From newspapers, blogs and even a call from MTV, Matt Garcia is one candidate that is worth noticing.

“Ever since I was in 6th grade, I’ve always told people I was going to be the mayor of Fairfield,” explained Garcia.

This young man is seizing the opportunity to talk about the issues facing Fairfield, and he is especially passionate about kids and crime in his hometown.

“You don’t have a bowling alley, skating rink, a boys and girls club, it’s a war zone,” Garcia says.

His current job is helping people with their accounts, but he’s banking on the fact that people can look past his age and see his true ambitions. He hopes that this will move him from his cubical all the way to City Hall.

“I want to step up to the plate and show people that young people care about this community,” explains Garcia.

It may seem impressive that Matt is pursing his political ambitions just three years after finishing high school, but what is really impressive is the path he didn’t choose. His father was a former gang member, which he chose against.

“I’ve seen that lifestyle. I could have gone that way but I chose to show my leadership doing something positive instead of negative,” says Garcia.

We clearly see his example of leading with understanding instead of lip service by the deal he struck with skateboarders to avoid his bank during business hours.

“He comes out and talks calmly to us. Other people yell and tell us to get out,” says one of the skaters. “He understands us and pays attention to us little people,” says another skater.

“People always ask me are you going to run for congress, governor or something. I say let me fix Fairfield first and I’ll go from there,” Garcia says positively.

CBS13
Kris Pickel Reporting
10/19/2007