Alvarys Santana, Concord City Council Member, District 4

 

Background

Alvarys Santana is a Bronx-born, Dominican-American mother of two who moved to Concord five years ago with her husband. At 32, she looks forward to representing voices that have long gone unheard. Santana holds an MBA and strategic leadership and gender-inclusion certifications from Yale and Dartmouth, and brings experience from the corporate sector working with companies like Lowe’s and Coca-Cola. She founded AS STRATEGY, a Charlotte-based consulting firm focused on policy, education, and inclusion, and is also an author of children’s books that champion diversity, equity, and disability rights.

If You Don’t Know Where To Go, Go Forward

Alvarys Santana is stepping forward in Concord’s political landscape as a new kind of leader: rooted in the community, driven by real world experience, and focused on making local government work for everyone. She’s not a lifelong politician, but a mother, small business leader, children’s book author, advocate, and expert who believes that leadership begins with listening. Santana’s candidacy offers a fresh model of what it means to be Forward-Aligned: not defined by party labels, but by listening, learning, and delivering for a broad coalition of voices. Her background—corporate, creative, community-oriented—gives her a bridge between systems and people. In a rapidly growing Concord, she aims to ensure that growth works for everyone: that infrastructure doesn’t fall behind; that housing is affordable; that businesses have opportunity; that neighborhoods are preserved; and that people of all backgrounds feel represented. Forward alignment in her case means rising above static politics to reflect what a changing city needs now.

Issues & Advocacy

The Forward Party rejects litmus tests and instead empowers candidates to build their own platforms rooted in the needs of their communities, while operating within guardrails that keep solutions centered on consensus rather than extremes. Rather than dictating a one-size-fits-all agenda, Forward supports leaders who listen to their constituents and craft solutions that reflect their priorities.

  • Smart Infrastructure: Building infrastructure that serves all neighborhoods, not just new ones—making sure sidewalks connect, roads are less congested, and investment reaches areas too often skipped; designing growth with dignity, access, and equity in mind.
  • Economic Mobility: Prioritizing workforce development, job training, supporting small businesses, and forging partnerships with local employers so that residents—not just outside commuters—benefit from economic growth.
  • Housing Access: Advocating for housing that is affordable, expanding choices (not just rents but pathways to ownership), and protecting longtime residents who are being priced out by rapid development.
  • Youth Development: Ensuring the city grows in a way that invests in youth—supporting after-school programs, workforce pipelines, and giving young people a voice in how Concord evolves

For more information about Councilwoman Santana, visit her campaign website at www.vote-alvarys.org