 The bathrooms are located on the right for men and left for the women. Take a minute now to turn off or silence your cell phones. We ask to be respectful to one another. Clapping to recognize your leaders and guests is appropriate. We will clap for our candidates only if they commit to support our agenda. Remember, we never boo. We're here today with a set agenda based on hundreds of conversations and house meetings throughout our congregations and our communities. We have a select group of candidates. This is not an open forum. This is our issues agenda. Our citizens and working families need help in repairing their homes. Leaky roofs, foundation issues and electrical problems disqualify many families from weatherization programs and leaves them vulnerable to gentrification pressures. We're going to occupy rehabilitation funds to make those repairs, to increase the federal CDBG home funds allocation to rehab to 4.9 million a year. Can I ask that you please pay attention? Thank you. And to appropriate half of roughly 3 million in the Housing Trust Public Facility Corporation for this project. Families with undocumented parents are facing problems because they don't have a U.S. ID. They are denied birth certificates for their U.S. born children and they are afraid to call the police to report crimes because they cannot identify themselves. We asked the city to create and issue a city identification card. When immigrants are deported, their U.S. citizen children are left vulnerable. We asked the city to support a legal defense fund to help these children and make sure that they have their legal protection they deserve. To make San Antonio a living wage city. Thanks to our work, city workers now start at a minimum of $13.75 an hour. The next step is to make it $14.75 an hour. However, outsourced workers make as little as $7.25 an hour. We must require contractors to pay no less than $9.50 an hour matching the county's policy. Our tax dollars should not go towards poverty wages for those employees. Project Quest is now a line item on our city budget. Again, thanks to the work of COPS Metro and the support of the city council. A recent study found that Project Quest is the only workforce development program that is proven to lift people out of poverty and move them into the middle class. We asked the city to increase its investment from $2 million to $2.5 million a year to take us from a low wage to a living wage city. Delegates and guests, this is our agenda for today. Here's for today's meeting. We call this meeting to order. Good afternoon and welcome to the COPS Metro accountability session with candidates for mayor and city council. My name is Melissa Seesack and I am a leader with the congregation of Divine Providence. And I will be co-chairing the assembly today. My name is Esparada Rodriguez. I'm a leader with St. Timothy Catholic Church and COPS Metro. Let's start the assembly by seeing who is here. Good afternoon. Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Sister Gabriella Lohan and I'm a leader with the Holy Spirit Sisters and member of COPS and Metro Alliance. Let us see who's here today. When we call the members' names, stand up and remain standing. Our Lady Walupe Church Westside. Project Quest Catholic Church. Congregation of Divine Providence. First Unitarian Universalist Church. St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. Daughters of charity. Our Lady of Walupe Alotes. Slow it down. Sacred Heart Catholic Church. St. Philip of Jesus Catholic Church. St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church. Holy Spirit Sisters. Air Common Catholic Church. St. Leo's Catholic Church. Congregation of Divine Providence. Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. San Alfonso Catholic Church. The American Federation of Teachers. San Antonio Progressive Alliance. Macedonia Baptist Church. St. Timothy Sisters. San Antonio Alliance for Teachers. We also have several guest delegations. Our Lady of Good Shepherd. St. Henry, Bills of South Sand. Spaterian. MacArthur Park Lutheran. University Presbyterian. Everybody, especially our new guest delegations. Congratulations to all of us. Feed us in an opening prayer. Delegations. Okay St. Bonaventure was not recognized. Give them a hand. Able heard first stature for Social Action. San Antonio. Alright, Father Jimmy Dranan. Pastor of St. Margaret Mary's Catholic Church to lead us in an opening prayer. Let us bow our heads. Loving God, creator of our world and author of our life. We thank you for the opportunity to gather this day. Te damos gracias por este día y la oportunidad de unir por las causas de nuestra comunidad. Lord our God, we pray your blessing upon us for we come to you in Thanksgiving for inspiring us to unite our voices and to join our communities for the needs of all in the city of San Antonio. Lord, we pray that you inspire those seeking public office to listen. To listen to their constituents, to the people gathered here today and to remember that in their future they should seek not their own will but the will of the people. Lord our God, may we be united in all that we do. Allow the energy that is created this day to help transform the city of San Antonio and