Age: 21

Education: Graduated Armijo High School in 2004

Family: Father, Matthew Garcia; mother, Teresa Courtemanche; stepfather, Raymond Courtemanche; sisters, Briana Taylor and Tea-Rae Courtemanche

Hobbies: Garcia has managed Bobby Sox teams in Fairfield and plays on two adult softball teams with friends

Matt Garcia knows he is young to be running for City Council. At 21, he is barely half the age of the next-youngest candidate. Others might see it as a handicap, but Garcia doesn't.

"I put my name out there and people are respecting me now," he said. "I'm letting people know there are serious young people out there that can make a change. It was a win-win situation for me."

With that said, Garcia is serious about winning. He was one of the first to formally declare for the race and often receives plaudits at candidate meetings for his aspirations.

He draws his political aspirations from his grandfather, Joe, who unsuccessfully pursued a seat on the Richmond City Council in 1977 - years before Garcia was born.

"He talked about it," Garcia said. "He told me public service is the best way to give back to your community.

Garcia has made a determined effort to involve himself in the community since graduating from Armijo High School in 2004. That's where he was elected to his first office: senior class vice president. (He was also selected prom king and homecoming king, Garcia noted.)

Since graduation, he has returned to the Fairfield-Suisun School District as an in-school suspension teacher and substitute ISS teacher. He has spoken with youngsters at local elementary and middle schools, and at the juvenile hall "about changing their lives and going in the right direction."

"I want to show people that I am a leader," he said. "I have always known that Fairfield was the place where I'm going to live the rest of my life, so why not step up to the plate and do something positive?"

Five Questions

1. What is your top issue and why?
Crime is my main issue, and most of the crime ties in with our youth. When you don't have enough resources or organizations for the youth, it will continue to be a war zone.

2. What is your position on Measure Q?
I am for No on Q. We have people barely making their rent or mortgage payments, and they want to pass a new tax. If elected, we will find another way to put money in the General Fund like, for example, bringing businesses to Fairfield, not passing them on. Our city government is trying to take advantage of the citizens by passing this tax.

3. Where would you make cuts to balance the budget?
I would try real hard not to make any cuts. I know if I were the new city councilmember, the cuts wouldn't come from any of our city employees or the community youth services. It is all about priorities - what makes sense for the whole city of Fairfield, not for particular people, groups or organizations.

4. What role should the city play in combating crime?
We need to accommodate our youth with setting up a Police Athletic League. Most of the crime in Fairfield is from the ages of 14 to 25. We also need a police substation for Cordelia and Green Valley because they are part of Fairfield. We need to hire more police officers. Public safety should never be limited.

5. What type of economic development measures should the city take?
We are blessed being 45 minutes from one of the greatest cities in the world and our state's capital. People continue to pass Fairfield and go straight to neighboring cities. Compare our downtown to other neighboring cities and we need to redevelop ours. We need to bring businesses to Fairfield and not pass them on like the current and past councils.

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