EDITOR'S NOTE: Question 8 has been edited for clarity. The answers to the question remain unedited.
KRIS 6 compiled a questionnaire for running candidates for the 2024 Nueces County General Elections, and here are their responses.
1. If elected, what would be your three priorities?
1) Center public needs, not corporate greed. Borrowing $757 million for desal for industry, giving them a drought exemptions and industrial district agreements, while our public services starve is unacceptable. 2) Demand honesty, transparency, and accountability from city council members and staff. No violations of Public Meetings Act. No more hiding or misrepresenting facts to the community. 3) Desalination. Demand a far-field study, a utility rate study, and an audit of the cost estimate for the desalination project.
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2. The city budget has been a topic of concern this summer. What are your concerns with the budget? If elected, what steps would you take to improve it?
The adoption of industrial district agreements and the extension of the contract from 10-15 years is unacceptable. These rich corporations only provided 9% of the revenue to our general funds. They need to pay their fair share. We need examine wage inequality across departments and discretionary spending by administrators that can be allocated to services. When I saw how much Zanoni spent on food, I thought about the positions that could have funded.
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3. The Coastal Bend is home to several military installations, refineries, and industry. What kind of role do you see Corpus Christi playing in the next 10 years? How would you contribute to its growth?
From 2011-2021, industrial jobs declined by 30%, even as the port expanded. These jobs are projected to continue to decline. We need to diversify the local economy and pursue federal grants related to sustainability and resiliency. We can support eco-tourism as that benefits small, local businesses. We need to remove barriers to starting small businesses in our community. We need to value what our residents have and want to offer.
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4. Plans to build a desalination plant to serve Corpus Christi residents have been discussed for years. What additional water sources do you support and how long would it take to get them operational?
We need to end the drought exemption for high-volume water users. Based on a June 2023 memo, six corporations use about 40 million gallons of water a day. We need to stop recruiting high-volume water users to our community and promising them water.
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5. In July, the Corpus Christi City Council voted to give City Manager Peter Zanoni a 10% pay raise. That increases his yearly salary from $372,000-$409,200. That’s a $37,200 boost in pay. If you were on the council at the time of the vote, did you vote for or against the raise, and why? If you are not on the council, but had the opportunity to vote on giving Zanoni a raise, how would you vote and why?
I would have voted against the raise, and I object to the pay his staff is receiving. It's too much money, especially because nearly half of our city workers are earning below median wages. If he wants that kind of income, he should go work for the private sector. The president of the U.S. salary isn't even that much. It's immoral
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6. There are several streets in need of repairs. What neighborhood streets do you think are in most need?
There are far too many streets throughout the city that are dangerously-potholed. Studies have been conducted assessing streets in need of repair and rank ordering them. Rather than relying on my own perceptions on which streets are in most need of repair or on council members advocating for specific streets. We need to rely on the systematic, objective assessment of neighborhood streets and begin with the streets in most need first.
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7. Our viewers say the stray dog population is a problem on the city’s west side and north side. Some animal advocates say our city animal shelter is overpopulated and would like it to become a no-kill shelter. If elected, how would you solve these issues?
Animal care services needs more resources, but we also need more transparency about the stray dog issue. We should be able to see the number of calls and the locations of calls reporting stray animals. The best way to address the problem is to know what the problem is and where it is. We also need to intensify the education and outreach for our spay-and-neuter program. Cutting funding for animal care services isn’t a solution.
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8. How would you encourage our local police department to be more transparent?
I support the idea of having a independent oversight body of local residents that can review complaints of police-citizen interactions. Appointments to such a committee should be transparent, with a goal of representing the community, especially groups/neighborhoods who have had issues with policing. I’m also in favor of conducting anonymous community satisfaction surveys to get feedback from the community.
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9. Community events like Art Walk, Farmer's Market, and Dia De Los Muertos have become popular over the last three years. What method would you use to boost local businesses and the local economy?
We can make it easier for people to get to and from the event without having to drive and search for parking, much like the way we use buses for Bayfest and Dia De Los Muertos.
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10. The monthly Art Walk in Corpus Christi has become hugely popular over the last few months. If elected, what would you do to bring family-friendly events like this to our city?
We can support these types of events throughout the city, not just in the downtown area. This, though, is going to require that we allocate resources to those other areas throughout the city. For example, I think we can support organizations that would like to host events at regional parks without them having to carry insurance.
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11. Events like Art Walk, the annual Dia Delos Muertos, and the St. Patrick’s Day Festival draw thousands of people to downtown Corpus Christi, but many attendees say there isn’t enough parking. What is your solution to this issue?
Providing free transportation to the area from hubs where people can park would ameliorate this problem.
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12. Where do you plan on being on election night?
House of Rock, IBEW Election Night Party