more than anything the lives of all of its citizenry. From the north to the south, the east to the west, every member of our community. This we ask in your holy name, you who live and reign forever and ever. From our Lady of Guadalupe to tell us. Good afternoon. Can you hear me alright? This is the brothers. Are you here to get some work done today? I gotta tell you this is a unique gathering of leaders from all over San Antonio. These community leaders, these voters from all over San Antonio representing COPSA Metro member institutions and guest delegations. This is unique. See normally when political candidates during election season get together what they're doing is they're sharing their vision for our communities. They share their vision and maybe they even get together and they do some debating over it. What makes this gathering unique is that this is a chance for you and I to share our vision for our communities with our candidates. And this is our chance to hear from them about where they stand on our priorities. Amen? Not everybody likes COPSA Metro's method of inviting our candidates here and then inviting them to say yes or no on our specific priorities. I hear some people say that that ain't proper or that's not polite. I'm not here to be polite. We're not here to be polite. We're here to be honest, right? And we're here to get some work done. There's too much at stake for us. There's too much at stake. And so I ask, our response to this is how else do we get to make a judgment on the candidates who will best represent our community's interest? Are we going to decide on our candidates based on who makes the best speeches? No! Are we going to decide on our candidates based on who's the strongest debater among them? No! Of course not. Or how about the fanciest website? Are we in our vote? No! Or how about the cleverest Twitter tweet? No! I don't think so. We're going to make our decisions as voters based on where they stand on the issues that we care most about. And we prefer to get a straight answer. Yes or no. And that's it. Now fortunately, most candidates do indeed prefer to be face-to-face with their voters. Most candidates do indeed prefer to have this sort of intimate interaction. And we appreciate their willingness to be here with us. And for over 40 years, sisters and brothers, for over 40 years, candidates here in San Antonio have participated in this tradition of gathering here with us, with our member institutions, and these guest institutions, to share where they are in terms of our priority. This is a part of the culture of San Antonio and I think that our political process is stronger for it. But let's be clear about one thing. This tradition of ours is only going to stay alive. It's only going to stay alive if you and you and you and you and you and you and you and me and all of us are willing to get out the vote after this assembly. This ain't it. We got a lot of work to do ahead of us between now and May 6th. So we got to commit to that. If we vote in response to a candidate's position on our agenda, they will continue to come in front of us and answer our questions. They will continue to come in front of us and decide and be able to admit publicly in front of all of us whether or not they share our priorities. My friends, this afternoon we are here to get your commitments on these issues. So thank you for being here with us. President Abraham Leakin wrote, the legitimate object of government is not to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they cannot by individual effort do it all or do so well for themselves. COPS Metro leaders believe in our own ability and responsibility to pursue economic security. Our iron rule of organizing is never ever do for someone what they can do for themselves. However, there are some things that we cannot do on our own. Things like roads, affordable housing, and good schools. Our local government can and should promote economic prosperity for all. This is a deeply American belief in the tradition of Lincoln who said it best. The government's job is to clear the path for its citizens to get ahead. Our issues agenda seeks to clear the way for economic prosperity. Some say the city's job is only to provide police and fire and fixed potholes, but there is a much bigger role the city must play. Norton Garcinkel in his book The American Dream vs. the Gospel of Wealth proposes three questions to evaluate economic policy. Does it work? Is it fair? And will it sustain the democratic structure of our society? Nowadays, the focus is almost exclusively on the question of does it work at the expense of the other two? Pope Francis reminds us that the creation of wealth will always be at the service of the common good and not only for the benefit of a few. We evaluate a recent economic incentive by the city using these three questions. The peanut factory loft department complex was built a few years ago. It was built to provide affordable housing for students who attend the UTSA downtown campus, so they said. And in 2012, the 210 development group with loan forgiveness, if at least 30 of the apartments were rented to students. Let's put this deal to the test. First, did it work? In 2016, the 210 