Concerned Citizens

After publishing my obvious list of endorsements it’s type to start digging in to the three districts where there are truly competitive races, starting with District 4. District 4 is currently held by Philip Cortez who won two terms and is term-limited out. Leticia Cantu, Cortez’s wife, Rey Saldaña, an instructor at Trinity University, and Kathy Luna, a retired civil servant. The district is located on the southeast side and, while having development potential, really has not seen a lot of major development in the area. After looking at the candidates I feel Rey Saldaña is the best choice for the district in the next election.

I interviewed Rey back in February to find out more about the candidate after hearing about his upstart campaign. Figuring he was just another young San Antonian trying to get his political career started, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to him until his January campaign finance report came in. In that report he topped the expected frontrunner, Leticia Cantu, by a small margin. Originally the money coming into his coffers came from some of his Stanford friends but a recent report shows him still leading Cantu in terms of cash available but behind in terms of fundraising and spending for the period.

Whereas Cantu has pulled in support from many local names including Mayor Julian Castro, Saldaña has been able to counter with County Judge Nelson Wolff, who provided support for a fundraiser for Saldaña. This interesting dynamic of endorsements seems to indicate Wolff has confidence in Saldaña as well as people like Edward Flato, Red McCombs, and Michael Beldon, Castro’s campaign treasurer. Saldaña has also garnered endorsement by Michael Soto, SBOE representative, an education advocate.

Aside from the money and endorsement aspect, what swayed me towards Saldaña are his fresh views on District 4 and potential of the area. After receiving a master’s degree in education from Stanford, Saldaña decided to come back to his hometown to work towards improving his district and the city. Granted, his experience in City Hall may not be as strong as Cantu’s but his drive for learning seems to compensate for that inexperience. After all, didn’t several say that about David Medina? While Medina hasn’t found his groove on council yet, he seems to be improving each year. I see no reason not to expect this from Saldaña.

Aside from that aspect, I would prefer to see fresh ideas in the district which has had a lackluster period under Cortez. It’s really hard to point to any strong accomplishments under Cortez other than promoting the city’s texting ban. Cantu seems to be a continuance of Cortez’s terms in office which would result in more of the same for District 4. She’s also had her share of challenges in City Hall, having worked for council members and the mayor’s office, leaving, in some cases, on less than desirable terms. During her brief stint as interim councilmember for Cortez, who was on leave of absence for military service, Cortez assured she would not be seeking the office as reported in Plaza de Armas.

This is not the kind of behavior we should expect of our council members. Honestly, with this career at City Hall it would probably be in Cantu’s best interest to take some time off from public service and gain some business experience. As it stands, she seems to only be seeking the next public office and not really keeping constituent interests at heart. In fact, her finance report lists several PACs including all the first responder PACs as supporters. In essence, Cantu doesn’t bring a new game to the table and really wouldn’t fit into a Castro environment of change for the city.

Luna, while a strong volunteer, also doesn’t seem to bring new ideas to the table. Her focus seems to be on the basic items which every council member would focus on. Luna’s plan for the district could be lifted from almost any candidate’s website. Granted, Saldaña’s carries some of the same rhetoric but he also lists several new ideas including healthy awareness and active lifestyles, something critical in San Antonio which suffers from a high incidence of diabetes.

Saldaña also brings educational credentials to the table and could help provide good support for Castro’s Brainpower initiative, focusing on not only District 4 but the entire south and west side of the city. Prior to running for office, Saldaña was preparing to interview for a job with the Department of Education. Talking with him, he has a passion for improving education in San Antonio and has some great ideas to apply to the problem.

Finally, Saldaña’s time on council would bring some new and young ideas to council to help balance experience from members like Reed Williams and Elisa Chan, not because they have old ideas but because they could provide good counter debate. Having that play of ideas could benefit San Antonio in many ways and help grow our city. After all, didn’t our current mayor start young like Saldaña when elected to council in 2001?

So I support Rey Saldaña as candidate for council member in District 4.