For Fanny Villarreal, her first political race has a personal inspiration: her two sons. 

“I want the city to be their choice when they grow up. I don’t want them to move,” she said. “That’s why I’m working so hard to make it a better city. We have the potential to do it.”

Villarreal, a Republican, is one of three candidates vying for two slots as Councilors At-Large on the Syracuse Common Council. She also has won the Independence Party’s endorsement. The other two candidates are both Democrats who also have the Working Families endorsements. They are Lance Denno, who has been the District 5 Councilor since 2008, and Jean Kessner, community and government affairs director for AIDS Community Resources.

The election is Nov. 3.

For the Councilor At-Large seat, Villarreal comes to elected politics with a background of community activism. She was the director of family and community development at P.E.A.C.E. Inc.—a community service organization. She also was founder and executive director of NOSTROS Radio Inc. and producer of “Latin Flair,” Syracuse’s first commercial bilingual radio program.

Villarreal, 45, was born in Lima, Peru. Her father was a general in the Peruvian army. She has her bachelor’s and master’s degree both in law at San Martin de Porres University Law School in Lima.

 In 1991, she came to Syracuse after a marriage engagement dissolved in Peru. She took courses in social work at Syracuse University. She came to Syracuse because her sister, Ofelia Anamaria, was already here. Anamaria is a bilingual resource teacher at Seymour Elementary School.

“Fanny is an extremely hard worker,” Anamaria said. “In the Hispanic community, no matter where you go, people will tell you about her accomplishments.”

In 2004, Villarreal became an American citizen. “I was happy, exited, nervous, and everything in one,” she said.

Villarreal’s first job in Syracuse was at Nojaim Brothers Supermarket. In 1998, she started working as the executive director of the Spanish Action League. The agency had five employees and less than $300,000 budget, she said. On her first day of the job, she recalled, she cleaned the toilet. It was, she said, symbolic of her attitude toward work and co-workers.

“If I clean the toilet, we all clean the toilet,” Villarreal said. “I would never ask you to do anything if I wouldn’t do it myself.”

Nora Putman, her co-worker at the Spanish Action League, has known her for eight years. Putnam describes Vallarreal as “energetic and hardworking.” Added Putnam: “She worked very long hours and never complained. She helped the agency to expand.”

But in May 2003, the board of the Spanish Action League voted 10-3, with one member absent, to dismiss Villarreal. The episode touched off protests by Villarreal’s supporters. The three board members who voted against firing Villarreal resigned. After her, the agency fired two executive directors in two years.

Villarreal filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights. In the complaint, she accused the agency of firing her because she was born in Peru. In 2004, state Division of Human Rights dismissed Villarreal’s complaint, saying it had found no evidence to support her charge.

Villarreal went back to her first job at the Nojaim’s supermarket. She developed a teenager-leadership-training program there which is still continuing, she said. It teaches teenager employees work ethics.

In 2006, she became the director of family and community development at P.E.A.C.E., supervising eight small nonprofits all around the county. The agency provides after-school programs, senior centers, health services, domestic violence services and breast cancer supports. More than a thousand people have been helped by the groups, said Villarreal.

In May 2009, Villarreal resigned from P.E.A.C.E. to run for the Common Council at-Large seat. As a campaign newcomer, she described herself as “a regular person who cares about the people and the community.”

Kristen Rounds, chair of the City of Syracuse Republican Committee, said Villarreal’s life experience will be a good help to the Common Council At-Large. “She has two young sons,” Rounds said. “She’s concerned about the city regarding quality of life, education, job—things that she has to deal with.”

Villarreal promises to focus on improving the relationship between the city and the school district and on increasing financial stability of the city.

For her campaign, she puts out lawn signs, makes public appearances and door-to-door visits. Villarreal and her two sons, Brian, 9 and Carlos, 3, live on the city’s West Side. Her hobbies, she said, are playing volleyball, going to the parks with her kids, reading and developing programs.

She wants to give back to the city which gave her the opportunities to have a job and raise a family, Villarreal said. “These things mean so much to me,” she said. “It’s time to give back. I think I can do it and I’ll do great.”

(Lynette Chen is a graduate student in magazine, newspaper and online journalism.)

-30-