development group asked the city to weaken the terms of the loan because the rooms were too expensive and nobody signed up. Did it work? Second, was it fair? One bedroom unit was between $1,100 and $1,800. Is this affordable for a college student? No! Is this affordable for any of us? Structure of our society. When people see that this is how the city government operates, is it any surprise that voter turnout is less than 12%? The same questions apply to improving the Alamo Dome, rebuilding the convention center, giving property taxes to businesses and many other corporate subsidies. Here's a different kind of economic development. Project Quest began 25 years ago to provide job training to help people move out of poverty into local jobs that pay a living wage. Mark Elliott of the Economic Mobility Corporation performed a six-year study on the economic impact that Project Quest has had on both the individual participants of the city. The results were published this week. First question, does it work? To date, over 6,200 individuals have been served of which 87% completed the program. The study revealed that within five years there was a 100% return on investment in only five years. These types of returns are unheard of in other workforce development projects. Second question, is it fair? Quest participants started the program making an average of $12,000 per year. Those who completed the project, the program were making an average of $38,000 per year by the end of the study. Quest effectively moved people from poverty wages into the middle class. Third question, does it promote the democratic structure of the city? Look around and I invite you to look right over here. There are 50 Quest participants and graduates actively participating in democracy today. They give us a glimpse into how the city of San Antonio can address the economic pressures our families are facing. Before we move into these stories, we would like to recognize Sacred Heart Church as a member institution. This was neglected at the beginning. Sacred Heart, thank you. We want to hear from some of these families. My name is Elsa Menchaca. I am from St. Alfonso Catholic Church. Sixty years ago, my parents moved into their home on the west side. They created a great life for my four siblings and me. They instilled the values of hard work and service to my community. Growing up, my house was beautiful. My parents took pride in their home. Then my mom died when my dad was in a fixed income. He no longer had financial ability to maintain that house. Over the years, the house slowly started deteriorating. The roof leaks, being too expensive water damage, the foundation needs major work. It is not the home that I grew up in. My dad is 92 years old. He is a World War II veteran and retired from Cali Air Force Base. He was a hardworking taxpayer all of his life. Yet, when he needed help, there were no funds for him. My father's not alone. When I drive the west side, too many homes are like my father's. But this is not a west side problem. It is not a south side, east side, north side problem. It is the San Antonio problem. For too long, we've invested in tax abatement for developers at the expense of our tax-paying citizens like my dad. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Jessica Guardado from South San Antonio High School and a member of St. Bonaventure's Catholic Church. This year, I received the opportunity to travel to Europe through my upper bound teacher to live what I am learning in a key class. To travel outside the country, I needed to obtain my birth certificate to get a passport. When my mom and I went to get my birth certificate, we were denied it because my mom did not have an ID from the United States. I was shocked that I was denied access to my own birth certificate as a citizen of the United States. I was embarrassed and so was my mom. The country I called home treated me like I was an outsider. I was a lucky fuse because my father was able to come with me and get it. But if I had been sought on this opportunity because my mother did not have a form of U.S. identification, unfortunately, I have spoken with many parents of in our churches and schools who are still being denied access to the children's birth certificate. Thank you. Hello. My name is Mark LaRue and I'm a graduate of the 2015 Project Quest IT Training. I had an excellent job for as an IBM contractor with AT&T. In 2008, at the height of the recession, I was laid off. I found that in the new environment, new economic situations where my skills were outdated and I was a little cool for that particular position. My job search continued until 2015. I struggled, but in 2015 I enrolled in the Rackspace Open Cloud Academy with help from Project Quest. Today I'm now working at Accenture in a new role as a software tester with a new set of skills and a new opportunity. There is no doubt that the skills I obtained from that training had a direct impact on my hiring at Accenture. And today I'm now making more than $40,000 a year. Thank you. Thank you, Project Quest. And God bless you. From our candidate. 