USD President's Report and Honor Roll of Donors 1995

Vargas has built on that hope and spread it a little wider in his district by showing he's not afraid to confront problems head on. When his constituents complained about a local liquor store that was violating numerous laws, Vargas himself went down to talk to the owners. "They literally threw me out the door,'' Vargas says. laughing and shaking his head at the memory. "But the people in the neighborhood and I managed to close the place down by tracking all the violations and keeping the public pressure up. It's amazing how much power you have if you work with people." The importance of hard work is something that Vargas learned at an early age from his parents. who emigrated from Mexico in the 1940s. One of 10 children. Vargas as a youth cleaned chicken cages at the McNee Egg Ranch. where his father worked as a laborer. While at USD. Vargas became involved in San Diego's Christ the King Church. eventually co-founding a youth retreat program for the Diocese of San Diego. It was this involvement that led to his years as Jesuit novice and scholastic. Vargas' experience with the Jesuits seems to have led to a different take on what politics is all about. He is more concerned with making a difference than making promises. 'Tm not seen as someone who breaks promises. because I don't make them,'' he says. "When someone wants something done. I tell them I'll look into it and see if it's possible. If it is, then I can deliver." Vargas has delivered enough to keep his constituents believing in him. whether it is fi xing broken streetlights. forming a citizen patrol. funding a new fire station or creating incentives for new businesses. He keeps in touch by meeting with community leaders and staying active in fund-raisers for civic groups such as the Urban League and the YMCA. But Vargas also gets to know people by simply going out and knocking on doors. He used this grassroots tech- nique in his first election to the City Council, a campaign in which he estimates he talked to 10,000 people. He's found that on occasion it's the only way to reach out. "I knocked on one door in the district and found a woman who was keeping all her kids inside,'' Vargas says. "She was afraid to let them out because a gang had taken over the house across the street." Vargas worked with police to coordinate a sting operation and evict the drug-dealing gang. The councilman was with the police when they raided the house and, much like the Lucky supermarket. still enjoys passing through the area when he wants to lift his spirits. "I want to know that families aren't afraid to come out of their houses,'' he says. "When I drive past that house now and see the kids playing outside, it makes me realize what people can do."

ost people have a ritual they practice when they feel a little sad or depressed.

something that cheers them up and gets them going again. When San Diego City Councilman Juan Vargas '83 feels down, he goes to the supermarket. Actually, Vargas only has to drive past the almost- completed Lucky supermarket in his East San Diego district to lift his spirits. It's the first large grocery store to move into a disadvantaged area traditionally shunned by major businesses. and Vargas played a key role in bringing it there. "It's exhilarating to know I was a part of getting that supermarket built," says Vargas. who worked to create an enterprise zone in the area and attract the new store with financial incentives. "It's something that's changed the lives of the people who live there." Vargas. who also serves as San Diego's deputy mayor, has made a habit of finding solutions to the problems his constituents face since his election to the City Council in 1993. His mobile office - essentially two chairs, a table and a sign set up at various places in the district - has made him accessible to the public. But the manner in which he listens to people and takes action is what prompted his re-election this year - in a contest in which he ran unopposed. Vargas recently announced that nex t year he will run in the Democratic primary election for the House of Representatives in California's 50th Congressional District. Vargas· popularity certainly has something to do with the man himself. He's personable. genuine and, as a former lesuit seminarian, carries with him the concern for people and dedication to hard work that typifies the order. In fact. he says the four years he spent with the Jesuits after graduating magna cum /aude from USD - rather than his Harvard Law School or private law practice background - is the best experience he's brought with him to political office. "Dealing with people and their problems is a big part of being a Jesuit," says Vargas. who worked as a hospital chaplain and soup kitchen coordinator while part of the order. "Then, I dealt with spiritual problems. Now. I deal with problems of a more physical nature, like streets. police and '•, businesses. But in both cases. you have to know people. care about people and work with people to find creative solutions." Vargas has had to be creative to find solutions in neighborhoods that for years have been considered San Diego's mean streets. But as a man who worked as a teacher for a year in the even-tougher neighborhoods of New York '- City's South Bronx. Vargas knows it takes time to do away '1 · with the bad and reinforce the good. "It feels good to work in these neighborhoods and to live here, too," says Vargas, who resides in the Golden Hill section of his district. "There are people who are poor but struggling to create a better life in their section of the city. In the midst of all the difficulties, you still find people with hope."

City Councilman San Diego, California