Concerned Citizens

Okay, I know the title wasn’t that original, but it seems to fit Diego Bernal’s candidacy better than any other one I could come up with. Bernal’s campaign is one of the leanest and greenest of all of the candidates in District 1 but that’s not stopping this young civil rights attorney in his quest for a seat on the dais in City Hall. What makes his candidacy even more interesting are all the dynamics surrounding his bid for office. For a district as diverse as D1 that’s definitely a good start to connect with the voters in the district.

When I made my offer to the candidates to meet and talk it was a pretty simple invitation. You pick the place and I pick up the tab with the place being somewhere in the district and you can’t pick some expensive restaurant. After all, this blogging thing I do is voluntary. When I sent the invitation out I was thinking of the various places we might end up, expecting mostly popular Mexican restaurants. Diego picked Mediterranean Turkish Grill located in the far northern area of the district right off McCullough. That was a surprise for me but I love to check out new restaurants.

It seems Bernal’s heritage includes European ancestry and the restaurant is one of his favorites. We both settled on an Adana Wrap which was both messy and good. One quick note, if you visit and try the sandwiches or wraps don’t be surprised if everything seems to be made with lamb, Turkish spices, tomato, onion, and lettuce including the Chicken Adana Wrap. It appears they copied and pasted a little too much when laying out the menu. Oh, and if you bring out bread and olive oil as an appetizer I’m in heaven.

Background

Diego Bernal was born, raised and educated in District 1 in San Antonio. He received his higher education at the University of Michigan, including his law degree. Bernal said he feels like he knows the district and doesn’t need “a safari and tour guide” to understand what the issues of the district are. He’s a former MALDEF attorney, a social worker who has spent time with gangs, a well known DJ in San Antonio (a Google search on his name turns up more entries on his music than his candidacy), and was one of San Antonio magazine’s 2010 Men of the Year.

Education

Bernal said he’s had an education platform since the beginning of his campaign. Having experience working with education programs through Communities in Schools, Bernal feels he has seen firsthand what works and doesn’t work in schools. When asked about direct involvement in school board trustee selection, Bernal feels that it should really be about providing choices and would get involved when there’s a need to create choices for voters.

Bernal said that education is about having resources, leadership and parents to help improve education today in our public schools. While its up to the school districts to provide education, the city can help buttress the districts with additional resources and supports the mayor’s tax initiative. However, he does feel this is just a stopgap measure and we need to develop long-term solutions. Bernal feels schools should serve as community hubs and not just buildings used during the school day.

Transportation

I started our discussion about transportation by asking the “elephant in the room” question about streetcars. Bernal said he feels streetcars need to make economic sense before the city invests in them. They need to be usable by people, hinting that maybe the current plans don’t really address that issue. He said what San Antonio does need is more express routes for destination areas of the city to provide more options for commuting. “What we need to do is to get people to take public transportation; direct routes can be done now,” said Bernal. This will help tie in with downtown development.

Revitalization and development

Bernal said one of the challenges with District 1 is its size and age, housing some of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. He noted that while there has been a lot of emphasis around the downtown area, neighborhoods such as Los Angeles Heights are going neglected. Bernal pointed out that San Antonio sometimes seems more focused on the neighborhoods with perceived boundaries. When he was growing up he and the people he knew never really referred to these areas as neighborhoods with names.

He mentioned that one of the many good things about SA2020 is that it brought people together to talk about the city, not their own neighborhoods. He said there was something special about eliminating the differences and focusing on the common good during the process. It’s something he wants to continue if elected.

Focusing on downtown Bernal said that it needs to be more student friendly and inviting to young people. A grocery store downtown is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed to attract residential living but residential density is needed to drive a grocery store, sort of a chicken and egg syndrome. Bernal said that probably the best model for downtown would be affordable rental units that cater to a younger crowd.

LGBT issues

Being a civil rights attorney, it was not hard to determine Bernal’s position on LGBT issues. The bigger question was if he understood what the key issues for District 1 were. This question really stemmed from an endorsement made by a group of LGBT community organizers and allies that created some stir in the community recently as reported by Q San Antonio. In the endorsement the group said they endorsed Bernal based on two key issues in the LGBT community: participating in the annual Gay Pride Parade and supporting a gay and lesbian community center. No mention was made of the employment non-discrimination language issue with municipal code.

In a follow-up article in Q San Antonio Chris Forbrich, another candidate in District 1, responded to the group’s formation saying “This is a shameless attempt to split our community and hand the council seat to someone who will not fully advocate for our values and our rights. It is a very sad day for the LGBT community in San Antonio.” Forbrich went on to say that the “commitments” were less than the community deserves.

Personally I agree that the group missed a key issue for the LGBT community since San Antonio is the only major city in Texas not to have such language. But that speaks to a bigger issue within a LGBT community that is fractured as a community and can’t seem to agree on what the issues really are. As I sarcastically joke with people around the state of Texas regarding San Antonio’s Pride celebrations “San Antonio is so proud it has to have TWO Pride festivals.”

But I wanted to let Bernal clear past the petty squabblings in the community and give me his positions directly.

• Employment non-discrimination ordinance – Bernal said he would support the language change to city code and would carry it to council with the help of the community. Bernal said he would probably be the most qualified of the candidates to write the ordinance, drawing on his experience in civil rights litigation.
• Gay Pride Parade – As a council member, Bernal said he would participate in the annual Gay Pride Parade.
• Gay and Lesbian Community Center – Bernal said he would lend support for establishing a community center and would help find partners in the community to fund the center as well as working with other cities to gain from their experience.

Bernal said he is an ally to the community, having learned the value of diversity while studying at the University of Michigan. He wanted to be clear that he was more an advocate for all the people, especially those who have felt disenfranchised by prior administrations. Bernal said this is a district-wide issue and not just isolated to the LGBT community.

Funding and Endorsements

When looking at funding it’s pretty apparent Bernal trails the pack in terms of money to spend. His campaign finance report showed less than $1,000 on hand but it also shows thrift in running the campaign, spending under $200 during that reporting period. Bernal has enlisted the help of former State Sen. Joe Bernal, a Bexar County Democratic icon, as his treasurer. The two are not related but having the same last names has not been missed by some political observers. Bernal has not solicited the help of any political consultants and will probably rely on advice from Sen. Bernal and a few others.

He has secured the early endorsements of SBOE member Michael Soto and State Rep. Joaquin Castro, both key education advocates in Texas government. This further fortifies his education position and possibly make him the strongest education candidate of the field in a period where the mayor is focusing on education. Bernal is going to need more than their names and support to help carry him to a runoff much less a victory. He is going to need some serious infusion of cash in the coming weeks to stay competitive in the race. Those names are going to have to bring dollars to the table to help him.

In general, Bernal is one of the fresh faces in San Antonio politics, following in the steps of the Castro brothers and joining another young candidate, Rey Saldana, running in District 4. His strengths are fresh ideas not tainted by prior experience around City Hall but that could also be a detriment as he would probably spend his first term just learning the mechanics of government in San Antonio, much like David Medina’s first term.

Currently most political insiders position Bernal in third place pushing towards second for a runoff position. However, he is going to need name recognition and more money to claim that position. He’s definitely keeping in the public eye by attending every public forum he can and blockwalking a lot (he joked with me it’s the best way to get fit and lose weight).

If anything, he’s got a strong support base yelling “Go Diego Go!”