Senior plans run for San Jose City Council

By Brittany Benjamin

He's just a senior with no professional political experience.

At 22, Chad Greer will be the youngest candidate in the June District 9 San Jose City Council race.

Armed with a platform pushing education and fiscal reform, he will face off against his older opponents later this year in order to win the ninth of ten seats of the council. He challenges 41-year-old Donald Rocha, a member of the Cambrian School District Board of Education, and Jim Cogan, who graduated from Wheaton College in 1998 and is Chief of Staff for current Councilmember Pete Constant and president of the Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers.

"A lot of people have been asking about my age. I am younger -- I'm 22," Greer said. "But I'm not a professional politician. I'm coming form a neighbor-to-neighbor perspective. I don't have any ties. I can make decisions without having back-door deals going on."

Greer grew up in Cambrian Park, which makes up part of District 9, the same district for which he's running. After deciding last summer that he wanted to run, the accounting major has recruited four Santa Clara students and alumni to work on his campaign team.

He said he is using this opportunity as a way to motivate other community members his age to get involved in local government.

"Chad told me he was running about a year ago. I didn't know if he was serious," said sophomore Christine Lebar. "Later that year, he said he was serious and asked if I would be his treasurer."

Greer has a platform consisting of four pillars: fiscal responsibility, preservation of fire and police departments, education and foreclosure prevention.

Because the city of San Jose is already in debt, Greer wants to make fiscal cuts, while still upholding the fire and police departments. He wants to bring education to a local level and instate legislation that would aid families in danger of foreclosure.

Yet the driving force that motivated the Santa Clara accounting major to throw his name into the ring was the story of two personal friends, he said.

Greer said he has two friends, two twin brothers. Both brothers were training to go into the military as officers after graduation. One brother went to Santa Clara and the other went to San Jose State. While the brother at Santa Clara will graduate on time, his twin at San Jose State will not because of financial cuts limiting the number of professors and classes available, Greer said.

"So two brothers who were hoping to deploy at the same time to serve their country, won't essentially be able to live out that dream because of a lack of funding," the young candidate said.

As a student, his school work falls on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Monday, Friday and weekends are devoted to his campaign.

"At one time you're a student," he said. "Another time you are a candidate running for city council. But who says that I can't do this. Who says I shouldn't do this?"

Meanwhile, his parents are on board and have helped him edit documents and forms he must submit to the Secretary of State. "I think it's awesome," Chad's mother Cindy Greer said. "We're proud of him for having the courage to do this. He has an ability to make a difference."

Yet, Greer points out that he is not just representing the student population, "but those students' parents and those students' grandparents."

Unlike other campaigns, every member of Greer's team is working on a volunteer basis. They are working for the young candidate to get practical work experience and because they believe in Greer's platform.

Senior Hannah Watanabe, met Greer through a friend and became acquainted with him through the Core Christian Club, a student Christian club on campus. As a marketing major, she's using her experience to create a logo for his campaign and to brainstorm ideas on ways to get his face in the public eye.

"We want people to see Chad and get to know him a little bit," she said. "So many people who campaign are parents or adults. He has a new and fresh perspective on things -- or a younger perspective."

To promote himself, Greer already has a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account. His Web site, www.chadgreer.org, became functional this past weekend. He is also planning fundraisers and dinners.

"People see me as inexperienced. My career is very early. I don't own a business or anything like that," he said. "However, I will bring other, different attributes that I think society and the public are looking for at this point in time. People are looking for someone who won't be the same old political dog."

Contact Brittany Benjamin at brbenjamin@scu.edu or (408) 554-4546.