User:Al Nava/Alfredo 'Al' Nava

Alfredo 'Al' Nava (born November 3, 1973) is a Community Organizer and a Progressive leader from Modesto located in the Central Valley of the state of California. Although he is a member of the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party, he acts and organizes independently of them. His willingness to defend the nation and communities against the Right-wing media sets Nava apart from others. People want leaders who stand up for them, not those who compromise on corruption.

He is currently helping to lead the Progressive Movement in California's Central Valley in hopes of revitalizing a new Progressive Era similar to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)'s New Deal era.

Early Life
Nava was born in McAllen. The family later moved to San Jose where his parents later separated & abandoned him to his maternal Grandmother when he was about three years old. Although his father was technically still visiting him every other weekend until he was about 8 years old, he was essentially raised by his grandmother and extended family. In 1990, he moved to Stanislaus County to escape the gang life that was affecting the youth of the low-income neighborhoods that he was raised in so he could complete high school and avoid criminal gang activity.

Education
Nava graduated in 1992 from Argus High School located in Ceres. He then returned to McAllen, Texas to live with his birth-father who had moved back to McAllen. After four years and working dead-end jobs, he returned to Stanislaus County in 1996. He attended Modesto Junior College and graduated with Alpha Gamma Sigma honors and a ASMJC (Associated Students of Modesto Junior College) Special Achievement award for being the most active student Senator, with an Associate of Arts degree in General Studies in 2001. He then transferred to California State University-Stanislaus and graduated with Pi Sigma Alpha honors in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Minor in Philosophy and a Minor in Gender Studies. He also completed all the Pre-Credential courses necessary to apply for the Teacher Credential program at CSU-Stanislaus in hope of beginning that program the following semester.

Military
After his application for the Teacher Credential program was declined by the Chairwoman of the program (who was offended by a small minor tattoo) he instead joined the United States Navy of the United States Armed Forces where he eventually was stationed for Submarine duty. He also has Counter-Terrorism training and Close quarters combat training. Although he has stated that Submarine duty is rough, demoralizing, hazardous, sometimes depressive, & stressful and has led to some minor posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in many Submariners, he is proud to have served in the U.S. Navy while on Secret missions that were vital to National and Global Security, but despised the submarine culture.

Awards

 * Citation: CSS-1 Submarine Squadron-1, Pearl Harbor, HI – For outstanding performance and contributing to the successful completion of a six month deployment to the Western Pacific that included tasking vital to national security and three multi-national exercises (May 2007 – November 2007).
 * Citation: USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) – For outstanding performance, strong assessment, and tactical recommendations to the supervisor that contributed to a successful Eastern Pacific Deployment and supported a grade of “Above Average” overall on a Tactical Readiness Evaluation (July 2006 – January 2007).
 * Citation: Naval Submarine Base New London – For superior personal excellence and outstanding leadership (November 2005 – March 2006).
 * Battle Effectiveness Award ribbon, 1st award.svg Navy "E" Ribbon
 * [[Image:United States Navy Good Conduct Medal ribbon.svg|55px]] Navy Good Conduct Medal
 * [[Image:Navy Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|55px]] Navy Expeditionary Medal
 * [[Image:National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|55px]] National Defense Service Medal
 * [[Image:Global War on Terrorism Service ribbon.svg|55px]] Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
 * [[Image:Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.svg|55px]] Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
 * [[Image:U.S. Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon.svg|55px]] Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon
 * [[Image:Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon.svg|55px]] Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon with Sharpshooter Marksmanship Device

Politics
In the November General Election of 2009, Nava was narrowly defeated when he campaigned for a Modesto City Council District 2 office. With a record low Voter turnout in county history (22.76%| 47,587 ballots cast of 209,110 registered voters), which was reflective of Voter apathy (& possibly Voter fatigue), he gained 42.71% (448 votes) of the vote while only spending about $700. In contrast, his only opponent, who won with 56.82% of the vote (596 votes), spent $12,500.

Political Ideology
Nava's political ideology is based upon the Progressive Era of the Progressivism in the United States, which directly counters the ideology of Conservativism, which resists new ideas that have been proven to better people's lives and everyone's communities. Progressivism also challenges the ideology of Centrism, and works with Liberalism to improve itself. He describes himself as a Progressive with Independent thoughts.