50 people here ready to hear your commitment. I'm a timekeeper. His name is John Polofsky. Right there. Candidate. You must respond yes or no to each question. After you respond to all the questions, mayoral candidates, you have two minutes to give or to elaborate. Council District candidates, you have 30 seconds to elaborate. When you see the yellow card that means you have 10 seconds to finish through your remarks. When you see the red card that means you stop. I will now review the questions we have for you. And our audience, you have those in back of your agenda. On housing. Do you commit to increase the city investment in owner occupied rehab to 4.9 million through the CDPG home funds and 1.5 million through the housing trust board on immigration? Do you commit to create a citywide municipal ID for all San Antonio residents and a legal defense fund to citizen children who have lost their parents to deportation? On economic security? Do you commit to raise the city's minimum wage for city workers to 14.75 an hour for contract workers to 9.50 an hour and raise the city's investment in quest to 2.5 million dollars. We'll start with a mayoral candidate. Will you please stop, go ahead and stand up and step forward Councilman Nirenberg or no to all of the questions. Housing? Yes. Is that to both parts of the question, sir? Yes. On immigration? Yes. On economic security? Yes. You now have two minutes to elaborate. I believe that San Antonio can be a great city but it can only be great if we have compassion for the people who live here. It should be people first as we grow. Whether you are an immigrant regardless of your immigration status regardless of your sexual orientation regardless of the work that you labor to do, regardless of what side of town you live on, this city should treat you with respect. As mayor, that will be my guiding principle. On housing on transportation on public safety on every issue that impacts our communities, my guiding light as a city councilman and district gate for four years and my guiding principle as a father as a husband and as your next mayor will be that a city that you deserve is a city that treats you and your family with respect. Please vote for me. This is what I will deliver to you. Mr. Medina, please respond yes or no to all of the questions on housing? Yes. Is that to both sets of the question? Correct. Yes. On economic security? Yes. You now have two minutes to elaborate. Thank you. This election to me is more than just a campaign. It's a statement and it's a movement. It's a movement by people coming together to challenge the status quo at City Hall. For the last hundred years every single mayor has been elected by the Chamber of Commerce's money. Well I'm self funding my campaign because ladies and gentlemen I will be the people's mayor of San Antonio and this is very personal to me as the issue of immigration is to many of y'all here today because I like to say that I was born on the south side maybe a little further south than most in a little place called Mexico but at the age of three my mom and I crossed the border maybe we swam a little bit into McAllen then came here to San Antonio to Paso, Los Angeles and we made our way back and I didn't know I was undocumented all I knew is I grew up with an American speaking English, pledging allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and singing the Star Spangled Banner well until I was seventeen when my friend said let's go to Mexico and I was all excited, I told my mom I'm going to Mexico this weekend she looked at me and said no you're not I told her why not oh she sat me down, told me why and I wasn't going to Mexico that weekend one line is I saw how immigrant families whether they were from Asia Africa, Europe or Latin America how their parents struggled they picked the crops cleaned the babies, mowed the lawns but I've also seen how they've raised the next generation of Americans today's doctors, engineers, architects and why not the next mayor of the city of San Antonio Mayor Taylor was invited and she committed to be here I was in the room when she said so as you can see she's not here we don't boo we don't boo however, since she's not here we will not know where she stands on these important issues Councilman Warwick before you answer yes or no to the wages question I have to remind you okay Councilman Warwick before you answer yes or no to the wages question I must remind you that you answered yes in Holy Redeemer Church and you said no at the B session in City Hall but I still voted yes sister yes I know you did votes more than words right well be sure today okay the questions are with three questions which you've got okay thank you you have 30 seconds to elaborate how are you doing Holy Redeemer how's everybody else doing I'm Alan Warwick I'm City Councilman for District 2 and I'm just glad to be here today to one listen to the concerns of Project West that aren't just ESAC concerns they are citywide concerns and I see the entire city here representing and showing that these are important to them so they are now important to me but I didn't know about for today because some of these things are new to me the citywide or city issue thank you Mr. Warwick 30 seconds is very fast fast have a great day Viva fiesta Mr. Keith Tony please Mr. Keith Tony you know the issues