Aside from the waterfront and Victorian era homes, Vallejo as a city has yet to define itself. Vallejo was once a naval town and refused to prepare itself for the future, believing that the base on Mare Island would never go away. Cities like Alameda had closed its army base yet has maintained a reputation for being one of the finest and more exclusive bay area cities. Vallejo officials and planners decided to keep its own air of exclusivity -- one that would certainly insure its current impoverished state. A city with approximately 120,000 inhabitants has done precious little to retain any companies other than healthcare/hospitals with the ability to employ its inhabitants. It has the potential to build on its strong arts community, but few efforts to insure its growth have been nurtured by the city.

Vallejo is the perfect setting for tourism and arts. With a three-mile stretch of paved waterfront and land on either side, there’s really no other reason except poor marketing and planning that we don’t have businesses fighting for a spot to erect and bed and breakfast hotel. Vallejo could easily put Napa to shame with its beautiful hilltop views and proximity to the ferry other thriving cities easily reached by all of the major roads that run through and near the city.

Another asset that Vallejo has it its diversity. Philipinos, Asian-Americans, African-Americans, Latinos and Caucasians have all managed to co-exist in this beautiful city. On any given day, I can go to the Philipino owned and operated market to purchase lumpia, dumplings, fresh seafood and produce. If I’m in the mood for an all American breakfast I can swing by any number of cafes and enjoy a leisurely breakfast or brunch with friends or the company of a newspaper. I can cross town for some soul food, or take my pick of commercialized or more homestyle Mexican food. The only other city I know of where there’s such a broad level of diversity is Oakland.

All types of opportunities to build commerce could begin and end with Vallejo’s ferry system. I depend heavily on Vallejo’s ferry system for my livelihood, and I can not help but feel a sense of despair as I shuttle from Vallejo’s ferry terminal to the one on the other end in San Francisco. I understand that there’s little comparison between the economic support San Francisco is able to provide versus Vallejo, but I think the disparity goes beyond scale. While the San Francisco Ferry Building houses merchants who sell organic produce, cigars, wine, olive oil, tea, seafood, cheese and many other items, the only merchant housed in the Vallejo Ferry building is a coffee house. And mind you, this in itself is an accomplishment, because prior to the coffee house, there was nothing there. Adjacent to the ferry building is a couple of restaurants, but the space within the ferry building is severely underutilized. Businesses have come and go, but none have stayed that would give anyone a reason to continue to stop and shop inside of the building. Why doesn’t the Vallejo ferry building have an organic produce market, a book store, a wine store? Think of all of the people that pass through the ferry building to purchase tickets that came from Napa and are on the way to San Francisco. As someone who lives downtown and often dreads going home and getting in my car to drive across town to get to the supermarket, I can tell you firsthand how lovely it would be to be able to stop by and pick up some vegetables or eggs before I head home. Sure, I can do that at the San Francisco ferry building, but I should just as easily be able to do the same thing in Vallejo and put some money back into the city.