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Published by The Ranch--November, 2003
A Journey of 30 Thousand Houses Begins with a Single Home.
By J.D. Hawk
City council candidate Dan Hom, longtime Otay Ranch resident, is attempting to visit
30 thousand houses in Chula Vista before the next election--one by one! He will be
walking throughout the Otay Ranch area in the beginning of November, asking for suggestions
from Ranchers about what they would like to see done in Chula Vista. "I've walked
hundreds of miles I think; there is no way to figure it out. I've lost track quite
frankly," he said.
Quick mathematics, however, indicates that in order for the goal to be accomplished,
Hom, who said his walking campaign began approximately 6 months ago, must visit a
little over 100 houses a day, every day until March (30,000 divided by 10 months
at 30 days a month). Since he has other obligations as well, such as serving as the
co-chair of SR-125 and currently serving on the planning commision for Chula Vista,
Hom could easily have bit off more than he can chew. That's where Dan Hom reveals
his secret weapon--the industrius work ethic and unity of the whole Hom family. As
the election gets closer Hom said he will start bringing in family members on the
walking campaign to help reach the goal.
Currently, however, his newlywed wife Lisa (married May 17, 2003) has come along
for many of the social treks, lending her emotional support. "My wife has been
the best partner ever. She walks every street with me and it's actually become our
our time to talk together," he said.
Lisa Hom is a beautiful young lady with a soft smile whose love Dan struggled to
win with the same persistence demonstrated with his 30 thousand house march. "I
met my wife at a community event," he said. "When I saw her, I knew that
I'd marry her." But Dan's future wife, Lisa Hom, did not feel the same way about
him at the time. "But I knew this was going to be my wife. So I tried to be
very traditional," he said.
Dan flew over to Taiwan in a no-holds-barred attempt to cater to and impress her
parents, Lisa's parents asked Hom to explain how he knew that he really loved their
daughter. Without speaking the native Chinese dialect of Taiwan, he searched his
memory, collected his nerve and surprised them by singing an impromptu song in their
own language. The song compared his everlasting love for their daughter to eternal
circle of the moon. Hom's improvisational touch and bold action was well received.
The father was emotionally moved and, of course, approved the marriage. Now Hom says
that his wife's family is just as active in his campaign as his own. "You'll
see my brother and sister at every Lemon Festival and BonitaFest. In fact, my wife's
family even supports me."
The past success of the Hom family, which traces their arrival to the country to
1848 and included ownerships of such restaurants like Chula Vista's The Tea Pot Inn
and Spring Valley's Jim Hom's Wheel Thru, has enabled Dan to receive a lot of publicity
and financial support. "My parents have been very active in the community and
are some of my biggest fund-raisers. They have always been philanthopic and community
leaders," he said.
Perhaps Dan is hoping some of those philanthropic good deeds towards the community
will karmically return to him in this election but he insists that having strong
family backing can have its challenges as well. "Growing up in an Asian family,
there are always a lot of demands on the eldest son...get the best grades, be the
best in athletics and be the best leader...then reality sets in. But everytime I
have had difficulty, they have always given me support and have always been fair."
Hom said that others who are backing him include former Congressman Brian Bilbray,
Assemblyman Juan Vargas and city councilmember Patty Davis.
Working long hours as a waiter in the family business, Hom believes, trained him
how to listen, interact with a vast amount of personalities and most importantly,
serve. Since Dan has been on the 30K mission, he said that he has already served
a dozen people with requests for streetlights, painted curbs and help in curbing
crime, and claims he can name all of them. A recent recipient of his help is Otay
Ranch resident Charlotte Demack who was concerned about child safety and the need
for a crosswalk at the corner of Santa Flora and E. Palomar St. in Otay Ranch. "I
came out and took a look at the area and agreed. I called city staff and two city
employees showd up and now they are going to try to put a crosswalk there. As a councilman
I will not vote until I've taken the time to visit the sites."
Hom said a favorite family proverb spoken by his father, "One chopstick is easy
to break but when you have a bunch of them bound together, you're unbreakable,"
is something that has always remained with him, and explained that he hopes the loyality
and unity he learned at the family level will spill over into the community. "As
a family, we should always stick together. But I translate that as a community and
as a city, we all can--and we all will--join together and form that unbreakable bond."
Contact J.D. Hawk |
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