Plumbing 
Wade Carpenter|Southwest Texas Junior College
Candidates for local city council and school board offices include (front row, left to right) JJ Suarez, Ann Sanford, Santa Roque Perez, Everardo “Lalo” Zamora, (back) Pete Arredondo, Edward Treviño, and Phillip Hanna. The candidates were gathered on stage Tuesday after a candidate forum held at Southwest Texas Junior College.
Seven candidates up for election to local school board and city council offices on May 7 spoke Tuesday at a candidate forum held in the Tate Auditorium at Southwest Texas Junior College.
Approximately 100 audience members attended the forum, moderated by Xaviera Haynes, SWTJC government instructor and faculty association president. There are two positions up for election on the Uvalde City Council, with two candidates vying for District 1 and four candidates for District 3 representative, and five candidates running for two available seats as East Zone representative on the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District board of trustees.
For Uvalde City Council, District 1, incumbent Everardo “Lalo” Zamora and challenger Santa Roque Perez both attended. For District 3, of the four candidates running for election, Phillip Hanna, and Pete Arredondo attended. Candidates Otilio Carranza Jr. and Beco Diaz did not attend. The seat is currently held by Rogelio M. Muñoz, who has reached the term limit.
For the UCISD seats, challengers Ann Sanford, JJ Suarez, and Edward Treviño attended the forum. Incumbents Elissa Gonzalez and Anabel Rocha White did not attend. Candidates were allowed two minutes to make an opening statement, then asked the same questions and allowed one minute to respond. Time was kept, and candidate order of speaking was chosen by drawing lots.
Hanna
First up was Hanna, who said he moved to Uvalde in 2017 from College Station, with $700 to his name, which he characterized as first month’s rent.
“Walking home from the grocery store, everyone would pick me up, give me a ride, and I was like, this is a great town. You know, I just want to give back, I guess,” Hanna said.
Asked about his approach to handling complicated issues, he said he noticed while attending a city council meeting that council members consult the city lawyer when needed, and he feels going to experts is a good approach.
Queried next on how he planned to involve Uvalde residents in the decision making process, Hanna said he feels social media outreach can help.
He suggested taking polls online to help determine what residents want.
Asked what item in the city zoning code he felt needed to change, Hanna said he was unfamiliar with the code, but again he would consult an expert to determine what the relevant laws were.
The final question asked by Haynes was, “When you hear about something that concerns you in the city, what steps would you take to see that concern is resolved?’
Hanna noted that the question, involving how he perceived his role as a council member if elected, was rather broad.
“Again, you have to see what the laws are. And that’s really all you can do, is see what the law is and see what the best way to solve it is within the confines of the law. And if the law is old or needs changing then that’s what a city council member’s job is to do, is to, you know, adjust it for the times,” Hanna said.
Zamora
Zamora was next up, and he spoke about taxes, stating that the Uvalde City Council had not raised the city portion of property taxes – which help fund city activities – in his four years on council, but had in fact lowered them.
“When I first joined four years ago, I didn’t know, basically, nothing about politics. I’m not a politician. I’m a retired military man. And one thing that I do know is how to get the job done,” Zamora said.
He said his focus was on how to better the city, and that’s how he makes decisions, trying to look at what is best for the majority of Uvalde residents.
He said he wants Uvalde to grow and prosper, and for more residents to both live and work in Uvalde as economic opportunities open up.
Zamora said handling complicated issues was an everyday thing on the Uvalde City Council, and he said he uses a common-sense approach, and speaks with the relevant department heads, working with city staff to solve problems.
Asked about any changes needed to the zoning code, Zamora spoke about an ongoing issue with condemned properties and properties with accumulated debris. He said the issue is tricky, as it often involves private property.
“We can’t tell the citizens, hey you need to do this to your property, or you can’t cut that tree. It’s their property, but there are codes that we all have to live by,” Zamora said.
He said the best way to involve residents in the city council is for them to come to city council meetings and speak up so council members can know what issues people are facing.
Asked what steps he takes as a council member to address concerns, he said he speaks to the city manager and assistant city manager, looks into the issue, then follows up on what is being done. Zamora cited work at the golf course to lower costs as one example, and said the cemetery is on his radar as needing work done.
Arredondo
Arredondo said he was born and raised in Uvalde, attending high school and college here. In addition to graduating from the SWTJC law enforcement academy in 1993, he holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from Texas A&M University. He said he helped manage a budget exceeding $20 million dollars while working in Laredo.
“I never, we never, let ourselves overspend what our budgets allotted, which I think is important. I think it’s important for the taxpayers to know even though I have a background in law enforcement, have been in law enforcement for 29 years, budget management and finance work is just something I enjoy quite honestly,” Arredondo said.
“In this role as a city councilman, I think it’s important for you to have someone that’s going to represent you and manage the budget correctly and make sure that the funds are being spent correctly.”
