Every citizen of Vallejo wants our city to be successful and to be the hometown that we can be proud of. In order to have the revenue to do the things necessary for Vallejo to be successful is to attract new businesses to our city. Since I have been a resident of Vallejo, I hear frequently that this business or that business is interested in Vallejo, but it always seems to die before it gets started. We need to provide tax incentives to attract business, streamline our building permit process and build more inclusionary housing. By attracting larger companies to Vallejo, the employees of that company will have spouses that are Veterinarians, Teachers, Nurses, EMTs etc. who may not traditionally look to Vallejo as a place to work. We will indirectly feed employees to our businesses.
We need to help our friends and neighbors who own small businesses in Vallejo. Maybe we can assist them with obtaining solar power for their businesses, reducing waste disposal costs or give them tax credits for employing Vallejo residents at their businesses? Perhaps we could have a Beautify Vallejo Program to incentivize small business owners to renovate the facades of their business to help attract other businesses to their areas?
Schools need our help! I have developed a program called “Vallejo Tech Talks” where Tech Executives will speak to Vallejo High School students on a rotating basis to mentor the students and peak their interests in having a career in Tech. The Engineering Academy at the High School has partnered with me to make this happen. It is on all residents to find ways to bring better opportunities to the youth of Vallejo.