Around Town … with Robert Airoldi: Mayor Roland Velasco declines to run for mayor this November

Gilroy leader will not seek re-election in November to spend time with family

By Robert Airoldi

After nearly two decades in public office, Mayor Roland Velasco will not seek a second term in the November election.

At the Jan. 27 Gilroy City Council meeting, Velasco said after talking with his wife about the time and energy it takes to run a campaign, he chose not to seek re-election.

“I’ve decided that it’s really more important for me to spend time with family,” he said.

Velasco, 53, served on the city council from 1997 to 2007 then returned in 2014. He was elected mayor in 2016.

The Gilroy native has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco. He left his job as an aide to Santa County Supervisor Mike Wasserman in 2018, saying he wanted to devote full-time to his role as mayor.

Velasco previously served on the city council from 1997 to 2007. He returned to the council in 2014. He won a bid for the mayor’s seat in 2016 after mayor Don Gage resigned.

“Whether it’s running for council or running for mayor, I want them to really be able to sit back and think about what’s involved with it and start talking to their friends and family and come up with a decision,” he said.

The nomination period in the November election opens July 13 and closes Aug. 7.

Mr. Mayor, good luck with whatever you decide to do in the future.

Congratulations, Alpine Landscapes. The Gilroy company won statewide recognition recently at the annual gathering of the California Landscape Contractors Association’s convention.

For its work at Sakata Seed America’s Morgan Hill site, Alpine won the John Redmond Memorial Award for Best Landscape Maintenance in the State of California. Stop by Sakata Seed at 18095 Serene Dr. a mile north of downtown Morgan Hill and check out Alpine’s amazing landscaping skills.

From student teacher to principal, Velia Codiga’s career has seen many positions since she started with Gilroy Unified School District in 1994. She was appointed the new principal at Las Animas Elementary School at the Jan. 16 board meeting.

She has filled positions at several elementary schools in the district in the roles of bilingual teacher, classroom teacher, Migrant Ed support teacher and Literacy and English Language Learners (ELL) Site Leader.

Codiga will remain in her role as principal at Antonio Del Buono through the end of this school year, when it closes, and is part of the transition team during the closure process. She will be at Las Animas full-time beginning July 1, 2020.

Congratulations, Velia.

In other education news, the Gilroy Unified School District appointed Aurelio Rodriguez as the new Emergency Preparedness and School Safety Coordinator.  He was hired to replace Cheryl Galloway, who served the district in the same capacity for more than 10 years.

Rodriguez joins GUSD with an enormous amount of security experience. He began his career in the Parks Enforcement Unit in New York City, and eventually landed in San Jose, spending more than 27 years as an officer in the San Jose Police Department before retiring.

Rodriguez has established roots in Gilroy, raising his family here for the past 16 years and volunteering for and coaching for several nonprofit and school athletic organizations.

In his new position, Rodriguez will be responsible for the development and implementation of all GUSD response and crisis management activities; will provide disaster preparedness training to GUSD staff, students and families; liaison with GUSD community partners; and provide operational support of all GUSD facilities rentals.

Aurelio’s first day in his new role with the Gilroy Unified School District was Jan. 17. Let’s all give a big warm welcome to Aurelio.

Late last year, the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd received a gift of 1,000 folded paper cranes from First Congregational Church of Santa Barbara along with a letter commending to them this gift of solidarity with the Gilroy community following the gun violence at the Garlic Festival. The gesture shows the support from not only within the community, but from afar as well.

The Gilroy Historical Society recently announced that after 11 years of saving, their endowment funds have reached the point where they can hire a half time manager for the Gilroy Museum. And just in time because Tom Howard, who has been filling that role as a volunteer since 2009, has plans to move this spring. Those interested in applying for the job should visit www.gilroyhistoricalsociety.org for details.