By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Candidates for the Del Rio City Council answered questions and spoke to voters during a forum April 16.
The forum for city council candidates was organized by The 830 Times and Southwest Texas College and hosted by Southwest Texas College at its campus auditorium.
Josh Overfelt, associate professor of government at Southwest Texas College, served as the event’s moderator, welcomed those attending and explained how the forum would be run.
Overfelt said every candidate would be given two minutes to make an opening statement to speak about their qualifications for the position and anything else they wanted to share with voters. Each candidate would then answer several questions and be allowed to give a closing statement.
The forum began with candidates for the District 1 seat on the city council, Elsa Reyes and Jorge “George” Vargas.
Vargas and Reyes introduced themselves, then answered three questions, including what they believed was the major issue facing District 1, how they would work with the rest of the council to fill key vacancies currently existing in city administration and how they would prioritize road and infrastructure improvements in District 1.
Leno Hernandez Jr. and David Scarbo, candidates for the District 2 seat on the city council, were up next.
Following their introductory statements, Overfelt asked Scarbo and Hernandez the same questions about what they believed was the biggest issue facing District 2 and how they would work with the rest of the council to fill key city vacancies.
The third question posed to Hernandez and Scarbo was about the rapid growth seen in District 2, which encompasses much of the city’s north side, and how they would work with the city manager to make sure infrastructure met demand.
The third set of city council candidates to be called to the front of the SWTXC Auditorium were those seeking election to the Councilperson At-Large, Place C, seat.
The incumbent, Councilwoman Ernestina “Tina” Martinez, Alexandra Falcon Calderon and LeRoy Briones gave their introductory statements, then also answered questions about what they believed was the biggest issue facing Del Rio and how they would work with the rest of the council to fill the key vacancies in the city’s administration.
Briones, Calderon and Martinez also answered a question about how they would ensure open lines of communication between themselves and the citizens of Del Rio, then gave their closing statements.
The last round of candidates to answer questions – what Overfelt called “the main event” – were five of the six persons seeking the office of mayor.
Mayor Al Arreola, seeking re-election, and Ryan Horning, Lazaro “Laz” Castro, Efrain V. Valdez and James “Jim” DeReus participated in the forum.
A sixth candidate, Arturo Rodriguez, was not invited because when this reporter left a voicemail on his phone, asking him to verify his email so a candidate questionnaire could be sent to him, he texted back a profanity, and that terminated the exchange between Rodriguez and The 830 Times. Candidates who completed questionnaires were invited to participate in the forum.
After the mayoral candidates gave opening statements, Overfelt followed up with a series of questions to each, including queries about a recent increase in city water rates, how they would work with the county, school board and hospital board for the betterment of Del Rio and whether or not they would propose the establishment of a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) to attract new retailers.
Finally, the five candidates for mayor were asked to give a brief yes or no response to whether or not they favor a second international bridge.
Arreola said yes, noting the city has already spent $2.5 million on the project.
Horning said no, adding he may have to recuse himself from decisions on the project because he is currently a federal employee.
Castro said yes, but wants to find out if the city can afford to build a second bridge and maintain it.
Valdez said yes, noting the project had actually begun more than 25 years ago.
DeReus said no, adding he believes the city must re-evaluate the site of the proposed second bridge because of the growth in that area north of Del Rio.
The five then gave their closing statements.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
