Valencia said.

The married “stays at home dad” has not been a wall flower during this campaign season’s televised debates, and isn’t intimidated by the process of running for elected office.

“I did not want to go the traditional route while running my campaign. I have sought no endorsements or monetary contributions. I’m not a politician. I am a typical resident who is willing to tell the truth. I am not afraid to tell the truth for fear of job security,” Valencia said.

“My intention was never to win for the sake of winning. Instead, I want the community to prosper by someone who actually stands by solid beliefs and makes sound judgments,” he candidly told LCCN.

“We have the most amazing freedoms in this country. One freedom I am unwilling to sacrifice in this campaign is my freedom to speak freely. I have the liberty to say what I believe because I don’t fear someone else taking away my campaign funds for doing so,” Valencia said.

To date he points out that he has spent a “meager $532.87.”

“Some of my opponents have spent nearly 100 times that amount for their campaigns. It’s not easy to run a campaign on $532.87 but it was a challenge I was willing to take on, Valencia said.

“I learned at a young age to be self-sufficient. I have what it takes to do my own campaign research, my own website, and my own responses. My responses have real substance. I’m not a mouthful of catch phrases like some of my opponents. I hope your readers can take the time to view the public forum videos of the candidates before they vote,” Valencia said.

He has “backed up” his grassroots effort by producing a couple of hard hitting videos that appear on his website www.GeradValencia.org.

“The residents of Cerritos have energetically fueled my campaign. The residents of Cerritos are the reason we candidates are supposed to run,” he quipped.

“I’m on the side of the everyday Cerritos resident because I am one. Pride in my city is my benefit for securing a spot on the Cerritos City Council. My children call Cerritos home. It’s my motivation to have them continually call Cerritos home,” Valencia said.

Election day is next Tuesday.