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Hall seeks third term of ribbon-cutting and positivity
| Friday, Apr 25 2008 5:00 PM
Last Updated: Monday, Apr 28 2008 9:02 AM
Harvey Hall sees himself as a community activist. Being the mayor of Bakersfield just allows him to be more of one.
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This is one story in an occasional series of profiles of candidates for Bakersfield mayor.
The election is June 3.
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After throwing in the first pitch to Tiffany Ann Moy during opening ceremonies for the League of Dreams in March, Mayor Harvey Hall comes over and shakes her hand.
Hall, now running for a third term as mayor, cuts ribbons, hands out keys to the city, makes proclamations and is sent by the Sister City organizations to represent Bakersfield around the world.
And he sits in the middle of City Council meetings, calmly and steadfastly avoiding the controversies that swirl around him.
He promotes unity, and controversy — such as the debate over immigration-related proposals last year — tends to put a frown on Hall’s normally smiling face.
“Everything that I do is always positive,” Hall said.
For Hall, being mayor is about giving recognition to those who make Bakersfield good, and working to make it better.
“People like to be recognized for the good things they do,” he said.
He has led garbage pickup efforts, read to children and convened a youth advisory council.
“I want to make Bakersfield the best city in America,” he said.
Hall moved to Bakersfield when he was 1. As a young man, he joined a friend for a shift in an ambulance. Soon, he was working for the ambulance company. A decade later, he broke off to start his own company.
At first, he and his wife were working 24 hours a day, six days a week. His employees were stationed in a house around the corner.
Today, his company is Bakersfield’s sole ambulance company. Other companies went out of business, and Hall Ambulance, like other ambulance companies around Kern County, has a franchise agreement with Kern County.
Former councilman Mark Salvaggio said Hall is “in love with the job.”
More than the three other mayors Salvaggio worked with, Hall enjoys the ribbon cuttings and the social events where he represents the city, Salvaggio said.
And the Bakersfield Sister City Project has benefited as well, Salvaggio noted.
“The mayor has always been active in the Sister City Project, but Harvey has been particularly active,” he said.
Hall has avoided getting involved in policy debates, saying it’s not his job, and it’s not what he wants the job to be about.
“It’s not what you can do to change government, it’s what you can do to make your community better,” he said.
Hall also sees himself as ideally qualified for the mayor’s office.
“Anyone that’s going to be mayor should have entrepreneurial experience,” he said, as well as name recognition as a community activist.
Hall also assembled a 45-member committee to address homelessness in the community.
“It hasn’t made the level of progress that I’d have hoped,” he said, but he does hope to have a plan finalized in the next few months.
“All we can do is put a nice, intelligent plan in front of government officials,” he said.
Hall’s tenure hasn’t been entirely without controversy.
In 2003, the City Council had to consider ambulance rate changes, and after a monthslong process ended up approving rates that were less than what Hall asked for. A few months later, the county took over the authority from the city.
In 2004, Hall said he would issue a routine proclamation for Gay Pride Day. But after a public backlash, Hall decided not to issue the proclamation — a decision he says he stands by today.
But for the most part, he has stayed out of the heat and focused on the light.