About us

At Galvan & Associates, our goal is simple: we help our clients achieve their goals and grow their businesses.

For more than two decades, Galvan & Associates has been helping businesses and developers build successful working relationships with local governments and municipalities.

One of the fundamentals of our success is our ability to create win-win solutions for both the public and private sectors.
We work seamlessly with clients, utilizing their industry knowledge with our understanding of local government ethos. Our experience and results indicate that once positive working relationships and open communication are established with local elected and appointed officials and staff, clients have an easier time achieving their objectives.

Once this solid foundation is in place, opportunities expand. This is evidenced by the fact that although more than 80% of our annual work is for existing clients, it often consists of new and expanded projects.

Meet Gordon Galvan:
Galvan & Associates’ Principal, Gordon Galvan, has been a government and community relations consultant for more than twenty years. Gordon excels at providing business development, project management and negotiation services for businesses that have projects and contracts with municipal agencies.

As both a business owner and former elected official, Gordon has an in-depth understanding of the needs and motivations of both sides in these often-complex negotiations. His longstanding personal relationships with elected and appointed officials and staff throughout Northern California also help him figure out solutions that work for both his clients and the agencies they are doing business with.
Gordon’s business savvy and interpersonal skills enable him to build rapport with his clients and gain an in-depth understanding of the needs of their industry and their business. He works seamlessly with his clients, and their teams, to move their projects ahead in a timely and economical fashion.
Growing up in a family business, Gordon experienced the realities of working with local governments at a very early age. His father, Albert Galvan, ran an automotive service station and towing business. Every time his towing contract came up for renewal, Albert would get nervous about the challenges of negotiating with the City of San Leandro.

Shortly after he was old enough to vote, Gordon launched his first campaign for public office.  In 1994 Gordon was elected to the San Leandro City Council, serving until 2001. This experience enabled him to understand how cities, counties and government agencies work. He also had the opportunity to work with elected and appointed officials and staff who are now serving at the highest levels of local, state and national government.
Eventually Gordon’s business background won out and he left the world of local politics to grow his consulting business and real estate investments.

Working with one of his earliest clients, Pacific Gas & Electric, provided Gordon with both the understanding of the intricacies of the corporate sector – and the clarity of desire to work with diverse clients rather than going in-house with one client.

Galvan & Associates’ client list is evidence that Gordon has succeeded in working with clients in a variety of industries and for businesses of all sizes from family businesses to large corporations. This experience has enabled him to understand many different industries and many common business challenges.

Always interested in serving his community, Gordon has and continues to serve on numerous business and nonprofit boards, including:

*Davis Street Family Resource Center
*Alameda County Fair Association
*The Livermore Chamber of Commerce

Inspired by his developer clients, and knowing that his dad would want him to jump at the opportunity, Gordon is currently working on transforming the site of Albert Galvan’s service station into a 60 unit apartment complex. This cutting-edge project will be the first market-rate, multi-family project in San Leandro in 40 years.

Gordon is the proud father of six children. He and his wife, Roseann, live with their children and spunky German Shepherd, Beara, in Castro Valley, California. In his spare time, Gordon enjoys traveling, enjoying great restaurants and rooting for his beloved San Francisco Giants.