Mr. Keith Tony you know the issues housing, immigration and economic development yes yes yes you now have 30 minutes get comfortable I cannot help it you have 30 seconds Mr. Tony alright when I was on City Council sister came to me and said Project West needed an additional $100,000 we didn't get her $100,000 we got her $200,000 we went to Sheryl Scully and said Sheryl you and I both know you can do it get it done I won't say one thing and do another why would I do that it doesn't make sense it should send a message to you I'll say what I mean I'll mean what I say I'm Keith Tony I hope you'll vote for me thank you Mr. Cruz Shaw please come forward you know the issues please respond to them yes yes yes yes yes we'll see we will you have 30 seconds to elaborate President family my name is William Cruz Shaw and I'm just a public servant I'm here for you all I want you to ensure that your voices are heard City Council works for you not the other way around I'm here to be a dedicated public servant to meet your needs sit down and talk answer your phone call you are the boss it's not the other way around when you make a phone call we will call you back when you reach out to us we will return with every effort we can to make sure that all your message are addressed thank you Mr. Shaw Mr. Dory Brown you've been apprised with the issues please give us your response yes see yes see yes you now have 30 seconds 30 seconds to elaborate I'm here truly to serve the people not for the people to serve me and looking at these issues and the questions they gave us economics is truly an issue as a single parent who gets no other benefits no child support I know how important it is to have the right income that I can provide for my child and to provide a home for him as well so I understand about the housing and wanting to be able to keep your home fixed up so that you can have a nice roof over your head and when it comes to the point of immigration my previous marriage I was a Rodriguez my father-in-law was an immigrant thank you district 2 my name is Nimfa Cantu I'm from Sacred Heart Church and I represent district 1 and I would like all the district 1 to come up please you have heard the question I would like for you to answer yes or no so first of all Mr Aff... sorry cactus cactus they say verias veria C C C you have 30 seconds to elaborate my name is Robert Fedia I'm a labor and community organizer for seven years candidate running in district one here I believe that workers rights are human rights I believe that immigrants rights are human rights I believe that housing justice is social justice and I believe if we want to change in the city we need working class people running for city council I will be an advocate for you but I want you there alongside me every step of the way that's why I say we must empower people first vote for me thank you very much the question please an immigration housing the answer to all of the questions is a very proud yes yes yes yes yes yes yes okay I'll say five more times if you want 30 seconds to elaborate please sure thank you for having me my name is Michael Montaño candidate for city council in district one I stand before you as a proud graduate of 16 years of Catholic education right here in San Antonio I grew up on the south side and I'm so proud to see so many of my fellow San Antonio's here today on immigration I helped invent the very first municipal ID card in the country and I intend to bring that here to San Antonio and on housing it's not just enough to help repair homes you also deserve tax abatements on your home so you don't get pushed out by developers who want to come in and change your neighborhoods thank you vote for me on the question of immigration housing and economic security yes or no yes yes and yes you have 30 seconds to elaborate I'm Roberto Treveño I'm your city councilman one of the very big issues that was on that very list about the housing you know that one of the innovative programs that we started in district one called San Antonio on route is being expanded we helped to create that very initiative and it's being expanded tomorrow we will be announcing it through a joint press release with CPS that we're expanding that through a rebate program as well because it's important as the name of the program says we're all in it together San Antonio under one roof and I'm proud proud to serve my name is Gloria Mora and I am from St. Leo the great Catholic Church cops metro also live in district three I now invite the candidates for district three to step forward please mr. Durham will be first there mr. Durham you heard the question already on housing and immigration and economic development would please answer yes or no to all the questions my answer to the first question regards the both questions yes my answer to the second question regarding immigration is yes I'm asking to the third question regards to the wages yes thank you well you have 30 seconds now to elaborate hello everyone God is good and all the time my name is Jerome down run for city council in district three folks I want to dress two things in my 30 seconds the first thing is a $15 minimum wage is not a minimum wage that is a livable wage that is the