Jim Cervantes
Candidate for City Council (At-Large), Lafayette
Jim Cervantes retired in late 2020 after a 34-year career in municipal public finance, most of it as an investment banker with Stone & Youngberg, where he became a partner, and later Stifel Nicolaus, completing nearly 500 municipal bond financings totaling more than $16 billion for California cities and public agencies. He holds a sociology degree from Harvard, completed a public-leadership fellowship with the Coro Foundation in San Francisco, and earned an MBA with a focus on public finance from Stanford, where he received the 2007 Latino Leadership Award. Earlier in his career he did non-profit housing development work in San Francisco's Mission District. He serves on Contra Costa County's Measure X community advisory board, which oversees roughly $110 million in annual sales-tax revenue, chaired Lafayette's General Plan Advisory Committee during its Housing and Safety Element update, was appointed by the Governor to chair the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), organized a Firewise wildfire-preparedness group in his neighborhood, and is active with Rotary and his church.
Positions in brief
Cervantes centers his platform on three connected concerns for Lafayette: keeping the city's finances sustainable as costs rise, reducing wildfire risk, and improving traffic safety.
Cervantes says Lafayette's operating costs, payroll, and insurance are rising faster than city revenue, and supports proactive budget monitoring, community outreach, and passing a proposed half-cent sales tax (Measure H) to close the gap. He calls wildfire the community's greatest natural threat and supports improving evacuation routes, expanding brush-removal programs, promoting Firewise neighborhood groups, and working with insurance officials on coverage losses. On traffic, he supports continued school-street safety efforts, early community engagement in planning, improved traffic control, and safer bike-lane development.
On the issues
- Taxes & Cost of Living
Supports proactive budget monitoring and passing Measure H, a half-cent sales tax, to keep city revenue in line with rising costs.
“Operating costs, payroll, insurance, and other budget items are increasing with inflation.”
Source → - Environment, Energy & Climate
Supports improving evacuation routes, expanding brush removal, promoting Firewise groups, and working with insurers on coverage losses.
“wildfire is likely our community's greatest natural threat.”
Source → - Infrastructure & Transportation
Supports school-street safety efforts, early community engagement on planning, improved traffic control, and safer bike lanes.
“Continuing that work is essential, along with traffic mitigation.”
Source →
Profiles are compiled from the candidate’s own statements and public records. We never tell you how to vote.