Asked about what steps he would take to resolve a concern as a council member, if elected, Arredondo said he feels the role of a city council member is to provide resources so city personnel can make sure jobs are done to the best of their ability.
“I think all that is based off your communication, so city councilman should provide support to the city personnel, city management, to make sure that we’re providing the service we should for our taxpayers,” Arredondo said.
Referring to any change needed in the zoning code, he said looking at things on a case-by-case basis is important, as individual circumstances can vary.
He said he would utilize online connections and social media to help involve Uvalde residents in city council decisions. He further said he would encourage neighbors to reach out to older people or those not online, and stated he was going door-to-door while campaigning for the office, passing out his phone number to all residents in District 3.
Communication is the key to handling complicated issues, Arredondo said.
“I guess to me, nothing’s complicated, everything has a solution. And that solution starts with communication. I always say that something can always be improved or corrected or implemented in a positive manner as long as you’re within the means of the law, and God’s guidelines, and ordinances in the state,” Arredondo said.
Perez
Perez said she was a longtime resident of Uvalde, being born and raised here. She and her husband live here with their two sons, and run a trucking business.
“I am committed to serving the citizens of our great city and contributing to its growth and prosperity. I will support public safety and courage continuous improvement of the city streets, infrastructure, and encourage new economic development while supporting our local businesses. I would also like to work on improving communication between the city administration and the citizens of Uvalde,” Perez said.
Asked about how she would involve Uvalde residents in decisions made by city council, Perez said, “I find a lot of times that most residents don’t know that they have a city council representative for their district. And in saying that, I would like, if elected, make myself known that I represent their community, that they need to come and address their issues to me if they can’t get their issues resolved at the city.”
She said she would then research the issue and what might be done to resolve it.
Her approach to handling complicated issues, she said, depends upon the issue. She said she would speak to relevant officials, as well as the city manager to determine what needed to be done.
Perez said she was somewhat unfamiliar with changes needed for the city code, but said she knew of some ordinances she would like to see changed, such as garage sale regulations.
“I’ve had ladies that used to have at least a yard sale once a month, you know, and now they can only have it four times out of the year. And they don’t see any reason why they can’t have it once a month,” Perez said.
She said speaking to the city council is a good way to resolve concerns, and she has done so herself a a resident. She said once informed, council members worked with her to resolve the issue she faced.
UCISD school board
For the school board race, Suarez was first on the stage, stating his children attended UCISD and he wants to give back to the community by running for the school board position. He said he is involved with youth sports, and loves to serve the community.
Sanford said she and her husband moved to Uvalde from San Antonio to raise their nine children in the country. She said she is a certified teacher who also worked in Oklahoma and who homeschooled seven children. She said her 30th grandchild is on the way soon.
Treviño said he grew up with teachers in his family, including his mother, his brother-in-law, and that his sister was a school administrator for over two decades. He said education of Uvalde children is vital, and he sees how hard teachers and administrators work.
One question asked of candidates was what current challenges are facing UCISD, and what they see as their role as a board member in facing the challenges.
Suarez said teachers having access to needed resources and being educated on how to use learning management systems is vital. He said happy, educated teachers can better help students become successful.
Sanford said the entire country is facing challenges and instilling a love of God and country, as well as appreciation for the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights is important, so children understand their history.
Treviño said a challenge is communication, and that working with administration is vital. He said a school board member’s role is to serve as a bridge between what parents want and what is possible, and to voice concerns.
Another question was what steps the school board can take to improve teacher retention.
Treviño said recruiting, including sign-on and asking what teachers need to be happy and fulfilled, then providing that, is key. He said a good work culture can help with retaining teachers.
Sanford said she felt providing a good salary, as well as the school board working with them as a team to support the superintendent and to support teachers will help retain good teachers.
Suarez said providing teachers with the resources and support they need will help retain teachers. He said providing incentives as well as the school board asking teachers what they need to succeed is important.
Candidates were asked about responding to increasing competition from private and charter schools.
Sanford said competition is a good thing, and just like in sports, competition can drive and inspire team members to rise to the occasion.
Suarez said he feels Superintendent Hal Harrell is a great leader who believes in Uvalde, and and he feels that the school board needs to support the teachers and administration in developing and continuing to make positive strides forward.
Treviño said he thinks competition is great, and Uvalde should continue to grow what they have and work as a team. He said the school has a winning atmosphere, and should continue to recruit teachers and build on progress.
The three were also asked if voters were to approve a bond, what projects did they see as a priority for the school.
Treviño said what he wants in an ideal world is a new football stadium, but he feels what is actually needed is to look at infrastructure and see what buildings would be needed to benefit the students, then make a decision.
Sanford said she wasn’t sure what would best be done with a bond, but she wanted to state she hopes to pursue education of parents and children into the dangers of human trafficking.
Suarez said he would focus on smaller class sizes. He said if more buildings were needed, that could be done to hopefully reduce classes to about 20 children. He also said he feels athletic areas need some improvements.
jkeeble@ulnnow.com, 830-278-3335