wage that we deserve as constituents in San Antonio the second thing is your elected officials should represent you and protect you if that means San Antonio needs to become a sanctuary city and issue municipalities for his residents that are currently here and that's what needs to happen my name is Jerome Durham thank you thank you yes my answer to all three questions is yes thank you you have 30 seconds to elaborate gracias buenas tardes my name is Jessica o Guerrero and I'm running for district three because I want to fill the gap between our communities our voices our perspectives in City Hall I want to make sure that all of our perspectives are respected at City Hall and that our views are taken into consideration and that we are at the decision-making table because we are the ones that are most impacted by decisions at City Hall thank you so much vote Jessica o Guerrero for district three gracias woman Rebecca the other one yes to the first question yes to the second question and yes to the third question thank you we have you have 30 seconds to elaborate good afternoon when I started this my name is Rebecca Villagran a proud daughter of the South Side and member of St. Leo's Catholic Church I want to thank you all because I have been working against the status quote that was established so long ago I am proud to have an open door and work closely with cops Metro on our fight for 15 and continuing that work when it comes to our CDBG home funds to make sure no matter what the federal government's going to try to do to CDBG we at the city level can do great things thank you thank you my name is sister consuelo with daughters of charity and a house Metro leader from El Chapman and St. Bonaventure and I am a voter and citizen of district four will be a candidate from district four please come forward Mr. Saldana please respond yes or no to the questions to all three questions the answer is yes and you have 30 seconds to elaborate that's the one I started this I let me start very quickly maybe you won't remember everything that I say up here but just remember this public service when you become an elected official it's about two things it's remembering where you come from and who you work for and on the south side my father is from Mexico he was an undocumented immigrant I'm first generation and I know who I work for and what I'm working for which is people who haven't had a voice and haven't had a seat at the table we got a seat at the table we're going to eat thank you thank you I just want to say that we had invited Ray Guevara another candidate for district four but never heard back from him my name is Adelaia Garcia and I am from San Alfonso the church district five the candidates from district five five to keep please come forward Mr. Lee Gonzales we will begin with you please answer the questions the questions before you yes yes and yes you have 30 seconds to elaborate thank you good afternoon everyone I'm Shirley Gonzalez I'm the council woman for district five I've been serving you for four years I'm looking forward to serving you for two more years since I've been on council the three questions that were asked specifically were greatly supported by the existing council members in myself we were able to push many of these initiatives forward and we would continue look forward to continuing to work with you on all these and if I don't I'm sure sister Gabriella will let me know thank you Mr. Montes please answer the three questions yes yes and yes to all of these common sense measures thank you please elaborate you have 30 seconds thank you all for having me this afternoon my name is Richard Montes I am a proud graduate of Sydney Lanier High School home of the West Side right of the West Side and St. Mary's University I kicked off this campaign to begin to have a broader conversation about progress for far too long our communities have been neglected and we've let our council people get away with just doing the minimum our campaign is about starting a broader conversation about progress let's talk about multi-generational poverty let's talk about dignified housing let's talk about empowering our youth and our seniors not during elections but 365 days a year thank you thank you my name is Deborah Bud and I'm a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio I live in district 6 and I now invite candidates from district 6 to step forward thank you Ms. Gabrielle Harvester are you have 30 oh please answer yes or no questions to each question I say yes absolutely okay and now you have 30 seconds to elaborate okay I'm really proud to say that I grew up in district 6 I grew up in an older neighborhood as I walk through the streets of district 6 trying to talk to people about my message I'm not gonna understay in Edgewood and they have they have buckets behind them because there's water dripping behind them owner occupied rehab is one of my number one priorities they don't want to sell the luxury developers I am from district 6 I will work for the people of district 6 yes to all questions okay now you have 30 seconds to elaborate thank you so much I'm so proud to be speaking in front of cops Metro I've been speaking about cops since the beginning of