By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Editor’s Note: To view the candidates forum, please visit the 830 Times’ official Facebook page – www.facebook.com/830Times – where the full video is up for the public to view.
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Candidates for four open seats on the Del Rio City Council answered questions about city issues and met voters during the inaugural candidate forum hosted by The 830 Times Wednesday.
The forum was held in the grand ballroom at the Ramada Inn of Del Rio.
“We wanted to give the candidates for the city council an opportunity to speak to city issues that concern all citizens and a chance to interact one-on-one with voters,” said Joel Langton, publisher of The 830 Times.
All 11 candidates running for the city council were invited via email, and eight of the 11 attended the event.
Candidates for mayor who attended included Virgil Armstrong, Al Arreola and Fred Contreras. Alejandra “Alex” Hernandez was unable to attend because she was out of town.
Ernestina “Tina” Martinez was the only one of the two candidates for the At-Large, Place C, seat on the city council who attended the forum. Her opponent, Elizabeth “Liz” Elizalde, was unable to attend due to a family emergency.
Both of the candidates for the District II seat on the council, incumbent Jim DeReus and challenger Arturo Rodriguez, attended.
Two of the three candidates for the District I seat on the council attended the forum. They were Jesus Lopez Jr. and Janice Sandoval. A third candidate for the seat, Mario Bosquez, was unable to attend because he was following COVID quarantine protocols following exposure at his workplace.
About 40 people attended the forum.
The 830 Times Editor Brian Argabright served as moderator and master of ceremonies for the event.
The candidates answered a series of questions tailored to each position. The questions were written by The 830 Times editorial board and were not shared with the candidates before Wednesday night’s event.
The District I candidates answered questions about the challenges facing the district and how they planned to deal with those issues if elected, as well as a question about whether or not they believed the city was doing enough to allocate resources to the district for ongoing immigration issues, as the district includes the port of entry, the migrant processing center and the convenience store where many migrants are dropped off.
The District II candidates were asked about expansion on the city’s north side and possible challenges that expansion may bring, as well as whether or not they believed the city’s new Field of Dreams could meet quality of life needs on the city’s north side.
The At-Large, Place C, candidates were asked to discuss the priorities they would set for the city’s Economic Development Corporation if elected and if they believed the city’s hotel occupancy tax monies were being spent appropriately.
The candidates for mayor answered questions about work they would do to enhance cooperation between the city, the county, the school district and the hospital district and how they would deal with the city’s ongoing animal and animal control issues. They also were asked how they would further the mission of Laughlin Air Force Base and what they had learned during the city’s many recent crises and how that knowledge would help them lead the council if elected.
All of the candidates were asked how they would vote on the city’s continued efforts to move toward the construction of a second international bridge.
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