GLENDALE – Calm, cool, and collected, Glendale City Mayor Dave Weaver seems like he’s always prepared to answer any questions fielded his way wherever he may be. In an exclusive interview with the Asian Journal at Max’s Fried Chicken in Glendale, Weaver casually talked about his love for Filipinos, and his work as a public servant.
Love for Filipinos
One can describe Weaver’s love for Filipinos in Glendale as an affection that developed out of his marriage with his loving Filipina wife, Linda.
A civil engineer by profession, Weaver met Linda in the mid 60s while he was stationed in Hawaii under the Construction Battalion of the US Navy. Linda served as the executive secretary for the station admiral. Thanks to a friend who worked for the admiral’s security detail, Weaver was persuaded to give Linda a call and finally ask her out.
The two dated for a year and a half. When Weaver finished his tour of duty, he went back to the mainland US where Linda followed a year later. Another year after that, they got married. They now have two adult children, Noelani and Danny.
Throughout their 45 years together, Weaver was able to establish deep connections with different Filipino groups through his wife.
According to Weaver, Linda served as the president of the Filipino Business Association of Glendale “more than one time” and is now on the board of the Filipino Children’s Foundation.
Most of Weaver’s interaction with Filipinos and Filipino associations were made primarily through Linda. However, Weaver observed that people become excited whenever he mentions that he is married to a Filipina.
“All of a sudden, it’s like the door opened – which it wouldn’t ordinarily,” Weaver pointed out.
“I’m the closest thing to a Filipino on the city council… because I’m married to one! So it’s opened a lot of doors and I’ve made a lot of Filipino friends over the years.”
However, Weaver has one misgiving about Filipinos in Glendale. One Pinoy characteristic that stands out in Weaver’s view is their apparent laid-back approach to local politics.
Weaver lamented about how Filipinos in Glendale seem to fall behind their Armenian and Korean counterparts, in terms of being politically active.
“Filipinos are quiet. I’ve tried to get them involved, I tried to get a couple to run for office,” Weaver revealed.
Apparently, Weaver’s efforts weren’t enough to get Pinoys to come out and assert their political will as a group.
A few months back, a local Filipina who ran for the Glendale City Council echoed this sentiment. She said that there was just very little turnout among Filipino voters.
Nevertheless, this hasn’t stopped Weaver from a being well-loved mayor among Filipino circles in the city.
Public servant, not politician
Having served as city mayor more than once (2000-2001, 2006-2007, 2011-present), Weaver is not new to the challenges of being under public scrutiny.
“You think I’m stupid enough to run for council and take that criticism and get beat up every week? No. I mean, I had to learn how to be thick-skinned,” Weaver said.
Throughout his political career, Weaver has been accused of the most incredulous things.
“I get it every week, I’ve been accused of beating my wife, being an alcoholic… money laundering, I’ve been accused of everything,” Weaver revealed.
Nevertheless, these accusations and mudslinging never seems to faze him. Weaver said that his background in engineering and military service trained him to be more results-oriented than anything else. His background in these fields have taught him to shut out all the unnecessary noise from the outside and focus on his work, which is to serve the city and his constituents.
Having been a long-time councilmember for Glendale, Weaver has also seen many career politicians come and go, moving on to secure higher offices – from councilman, to state senate, to state governor, and beyond.
“You have that mentality in some people, [that it’s] just a stepping stone. And that’s what disappoints me,” Weaver said.
“They don’t care about Glendale, which I do. They care about their own careers.”
Weaver is firm in differentiating himself from other career politicians. In fact, Weaver revealed that he already told his wife and friends about how he wanted to be remembered, when he passes on from this world. Weaver said that he wanted his gravestone to read as ‘Dave was not a politician, he was a public servant.’ And in between the two terms, there is a very big difference.
“I just try to do what is right for Glendale,” Weaver pointed out. “Do I satisfy everybody? No. But I [ask] people, ‘Do you agree with your wife on every single issue?’”
“Then how can you expect 194,000 people to agree on every decision I make?,” Weaver reasoned.
“I have to do what I personally think is right,” he added.
After all, Weaver does have staying power. He was elected into the council for 17 years for a good reason.
He has held various positions for the Glendale Housing Authority, and the Glendale Redevelopment Agency. He was previously the Vice-Chair, and Chair for Redevelopment, and the Vice-Chair and Chair for Housing. Currently, Weaver is again the Vice-Chair for Glendale Housing.
“I must be doing something right,” Weaver concluded.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek November 6, 2013 Sec A pg.1)