Chuck Reed

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Charles R. Reed

Mayor of San Jose
In office 2007 – 2010
Preceded by	Ron Gonzales
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	1948 Garden City, Kansas
Political party	Democrat
Spouse	Paula Reed
Profession	Mayor / Politician / Environmental Attorney

Chuck Reed (born Charles Rufus Reed in 1948) is currently the Mayor of San Jose, California. In the November 7, 2006 election he defeated his run-off opponent to be elected the 64th mayor of San Jose.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Family
2 Political Career
3 Trivia
4 See Also
5 Sources
6 External Links

[edit] Biography

Chuck Reed was born in Garden City, Kansas. He joined the United States Air Force in 1970 after attending the United States Air Force Academy. At the Academy, he graduated number one in his class, making him cadet wing commander. While in the Air Force, he attended Princeton University and received a Master's Degree in Public Affairs. Later, during the Vietnam War, he served in Thailand. He left the Air Force in 1975, having reached the rank of Captain, and attended Stanford Law School where he earned a Law degree in 1978.

After passing the bar, he moved to San Jose and began work as a private attorney. He specialized in environmental, employment, land use and real estate law, and commercial litigation.

[edit] Family

He is married with two children. His daughter, Major Kim Campbell, joined the Air Force and was also number one in her class at the Air Force Academy. She flew combat missions in an A-10 Warthog over Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and swore him into office at his inauguration. His son, Alex, is a graduate of Santa Clara University.

[edit] Political Career

Starting in the 1980s and continuing to 2000, Chuck Reed served on numerous commissions, boards, and committees including the City Planning Commission and the San Jose Downtown Association.

[edit] City Council

In 2000, Reed ran for and won a spot on the San Jose City Council from the Berryessa District (District 4). He ran again in 2004 and was re-elected with 86% of all the votes cast.

While on the San Jose City Council, Reed was known for often being the lone dissenter in many votes. He was thought to be the most outspoken critic of the status quo on the council and voted against many noteworthy agenda items. His voting record was later a focus of his Mayoral campaign.

Reed was criticized for getting reimbursed for various expenses from his office fund. He repaid the money when the issue hit the media and apologized to the public.

[edit] Mayoral Election 2006

In 2005, with the current mayor term-limited out, Chuck Reed announced his plan to run for Mayor of San Jose. In the mayoral primary held on June 6, 2006, in a crowded field of ten candidates, Chuck Reed won 28.8% of the vote, putting him in the mayoral run-off election held on November 7, 2006 against San Jose Vice-Mayor Cindy Chavez who received 23.17% of the vote. Michael Mulchay received 10.74%, Dave Cortese received 16.37%, David Pandori received 17.86%.

In the run-off voting held on November 7 2006, Reed won a solid victory over Chavez who conceded the race just before midnight. Final tallies show Reed garnered 117,394 votes to Chavez's 80,720 (in percentage terms 59.26% to 40.74%).

[edit] Transition to Mayor

In order to provide a smooth transition into office, Reed put together a 67-member transition committee to aide his transition staff in policy issues. Assisted by former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery, Reed hosted publicly held meetings where many policy issues were discussed. The subcommittees for the transition included Jobs & the Economy, Environment, Education, Public Safety, and Government Reform and Ethics.

Members of the transition committee included current and former elected officials, community leaders, and politically active citizens.

[edit] Mayoral Administration

When taking office in January, 2007, Reed immediately pushed many of his 34 Reed Reforms, including focusing on outreach efforts to get the community involved in the budget process. Outreach included phone polls, mailers, and encouraging people to attend community meetings hosted by Mayor Reed.

At his inauguration on January 9, 2007, to the traditional oath of office, he also promised "no lying, no cheating, no stealing." This added mantra was derived from the Air Force Academy oath. Some called this a veiled attack on former mayor Ron Gonzales, who was in the audience while free on bail before his trial on corruption charges.

[edit] Trivia

Reed and his daughter, Major Kim Campbell, were the first father and daughter to both graduate from the United States Air Force Academy and become WIng Commanders.
Chuck Reed has gained many nicknames during his tenure in office including "Mr. Integrity", "the Anti-Ron Gonzales", and "Captain America" due to his habit of sporting the American Flag.
Reed's high school basketball team became Kansas State Champions despite being from a very small, rural school.
Chuck was only the 9th person in the history of the United States Air Force Academy to max out (top score) on the Physical Fitness Test.