Concerned Citizens

Tuesday night candidates for the District 1 council seat came together for what is probably the last public candidate forum before early voting starts. Granted KLRN will be broadcasting their candidate forum on Sunday, May 1st, at 3 p.m.. But this was a chance for the candidates to meet constituents face to face and hear for themselves where the candidates stood on key issues. Interest was high enough to pull together seven neighborhood associations and almost fill the auditorium at Mark Twain Middle School. Based on public interest and the quality of answers from the candidates, we have ourselves one of the best races in District 1 in a long time.

All five candidates attended the forum, including Lauro Bustamante, who seems to run for anything local. Bustamante finally won a race this past election, winning a seat on the Edwards Aquifer Authority Most thought this would satisfy his quest for an elected office but then he showed up at the City Clerk’s office to file for the open seat in District 1. The problem is he doesn’t seem to really understand the issues and kept falling back to education and transparency as if that would solve all problems in the world. Honestly, I don’t consider him a true contender since he never seems to take the races seriously and just seems to like running for office.

In case you missed you missed the forum you can view it online thanks to Nowcast SA, the communities leader in providing video coverage of so many community events. The questions for the forum were collected from audience members before the forum and provided a pretty good cross-section of issues facing the district. As I’ve said before in a posting about what makes a good District 1 candidate, the district is the most diverse and dynamic districts in the city. D1 is the only district that represents a microcosm of the city and, in some ways, could foretell the future of San Antonio.

I won’t try to cover all the issues and responses by the candidates but I will try to cover some of the highlights of the night, starting with a question on how the candidates will balance a budget next year that’s expected to have a $38 million shortfall with district priorities. Carolyn Kelley said that she would work to make sure D1 got its fair share of funding but also would look at creative solutions for solving problems, even without funding, mentioning work by UTSA students for a “no kill” initiative. Chris Forbrich championed privatization of some services, putting them to a “yellow book test” to see if small businesses could meet the needs. The rest, Ralph Medina, Diego Bernal, and Lauro Bustamante, all took the “safety first line,” then prioritization.

One of my favorite question and response series related to how D1 could weigh into the overall development of San Antonio. Forbrich pointed out that D1 already has the infrastructure in place that would have to be built for new urban sprawl neighbors. However, work is needed to make those existing neighborhoods appealing for people back to by making them safer and more appealing. Medina said that moving back to downtown is the best way for San Antonio to go green, using existing housing stock and leveraging a concentration of services. Medina stated that he predicts rising gas prices could energize a migration of some folks to the downtown or mid-town area. Bernal mentioned that while downtown is key, not all the funding should be spent there, with some focus on the surrounding neighborhoods as well. Kelley followed that same theme, mentioning that there’s a tremendous opportunity for infill development in the areas surrounding downtown.

Regarding gambling on the Riverwalk, all candidates did not support such a move. However, Kelley said that legislation needed to be passed first and did open the window for it if done tactfully. Medina said the decision should be left up to the voters. Regarding SA2020 and the mayor’s Brainpower Initiative, all were supportive of the effort. Forbrich did couch his answer, saying council should not be involved in influencing matters in local school districts. Bernal stated that the process did confirm that people on the street don’t have a lot of confidence in government in San Antonio, which needs to be addressed for the success of the plan.

Regarding giving code compliance teeth, Kelley offered a couple of solutions that seemed to work in Tobin Hill such as greater engagement of the compliance officer in the area including riding around focusing on maximum impact situations. As she said, 98% of the residents keep their houses up and do the right thing. Compliance needs to make it painful to do the wrong thing. Medina said he had met with the code compliance director and felt that wih recent changes, the department may be on the right track. However, it’s important to hold their feet to the fire to make sure those changes are effective.

Regarding CPS and green energy, most seemed to have possible solutions to helping San Antonio increase use of sustainable energy. Kelley mentioned that we need to reduce investing in expanding our freeways and take that money to invest in transportation alternatives and energy solutions. Bernal suggested a point system for homeowners based on various green solutions implemented, providing a tax break based on the number of points achieved. Medina said that CPS’s investment in nuclear energy helped keep costs low and help CPS increased expansion in both solar and wind.

There were other items mentioned and I would suggest watching the webcast to gain your own insight to the candidates. If you’re a District 1 voter you really owe it to the citizens of San Antonio to help select the right candidate for the district. Voter turnout is expected to be high and the race will probably go to a runoff in June.

I’ll have my endorsement on Sunday for who I think will make the best District 1 candidate.