Job Creation & Investment
Nava believes that the Community needs job security, creation, and investment more than every other issue and is his main issue. He believes that we need to stop sending our jobs to other countries. He believes that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) should be reformed or repealed. He believes that we need to attract foreign business. He want to see the words “Made in America” once again and become the world’s leader again in manufacturing and agriculture. This is essential to our national security. Imagine if we had to fight World War II without manufacturing plants and American-grown food.
 * Energy Reform: United States energy independence, agricultural investments, solar energy investments, green job investments, etcetera. Promote clean energy job tax break legislation.
 * Attract companies that manufacture components for the production of renewable energy, advanced battery technology, and other innovative next-generation green technologies.
 * It’s time we stopped rewarding companies that take our jobs overseas, and giving tax breaks to companies that shelter their money offshore. It’s time that we balanced free trade with fair trade, so that the working people who contribute to the creation of wealth can share in it.
 * Promote government spending on infrastructure like roads, parks, schools, and bridges and playgrounds. Immigrants can earn a living and progress toward citizenship by repairing and building infrastructure and paying taxes including Social Security taxes. Jobs, immigration, and saving Social Security all rolled into one.
 * Improve resources for Farmers and Farm-workers because they provide the food that feeds America. Absolutely support family farms.
 * Improve Public transportation and build light rail transportation that will save commuters time and money in the long term, reduce traffic congestion, and end our dependence on foreign oil.
 * Improve current bicycle lanes for safer streets and healthier communities.
 * Increase the highway speed limit for the fast-lane from 65 to 70. Speeding violations for cars that drive too slow in the fast lane.

Worker's Rights
Nava believes that Worker's rights must be protected in order to protect the Worker from wage abuse.
 * The right to a Living wage.
 * Improve working conditions and safety for all employees, especially for those that process the food that we depend and survive on.
 * Ban the use of Credit scores in the hiring process because credit history should never be used to deny any person an employment opportunity because it clearly is discrimination. Digging into people's past and not looking into what people have to give today is punishment. It traps people in debt because their past financial problems prevent them from finding work.

Healthcare
Nava believes in quality affordable healthcare such as Single-payer health care or Medicare-for-All that offers the best choice for people's healthcare needs giving people control and peace of mind over their own healthcare needs.
 * Strengthen and improve Medicare.
 * Preventative Health Care through healthy diets, Physical fitness, & Strength training with tax write-offs for fitness club memberships.
 * Support Alternative medicine.

College Education
Nava believes the price of college tuition and fees are skyrocketing, rising to unaffordable levels. Student borrowing has increased to record levels, meaning college may soon be out of reach for many Americans. There aren't enough jobs for these students to pay off the student loan debt. With high unemployment and over 17 million college graduates currently working jobs that have nothing to do with their education. For a decade, Conservatives have siphoned away money from our four year colleges instead of using our universities as engines of economic growth. This failure has badly damaged CA's ability to compete for the economic opportunity our residents want and deserve. Our students and their families are now facing incredible increases in tuition and Student debt. We should focus on promoting responsible investment in our universities and form economic opportunity partnerships with our universities to attract business and jobs to our state and keep our graduates working and living here in California.
 * Increase Investment in Education.
 * Decrease UC (University of California) & CSU Administration salaries.
 * Promote our California Community Colleges System: to attract and keep good jobs in California we must offer a skilled and prepared workforce. We should link our community college system to our undergraduate population and employers so that our workforce will have the skills needed to attract employers to our state. It’s time to reinvest in our community college system.
 * Explore the possibility of Universal, free, equitably-funded Community Colleges, CSU's and/or UC's.
 * Student Loan Overhaul: Debt cancellation/ Loan forgiveness of all or most student loans.

K-12 Education
Nava believes that Teachers need to know that we support them because they support our children's growth, or we're going to lose too many Teachers.
 * Reform the "No Child Left Behind Act"!
 * Cut Administration salaries, not Education.
 * Increase Physical Education and make it mandatory. Increase P.E. teacher education programs.
 * Actively encourage high school students to look beyond video games, T.V., consumerism, and apathy.
 * Pass a resolution mandating that schools teach the United States Constitution for one week in February to coincide with President's Day each year.
 * Encourage all students to become leaders and role models to other students. Build strong, capable leaders at every level.

Taxes
Nava believes that Taxes are not Evil. He believes that Taxes are investments in America that benefit all of us. He believes that Taxes should not be raised on the Middle-Class. He believes that Taxes should be raised on the Rich and big corporations.
 * The best way to reduce the Deficit is to put Americans back to work.
 * Progressive tax on all persons including corporate persons instead of the current broken tax codes.
 * Balance the budget: Don't raise taxes or cut any kind of spending that will affect Working-Class and Middle-Class families.
 * Legalize Hemp/ Cannabis: Re-legalize and tax this herbal & multi-use plant.
 * Cost-effective use of tax dollars, and the safe, timely delivery of transportation, and other infrastructure projects.
 * Decrease Administrative salaries to a reasonable level.
 * Decrease Foreign aid spending to much lower levels until we take care of our own Nation's poor.
 * Financial Speculation Tax: ranging from 0.02% to 0.25% on Wall Street transactions.

