As your councilman, I will strive to make sure that your government is always working to improve the quality of life for all San Antonians.

Keep an eye on this space as we expand on issues and challenges that I'm ready to face head on for you.

Public Safety

A thriving community is only possible when the people who are part of that community feel safe in their own neighborhood. As your next councilman, I will work to ensure that our residents and our law enforcement officers are able to work together and look out for each other. That means ensuring our first responders are fairly compensated for the sacrifices they make. It also means fostering transparency and making our law enforcement officials more accessible to the public. I will never vote to cut programs that better connect the community with those who are charged with protecting them.

• I support the SAFFE (San Antonio Fear Free Environment) Officer program. SAFFE Officers are regular police officers that work as a neighborhood’s non-emergency bridge between law enforcement and the community. They attend HOA meetings, community events, school events, etc. as well as patrol your neighborhood. Each community has a different SAFFE officer, but one that is unique to their area so they can become better familiarized with SAPD.
  
  
• I recognize that our SAPD is understaffed and will work to bring the SA Police Department to full strength.
  
  
• The San Antonio Firefighters contract: We've been in negotiations for three years. We must approve a new contract and focus on the need to provide the most effective fire protection and EMS services for all San Antonians. They’re an integral part of our public safety team and we should treat them fairly. 
  
  
• Violent crime is up in the city of San Antonio overall, but violence is not as serious a problem in D9. Ours is one of the safer districts in the city. However property crime continues to be a problem and concern in some of our neighborhoods. As neighbors we need to work together to support the efforts of the SAFFE officers and by volunteering to serve in our neighborhood Citizens on Patrol (COP) programs.
  
  
• Mailbox theft has become a serious concern in the area. I support better communication between the United States Postal Service, the FBI (mail theft is a federal offense) and local law enforcement officers. John proposes halting multibox / community mailboxes in new developments. These boxes make it too easy to steal several residents’ mail at once. Door-to-door delivery better ensures the safe arrival of mail and promotes the continuance of the honest, dependable work for our letter carriers.

Traffic and Infrastructure

Transportation and traffic congestion are among the most discussed concerns expressed by District 9 residents. The concerns include street and road repairs that simply take too long. They disrupt small businesses for great lengths of time and that don't appear to be well-coordinated between city and state departments. I’ve encountered numerous residents who were exasperated at streets and roads being newly resurfaced only to be torn up and patched within a few weeks for water, power, or drainage work.

• The city needs to require better coordination between city departments and SAWS and/or CPS to end these inefficiencies.
  
  
• Residents in District 9 share the belief that San Antonio needs to step into the 21st century to a much greater extent when it comes to traffic management by better synchronization of traffic lights at all intersections to enhance the flow of traffic.
  
  
• The vast majority of people I have talked to are very concerned about the increasing amount of traffic congestion on Highway 281 and Loop 1604. People do not and should not be expected to waste exorbitant amounts of time parked on congested roads.
  
  
• I support extending the limited access freeway from Loop 410 north on Highway 281 to Texas Highway 46. An extended limited access highway with over passes at major cross streets has been demanded by the residents of District 9 for more than 10 years. We can no longer delay the implementation of that crucial highway extension. To coincide with that, there needs to be the introduction of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes on 281 and 1604 to enhance the flow of traffic and to encourage carpooling and energy conservation.
  
  
• An additional transportation element mentioned by residents of District 9 is the lack of sufficient and efficient public transportation to get to many other parts of the city. I agree that VIA bus services need to be expanded throughout the city including District 9. San Antonio needs to take a stronger pro-VIA-growth stance and work with VIA, the MPO, the Alamo RMA, TxDOT and other state and federal transportation agencies to develop a more robust VIA public transportation system.
  
  
• Finally, residents in District 9 have growing concerns about the continuous unbridled growth in the San Antonio’s north side which is leading to more congestion, greater wait times, and higher school taxes. I share that concern and believe San Antonio needs to be developing a Smart Growth policy that will incentivise growth in less developed and less populated areas of our community.

Our Neighborhoods

I'm firmly committed to working with homeowner and neighborhood associations in District 9 to deliver greater transparency between the city and our neighbors. I want to hear from as many residents as I can both during the campaign and, should I have the privilege, during my tenure as your councilman. I will never prioritize the desires of my friends over the needs of our community. You can always count on me to objectively address the maintenance of our neighborhoods.

• I support greater transparency between the city and homeowners / residents of District 9 and all of San Antonio. For example, adequately instructing folks that the sidewalks that are placed by the city become the homeowners’ responsibility once they’re installed (the city will not do maintenance after they install sidewalks).
  
  
• Creating citizen advisory committees to help guide bond proposals, such as helping to place pedestrian mobility improvement projects (sidewalks), is paramount to the progress of our communities and city.
  
  
• I will never prioritize the interests of friends or contributors over the needs of the community. Every improvement project in the district will be addressed on a “what’s most needed” basis.

Education

Because of the consistently insufficient state education funding for San Antonio school districts and the great disparity in property values between the diverse areas and communities in San Antonio, I believe there is a critical need for the city to play a greater role in the educational success of our citizens. To that end I propose the creation of a city wide education foundation to provide additional resources to improve educational outcomes for students throughout San Antonio and Bexar county.

• The foundation's mission would be to enhance public education services in under-resourced schools and districts in order to improve the educational outcomes for students at all grade levels.
  
  
• The vision would be to ensure that every student graduating from a public school in San Antonio is well-prepared in reading, language arts, and mathematics so that they can become positive contributors to the San Antonio community and capable providers for their families.
  
  
• By bringing together PreK for SA, Cafe College, and a newly introduced mentors initiative under one umbrella, the city will be able to create a major public education support system comprised of programs that enhance students' opportunities for success from pre-k through college.
  
  
• With the city of San Antonio providing the major underwriting for these programs, the growth of and enhancement of the San Antonio Area Education Foundation will be built upon the voluntary financial support of citizens, business leaders, and school districts that recognize the benefit of a well-educated populace in all parts of our community. 

Our Parks and Environment

Maintaining and improving our quality of life includes maintaining and improving our environment. The quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink, the neighborhoods, the park lands we share with one another and the animal life in our community all impact our daily lives and how happy and healthy we are in our neighborhoods. I am committed to protecting all of these ingredients that insure the quality of life we live here to enjoy.

• I see green spaces as a vital resource as our population soars. I will oppose efforts to privatize park space and will always maintain that public land belongs to all of us.
  
  
• District 9 sits on both artesian and recharge zones of the Edwards Aquifer. I firmly believe in responsible and smart development that doesn't damage a true natural wonder and essential resource for San Antonio.
  
  
• I would give preference to green space expansion over reckless residential and commercial development.
  
  
• On Hardberger Park's land bridge: While I'm certainly aware that $13M is a lot of money to complete a park project ($12M of the proposed $25M price tag will be raised privately outside of Propositions 1 and 3), I believe it's a real solution to a public safety issue and I also support the city finishing what it started. 

Our Pets

Our city can make improvements in how we handle our animal control systems. While our city has technically been classified as a "no kill" city, meaning that 10% or less of the animals ACS takes in are euthanized, we should work on finding options beyond mass euthanasia that makes our city safer for our animals and our residents. We can develop much more humane policies than mass euthanasia without any additional tax burdens by partnering with existing non-profit organizations that offer transportation and spaying / neutering services.