GarciaCadena to represent 3rd District
Woodland now has 3 women members, the first time in history
Woodland once again has a fivemember City Council and in doing so has again made history.
On Tuesday night, the council — meeting remotely — approved the selection of Tania Garcia-Cadena to serve for the next two years as the representative of District 3. The decision was unanimous and based on the recommendation of a council sub committee made up of Mayor Tom Stallard and new Councilwoman Victoria Fernandez.
The position was left vacant earlier in January after Angel Barajas resigned to fill the 5th District post on the Yolo County Board of Supervisors. The council decided to make the appointment vs. spending at least $50,000 on a special election.
The 3rd District generally covers the northwest part of Woodland.
Following the decision, the council now has three women in public office, something that has never happened before. In 2016, the community upended precedent by electing Xochitl Rodriguez, making her the first Latina on council. She would later go on to serve as mayor; another first. Rodriguez joined Barajas and also Enrique Fernandez — the son of Victoria Fernandez — to have three Latinos in office; still another first.
Others applying for the post were Tara Figueroa, Timothy Blank and Terry East, who all participated in a virtual forum hosted by the Woodland League of Women Voters.
Speaking in support of Garcia-Cadena — who ran for the position in 2018 but came in second to Barajas with 995 votes to the 1,542 votes cast for Barajas — Stallard said she was “superbly qualified to serve the city because she’s always served the city.” Stallard and his wife, Meg, donated $500 to her campaign at that time.
Stallard noted GarciaCadena’s qualifications included being a resident of the 3rd District for the past 25 years, has been civically engaged, is a former business owner, and has a “solid record and the maturity to balance and make good decisions for the benefit of the community.”
Fernandez endorsed Stallard’s praise as did former mayor and now councilman Rich Lansburgh and new Councilwoman Mayra Vega.
Among her many qualifications said Stallard was that Garcia-Cadena is one of the founders of the Woodland Schools Foundation, which under her direction created the Burgers & Brews fundraiser, is currently executive director of the Woodland Food Closet and is a 2012 recipient of the city’s Community Service Award, which he called a “lifetime achievement award for serving the community.”
Fernandez also noted she had received a 2018 Women of the Year Award from Congressman John Garamendi.
Stallard said the League of Women Voters forum was insightful and demonstrated the capabilities of Garcia-Caden. Hosted by Carla Cox, where she said she wanted to advance Woodland into the future. At that forum, Garcia-Cadena explained the importance of reaching out to vulnerable community members. She recommended highlighting the city’s 211 number on social media in order to reach out to more people, noted the importance of increasing the tree canopy in order to reduce air conditioning demands in the city, and said she supports conservatorship for the mentally ill and treatment over incarceration for individuals who commit crimes due to drug addiction. Both are part of Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig’s “5 Point Plan to End Homeless,” which the council adopted in principle two weeks ago. Finally, Garcia-Cadena noted the importance of youth engagement, due to the fact that many young people are isolated and their mental health is suffering. She also advocated for assisting small businesses.
Garcia-Cadena will serve until 2022, when the next election will be held.