In just over 3 months Christmas will be here. Wow how time flies. That special time of year when families travel and get together to share time with each other.
But that also means that November is less than 2 months away. This year November is another special time when friends and family will spend a special time together. This November we will be electing our city leaders! Among other elections...
Now most of you know that anyone that was planning on running for city council had to declare that by August 19th. We had 24 people declare themselves eligible to run for city council.
All nine council seats are up for election this November. Three of those positions are without incumbents. They are District 3 (Priscilla Leal), District 2 (Chad Magill moving to At-Large), and a At-Large position (David Loeb).
There are six people running for the 3 At-Large positions and they are:
Mark Scott (incumbent), Lillian Riojas (incumbent), Chad Magill, Margareta Fratila, Gil Hernandez, Ray Madrigal. Only three of these candidates will find a seat at the council.
Running for the position of Mayor we have four candidates and they are:
Nelda Martinez (incumbent), Bob Jones, Lee McGinnis, Dan McQueen. Only one of these four will be the Mayor.
District 1 is a very crowded race with six candidates as well. They are:
Kelly Allen (incumbent), John Garcia, Carrie Robertson Meyer, Frank F. Schlegel Jr, Carolyn Vaughn, Tom Watson. Again there will be only one winner for District 1.
District 2 is a wide open race, with Chad Magill now running for At-Large. The candidates for District 2 are:
Jano Andrasik, Brian Rosas, Joshua Tijerina. As with the other district races there will be only one winner.
District 3 will also see a new person sitting at the council. The candidates running for District 3 are:
Jack Gordy and Lucy Rubio.
District 4 also only has two candidates and they are:
Colleen McIntyre and Joe Vollmer.
If and when any one of these eligible candidates wins there race, they will have multiple issues waiting for them. Issues that have needed attention, that need attention now, and will need attention in the future. Some of those issues are below.
There is the relocation of the harbor bridge, there is the street problem, there is the staffing issues with our fire fighters and police officers, there is our aging waste water system and pipes, there is desalination, there is Eagle Ford shale and its economic impact. There is the housing shortage. These are just the tip of the iceberg of some of the issues they will be facing.
Now we are not here to debate on who you should vote for or which candidate is best. That is a decision that you will have to make on your own, through your on process.
But what we are here saying is to think about a few things.
Thinks about the incumbents. What have they done to improve your situation? What have they done to improve your city? Are there new taxes and fees going up around every turn? Are they keeping you as safe as you should be with our fire and police protection? Are they out actually talking to and listening to their constituents, or do they listen to big business and big money? Is the status quo ok with you?
Think about those that are running against the incumbents. What are their values? What is their vision for you and your city? Do you feel or see any personal agendas in their background? Are they willing to stand up and be an individual amongst a group or are they just a follower? Are they willing to do what is right and not just what is easy?
These are just a few questions that you have to ask yourself come this November. But in reality you must ask yourself those questions and you must find those answers well before the November election.
This is your city! The people you elect to represent you work for you, not the other way around. We have a great and wonderful city and we need our leaders to reflect that.
Go to the political forums and listen to these candidates speak, get the information you need. There are many groups that will be holding political forums for just this purpose. Find out what organizations are endorsing who and why?
Next Wednesday there will be such a political forum at the Corpus Christi Police Officers Association. It will be held at there building located at 3122 Leopard St. CC Tx 78408 on the 17th of September. It will start at 6:00pm.
The Corpus Christi Professional FireFighters Association is scheduled to have a very similar event in the weeks following this event. These events are open to the public. You should try and attend some of these events and find those answers to your questions...
