Hugh Bussell is a candidate for the US Congress in California District 15. Castro Valley Matters reached out to each candidate and asked for a statement.

Thank you, Castro Valley Matters, for the opportunity to introduce myself to the greater Castor Valley community.

I grew up in Napa, California, the oldest of five children. My mother worked as a nurse and my father worked for the local tractor dealership. I worked my way through U.C. Berkeley and graduated with a degree in Physics.

I’ve been married for 31 years to my college sweetheart, Gayle. We have three children.

For seventeen years, we lived near B Street and Linden in Hayward and we have many fond memories of the time we spent in Castro Valley. I used to take my infant son with me to Rudy’s Donuts on weekend mornings to let my wife sleep in. I knew Rudy, and got to be friends with his daughters who now run the shop.

I miss breakfast at JD’s, but still enjoy it at Doug’s Place.

I was proud and pleased to serve as the Cubmaster and as an Assistant Scoutmaster for Pack and Troop 726, based at Marshall Elementary when Mark Croghan was the principal.

I also serve on the board of a large church in the Tri-Valley, served on the board of Tri-Valley Athletics, and volunteer at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin.

During much of my career, I worked for a number of high tech firms. I sold semiconductors by assisting customers to select our circuits for their products. I managed international training organizations, delivering training on new technologies in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

I also taught high school math and science in Union City and Albany, so I understand many of the challenges of working in the public sector.

As a citizen legislator, I bring my experience as a manager, working with people around the world, to solve problems. In every interaction I had with a customer or a partner, I had to understand their needs and I had to understand the needs of the company that I represented. Working together to find a solution that was a win for each side was the only way to build trust and to solve problems. That kind of trust leads to more collaboration and better solutions to the challenges that we face. We also were able to respectfully disagree when we couldn’t find a way to work together on a particular issue.

Most surveys show that few people are happy with how the current Congress is working for us. There is bound to be conflict among the many interests that are represented in Congress, but we all feel that our representatives can do a better job of getting to agreement on important issues. It’s time to move away from the adversarial model of our court system, with lawyers for the plaintiff and lawyers for the defense, each suspicious of the other’s motives. Instead of sending more lawyers to congress, let’s send people with broader experiences, and with the experience of working together with people who have competing interests, and finding solutions.

As your Congressman, I will listen to voices from Castro Valley on the issues you care about. I know there has been tension for many years about how to organize Castro Valley most effectively. I remember some of the controversies from the past, like deciding what are acceptable colors for commercial buildings, what kind of public art should grace the median on Redwood Road, and how best to use surplus county property. Some want Castro Valley to become its own city, and not have to rely on the county Board of Supervisors. Others don’t want to change the current structure. I support the citizens of Castro Valley deciding for themselves how best to organize for the common good.

I know that Castro Valley can’t get access to Federal grants that are available to cities of comparable size. I will work to ensure that Castro Valley’s needs are supported, whether as a city, or as part of Alameda County.

I would be honored to represent you for California’s 15^th Congressional District.

http://www.bussellforcongress.org/

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