District 5 Councilmember Victor Gordo Announces He Intends to “Wage a Vigorous Campaign” For Re-election

District 5 Councilmember incumbent Victor Gordo announced this week that he is running to retain his City Council seat in Pasadena’s 2017 election cycle.

Gordo’s district seat is one of three that will be up for grabs in the City of Pasadena and Pasadena Unified School District primary nomination elections in March, 2017.

“After talking to a number of residents in my district and neighborhood leaders and consulting with my family, I’ve decided to stand for re-election as the Councilmember representing District Five” Gordo said on Monday. “I intend to wage a vigorous campaign for re-election in order to continue the work that my neighbors and I have initiated.”

Gordo was elected to the Pasadena City Council in March, 2001 and has represented District 5 ever since, being re-elected in 2005 and again in 2009 (with 91.2% of the vote), according to the City of Pasadena website.

“The biggest challenge moving forward is going to be to protect city services from budget cuts and at the same time strengthen public safety in our city,” explained Gordo.

Pasadena’s District 5 is one of the city’s most ethnically and socially diverse districts, and includes several of its most important and notable historic landmark districts — Bungalow Heaven, Garfield Heights, Washington Square, and Orange Heights.

Gordo said that throughout his time on the Council he has focused on fostering an improved quality of life in District 5 neighborhoods by advocating for economic growth and stability in local business districts and promoting safe, family-friendly environments throughout the district and the city as a whole.

“We have to ensure the proper staffing of the police department and strengthen the city’s efforts as it relates to public safety and we have to protect neighborhoods against the recently passed marijuana initiative that potentially could put marijuana dispensaries in our city,” said Gordo.

Gordo has led efforts to combat nuisance liquor stores that were negatively affecting residential neighborhoods, chairing a work group that developed a process for dealing with this issue that plagued the city for decades, according to the website.

“We made lots of progress protecting neighborhoods in District 5 and city-wide including shutting down liquor stores, working very hard to improve public safety, and improving services to people in the neighborhoods they live in — but much remains to be done,” said Gordo.

Gordo described some of his most recent defining victories as leading the effort of creating and eventually passing the minimum wage ordinance, moving recycling centers away from single family neighborhoods and playing a significant role in the construction of affordable housing.

Gordo was elected by the Rose Bowl Operating Company Board of Directors in 2010 to serve as its President/Chair and help lead the Stadium’s renovation efforts and is eager to see new plans develop in the near future.

“I’d like to see through the Music and Arts Festival this coming June, an event that I hope will serve Pasadena well for the years to come,” he said.

In an earlier interview, Gordo said he is proud that the RBOC has been able to accomplish a lot over a very short period of time for the Rose Bowl, which he points to as an important asset in the City of Pasadena and a critical economic engine for the region.

According to Gordo, the Rose Bowl has staged a comeback since 2003 when it was “strapped” with very limited finances that could be used to greatly improved the stadium.

“Around that time, the Rose Bowl’s operating budget was under $10 million. Today, the Rose Bowl’s operating budget is over $45 million, and a big part of that is the investment into repositioning the stadium for future success,” Gordo said. “We undertook an expensive and complicated renovation project that has now successfully prepared the stadium for the competition that we anticipated.”

The filing period for nomination papers closes on December 9 and Gordo is currently the only candidate to have pulled papers for the District 5 seat.

“I’m proud of the team of District 5 residents that I’ve had the privilege to work with and represent in our combined efforts to make Pasadena’s District Five and Pasadena in general a better place to live. We’ve successfully worked together to improve the quality of life in our district and in our city,” said Gordo.