By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Ernestina “Tina” Martinez is seeking election to the At-Large, Place C, seat on the Del Rio City Council.
Martinez was born and raised in Del Rio, but also lived in San Antonio for two years.
“Del Rio has been my home, though. I am the mother of three veterans, and I am also the widow of a veteran. My husband, Joe, served 24 years. I have two that served 21 years, and one that served for four years. That’s a lot of years,” Martinez said.
Martinez still lives in the south Del Rio home where she was raised.
She has worked for the former Wood Jewelers in Del Rio for 11 years, for the J.C. Penney fine jewelry department for seven-and-a-half years and owned and operated her own floral business, Frances Florist, for 14 years.
Martinez ran for the city council after her business closed.
“I have always worked with the community, helping whoever needed help,” Martinez said.
Martinez’s first race for a council seat ended in a runoff, which she lost by three votes.
“That’s why I always tell people it’s important for them to go out and vote. Every vote matters. Every vote makes a difference,” she said.
The second time she ran, she was elected to the District III seat on the council, drawing more than 70 percent of the vote. She was re-elected to a second term in the seat after running unopposed.
Martinez has served as a member of the Brown Plaza Association for nearly two decades and is active in the Del Rio Host Lions Club. She is the former president and still a member of the San Felipe Ex-Students Association and has worked with the Del Rio Main Street Program, the Joe Ramos Nutrition Center and the American G.I. Forum, where she is president of the women’s chapter. She is active in the Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as its education director. She is also the secretary of the Del Rio chapter of the International Good Neighbor Council.
Martinez said she decided to seek re-election to the city council because she has seen things she believes can be improved.
“I would like to see more unity between our local governmental entities. I think we can do more by working with the county to bring in programs to benefit our citizens and improve the quality of life here in Del Rio,” Martinez said.
“Of course, there’s also the school district, the hospital district and Laughlin Air Force Base, since they employ many of our people. We need to work with them more closely, see what their needs and concerns are and try to do whatever we can to improve our relationship with them,” she added.
Martinez said she has also heard concerns voiced by city employees about issues they see while working.
“They feel I can be a voice for them, and they feel comfortable coming and talking to me about their problems,” she said.
Martinez said she also believes there needs to be more communication between council members and their constituents.
“I’d like to see us re-establish town hall meetings, where we can hear directly from our constituents,” Martinez said.
“I will have an open-door policy. You can call me, and I will return your calls. I myself have had problems calling the city and not having anyone return me calls, and I know how frustrating that can be. I think that is very important, and of course, I have citizens who have spoken to me about that issue, that they have called their council representative, and no one calls them back,” she said.
“I’d really like to do some work along the creek. We have a beautiful river going through our city, and I think we need to work to improve it. You see a lot of people walking down there, and it does need to be improved,” Martinez said.
“I do promise a lot of hard work. I am just one person on the council, just one vote, but if we can work together, and I have proven myself to be able to work with other people, having worked with three different mayors,” she said.
“Of course there will be differences, but they will be handled professionally, and that is the way we can get things done,” Martinez said.
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Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