Government Reform
Nava believes that the Community wants Transparency of the State Budget. He believes that full public information about how corporate interests benefiting from government contracts, economic subsidies, and tax breaks are spending the money they receive.
 * Decrease Congressional and State elected official's salaries.
 * Protect Social Security and ensure our Elders are take care of.
 * Drug Abuse reform: Imprisoning non-violent offenders has proven to be a broken system because we have over-crowded prisons that are releasing Rapists & Murderers to make space for drug offenders. We need to treat drug abusers as victims not criminals. Treatment instead of incarceration.
 * Welfare: Should be used for emergency purposes like 'Unemployment Insurance', instead of creating a generation of dependent people who siphon funding away from teachers, police, Fire Fighters, and Education. Similar to Unemployment Insurance and Social Security, one must pay into it to use it.
 * Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), historically known as the Food Stamp Program: Increase awareness of this Federal benefit that does not affect CA's budget nor deficit.
 * Progressive tax on Political Contributions.

Banking & Financial Reform
Nava believes in regulations to protect Citizens and the Community. To paraphrase George Carlin, if we're concerned about street crime - that means that we should also be concerned about Wall Street too.
 * Move our state's money out of national "Wall Street" banks and invest our money in local CA banks.
 * Wall Street banks are not lending to small- and medium-sized businesses. Let's do it ourselves! There's alot of anger because we bailed them out and now they won't lend.
 * Local control of state funds: Direct the CA Department of Finance and Administration to give a preference to a community bank to act as the fiscal agent of the general fund operating cash depository account.
 * It’s time we stopped giving money to the big banks that are strangling small businesses, which are the engine of economic growth and job creation in this country.

Foreclosure & Predatory Lending Reform
Nava believes that lenders should be required to use mediation, be required to properly maintenance foreclosed homes, give homeowners right to rent former homes, increase state enforcement powers, and give whistle-blower protections to employees at lending institutions.

Equality
Nava supports Equal Rights for everyone in every instance.

Peace vs War
Nava believes that the War in Afghanistan and the "peace-keeping" mission in Iraq need to end immediately. War creates graves, not jobs. War wastes money that would naturally go to our communities and for jobs.

Marijuana Re-Legalization
Nava believes that this is a States' rights and a Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution issue.
 * A Civil and political rights issue.
 * An Equal rights issue.
 * Protect California Citizens from the failed War on Drugs and dangerous raids that have killed innocent people.
 * Protect Citizen's right to privacy and safety.
 * Hemp manufacturing will create thousands of new jobs.
 * Will reduce border crime by attacking drug-trafficking.

Crime Prevention
Nava believes that we need to attack crime at its roots instead of after a crime has already been committed. The cost of confinement shows that states, counties, & cities spend billions of dollars to imprison youth in secure facilities, but could save money, preserve public safety, and improve the lives of our youth. He knows from experience that our communities need to focus on treating all youth as important and vital citizens of our community. We need to engage people with civic, physical, and community-based alternatives.
 * Recreational/community centers: Extend hours by using volunteering as 'work experience'. Eventually, we need to build more neighborhood community centers.
 * Athletics: Some people are better at physical activity and sports, and need to use that energy for positive growth.
 * Academics: Some people are better at intellectual pursuits, and need encouragement to not be afraid to express this.
 * Social activities: Some people are social butterflies and like being active in social settings working with groups and participation in community service to expand their horizons.
 * Develop public Military academies as alternative education for disorderly teens who require discipline & extra attention.
 * Shared responsibility & accountability: Hold parents responsible for their kid's actions.

2nd Amendment
Nava believes that our nation's background-check system needs to be improved.
 * Get every name of all prohibited purchasers into the background check system.
 * Require background checks for all gun sales.
 * Ensure all gun sale's records are private.
 * Rubber bullets should be promoted as a viable and more affordable option to metal bullets. Rubber bullets still do alot of painful damage and will deter any attacker.
 * Promote Taser guns as a viable option for self-defense.
 * Reform Penal codes so that criminal's "rights", do not interfere with victim's rights. If you use your gun, or weapon, in self defense, then the criminal should not be able to sue you or your family because you used "too much force" while protecting yourself, your home, or your Family.
 * Mandatory education on gun use, handling, & safety.

Immigration
Nava believes that a "Guest-Worker" program for migrant workers who work the jobs that U.S. Citizens don't work or don't want to work, should be standard and protected.
 * Enact the DREAM Act.