|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
With a countdown and a flourish, down came the black tarp that revealed a new sign and new name: Victor Calvo Building.
On Friday, July 14, community members and local politicians gathered at the North County Social Services Agency Building to celebrate its renaming in honor of Victor Calvo, the man who was a Mountain View mayor, Santa Clara County supervisor and California state Assemblyman. Calvo, who died in 2010, spent his entire life in Mountain View and was well known for his work as an environmentalist.
After a short welcome from Mayor John McAlister, county Supervisor Joe Simitian and Rep. Anna Eshoo made remarks to the crowd. Simitian brought the idea of honoring Victor Calvo to the county Board of Supervisors, but he credits John White with coming up with the idea in the first place. White knew Calvo from his work as an air quality and alternative energy consultant for the state Assembly.
“The phrase ‘lifetime of public service’ is often overused, but not in Vic’s case,” said Simitian.
Calvo was born in Mountain View in 1924 and raised on his Spanish immigrant parents’ ranch at the corner of San Antonio Road and El Camino Real. After graduating as the valedictorian of Mountain View High School in 1942, he served as a combat pilot for the Army Air Force during World War II. He returned to the Bay Area, earned a degree in political science from Stanford University and got married. Nellie Calvo, his wife of 62 years, and other members of Calvo’s extended family attended the dedication ceremony.
Calvo began his career in public service as a member of Mountain View’s new Environmental Planning Commission in 1957. Four years later he was elected to the City Council and served until 1968. During his seven years on the council, he was selected as mayor by his fellow council members three times. Calvo left the council in 1968 after being elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, where he served until his election to the state Assembly in 1974.
Calvo was known to care deeply about each individual he met and worked with, said Eshoo, who met Calvo during her earliest days after moving to the Peninsula.
“Vic was a man of enormous integrity. He was a son of Mountain View. He loved this city and took good care of her,” Eshoo said. “We have the flag of California with the golden bear. Vic was the golden bear for California.”
The agency moved to its new location at 1330 W. Middlefield Road in March 2014, after its landlord, Prometheus Real Estate Group, announced plans to demolish its old home at 100 Moffett Blvd. to build a luxury apartment complex. At the time, Simitian advocated to keep the social services agency in the North County, rather than being relocated to the county seat in San Jose. This was not the first time that the agency faced potential relocation — the same situation happened in the late 1990s. It may not be the last time either, according to Simitian.
“I just thought, if we make this the Victor Calvo Social Services Office, it’d be a little tougher to pull it away from the city of Mountain View,” Simitian said.
-
Johnny Martinez with his wife Buranda, in his shop, San Antonio Cabinets on July 28, 2015. Photo by Michelle Le -
A depiction of an electricity-powered Caltrain train. Courtesy of Caltrain. -
Pseudolus the slave (Doug Santana, center) has a bit of fun with the Gemini twins, played by Tara Harte (left) and Sarah Hammer, in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” Photo by David Allen.
In a time where buildings tend to be named after corporate sponsors, it is nice to see this great man receive credit for a lifetime of hard work and dedication to the city. I’m so happy to see that the new Social Services building will bear Vic Calvo’s name. I grew up knowing him, as he served on the city council with my dad for many years and he and his wife were long-time family friends. Thank you to those who worked to make this happen!
Vic Calvo did a lot of good things for the public in his years.
Unforunately , he was the forrunner of Mtn.View Politic turning hard LEFT.
He was an early leader of that philosophy.
Can’t say that he deserves a building with his name on it.
How about Julovich, or Frosalone or John O’Haloran…all wonderful NON-Politios that build this town.