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Ruben Barrales

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Ruben Barrales (born 1961) is the former Deputy Assistant to President George W. Bush, and was also the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.[1][2][3] He currently serves as the CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Board of Directors for the Public Policy Institute of California. Barrales has also run as a candidate for the state government post of California State Controller.

Barrales identifies as a Mexican American and is recognized as the first Latino person to serve on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.[4]. Barrales has also appeared in the Hispanic Business Magazine’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics” list on three occasions within the last ten years[5]

Family

Barrales is the son of Mexican immigrants from Mexico City, Mexico, and was raised in Redwood City, California.[4] He currently resides in San Diego, California with his wife, Kelly, and their two children, Ryan and Rachel, along with their pet dog, Mitzi.

Family tragedy

His father started a roofing company, accumulating several properties and building a good financial foundation.[6] His father was paralyzed from a fall from a roof during a roofing job during Ruben's youth, after which he left the roofing company and went to work for his supervisor Tom Nolan.

Education

Political career

Barrales was first registered as a Democrat before he ran for San Mateo County Supervisor. In 1992, he was Elected San Mateo County Supervisor, and became the first elected Latino Supervisor in the county. As a county Supervisor, he helped lower crime in East Palo Alto by collaborating with Sheriff Don Horsley and other cities to form the Gang Suppression Task Force. This was needed in East Palo Alto, a city that the Federal Bureau of Investigation considered the homicide capital of the United states in 1992, after 42 killings took place that year.[6][8] He also supported the citizens of Redwood City in bringing the Shot Spotter[9] to Redwood City to reduce random gun fire. Redwood City was instrumental in the development of the Gunshot Location System,[10][dead link] which was possible through funding by San Mateo County and the major portion by the City of Redwood City.

He served a diverse district that had various social needs. He brought about a fire detector awareness campaign to East Palo Alto after an arson fire killed nine family members[8] (three generations). He served one and a half terms before moving to the private sector.

In 1996, he was reelected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. In 1998, Barrales was the Republican candidate for California State Controller, though he failed to unseat Kathleen Connell. He received 2,652,115 votes (33%) to Connell's 4,874,097 votes (61%). Although he lost, the run for California State Controller gained him national attention. In 2001, he was appointed as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovermental Affairs in the White House by President George W. Bush.[11]

Private sector

  • Family Roofing Company.
  • President and CEO of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network in San Jose, California.[12]
  • President and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce 12/2006.[3]

Notation

  • Barrales is listed among the 100 most influential Hispanics/Latinos in the United States.[13]
  • Barrales served as a member of the Speaker's Commission on the California Initiative Process.
  • Barrales served as Advisor for the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
  • Barrales served as Vice-Chairman of the California Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century.
  • Barrales served as a member of the California Speaker's Commission on State and Local Government Finance.
  • Barrales was recently featured in San Diego Magazine[14] for his contributions to the strength of the Latino community in San Diego.

Community service

  • Founding Member of Garfield Charter School,[15] in the Redwood City Elementary School District.[16] Garfield Charter School was one of the first charter schools in California.
  • Was instrumental in getting Garfield's Charter (formerly Garfield Elementary School), and secured funding for the first years.
  • Served as Director of the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center.[17]

References

  1. ^ [1] President Bush to Nominate Barrales as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of OGA
  2. ^ The Foreign Policy Of George W. Bush: Values, Strategy And Loyalty, by Alexander Moens,2004, ISBN 978-0-7546-4274-9, ISBN 978-0-7546-4274-9
  3. ^ a b BACK HOME, IN A WAY, FOR EX-SUPE, 12/17/06, San Jose Mercury News
  4. ^ a b "RUBEN BARRALES" (Web page). ppic.org. Public Policy Institute of California. 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  5. ^ "Hispanic Heritage Awards 2009: Ruben Barrales". kpbs.org. KPBS Public Broadcasting. 29. Retrieved 6 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Promise of Globalization, by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge, 2003, ISBN 978-0-8129-6680-0
  7. ^ "RUBEN BARRALES" (Web page). ppic.org. Public Policy Institute of California. 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  8. ^ a b East Palo Alto
  9. ^ ShotSpotter - The World Leader in Gunshot Detection and Location Systems
  10. ^ [2][dead link] Template:Wayback
  11. ^ Christopher Conte (May 2001). "Ruben Barrales: Beyond Cheerleading". Governing.com. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  12. ^ Chasing the Red, White, and Blue: A Journey in Tocqueville's Footsteps Through Contemporary America, by David Cohen, Publisher: Picador;2001 ISBN 978-0-312-26154-2, ISBN 978-0-312-26154-2
  13. ^ Mark Baldassare, California in the New Millennium, The Changing Social and Political Landscape, UC Berkeley Press, @2000 The Regents of the University of California, ISBN 978-0-520-23421-5
  14. ^ Soy Latino - San Diego Magazine - June 2008 - San Diego, California
  15. ^ http://www.garfield.rcsd.k12.ca.us/ [dead link]
  16. ^ http://rcsd.ca.campusgrid.net/home
  17. ^ PCRC - Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center

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