this campaign Ernie Cortez and you are the example of the type of community change we need to make this city represent working people are not the 1% from the beginning of this campaign until now I've been talking about a living ways and not just the public sector but the private sector too it's up to these people up here to make that happen when we come together everything is possible both we need if you work 40 hours a week you should not live in poverty Bo Rick Dravino if you want authentic change I'm Mike Phillips with the first Unitarian Universalist Church and I'm a resident of district 7 can I have the candidates for district 7 step forward please note Councilman Medina was invited and he agreed to attend but he's not here the sound of all how do you respond to the questions yes to all questions you now have 30 seconds to elaborate buenas tardes yo soy Anna Sandoval yo crecí en el distrito número 7 pero nacía en Monterrey Nuevo León mi familia se mudó Estados Unidos cuando yo era una arriba el norte cuando yo era una bebita ahí crecí y veo que hoy día aún tenemos los mismos problemas que teníamos cuando yo era chiquita no hay banquetas tenemos diluvios yo voy a transformar al inglés I want to make sure that the people in district 7 have a voice at City Hall thank you hi my name is Alan Chase I'm from the first Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio and I live in district 8 now I invite the district 8 candidate yes I'm gonna say yes thank you yet yes to all 30 seconds to elaborate sure my name is Tony Valdivia I'm a candidate for district 8 let me tell you who I am I'm a Christian I'm a husband I'm a father I'm a businessman but most importantly I'm a volunteer and I congratulate each of you for being here today because this is what it's about about being involved and looking out for one each other looking to the person the left of you and to the person the right of you and saying you know what I have your back and once we start doing that we can tackle the true problems that we face here around poverty in crime and safety so please remember to vote Tony Valdivia for district 8 thank you I'd like to add that we invited Mrs. Bram and Mr. Ples and neither came today isn't this great I mean when you look around isn't this just really exciting and great I really wish that Mayor Taylor were here to see this awesome crowd and how involved and excited you are think what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna take a couple of pictures of the crowd if y'all don't mind give me one second and I'm gonna email this to her and if you all would like to take pictures before you leave today you could do the same thing and we'll email it to info at vote ivy.com we'll have someone write that on the board over here so that you'll all have the email address if you're tech savvy and you want to tweet it it's at ivy Taylor at ivy r. Taylor excuse me and so now we invite sister Jane in Slater CDP to give her reaction good afternoon this working can you hear me all right we have just participated in a very important step of our responsibilities as citizens of our city of San Antonio we have articulated our issues and we have called the candidates to respond in the affirmative or if they were so brave enough in the negative to these issues so we've done the first step we have addressed issues of a housing that's not only safe but respectable and that people can live in dignity we address issues of a of a just wage a wage that people can live in dignity and in and in safety and we have addressed the issues that our immigrants face when they cannot get ID or they cannot get legal their legal concerns taken care of so we've done the first step but we're not finished we need to get out and vote not only do we need to get out and vote yes let's hear it we to get our family members our church members our neighbors our friends we need to get them up and out to the polls and voting begins tomorrow early voting begins tomorrow and we have until May the 6th so please think about the responsibility that you have that I have for one another because human dignity human rights are lived out in community with the support of community and we are the community and we need to support one another and are all of us it's for the best lives that we can have for human dignity and human rights so Viva la ciudad de San Antonio Viva thank you thank you Chancellor Slater we neglected thank you we neglected to acknowledge Andy Serabia the first president of cops who was here today just in areas foundation the mother of cops Metro thank you sister okay we have come to the most important part of the afternoon before we adjourn we must organize ourselves to get out the vote you have heard the issues you know where the candidates stand you you see who is here and who was not you must go and vote and use today to help you decide who you will vote for that's a good question even if you cannot vote you know people who can everyone let's commit to get our family friends neighbors and parishioners and make sure they know what happened today and that they vote they got one of them Los Azucos some in quality can be that was a boy on our agenda and some in quality can be that's all it's not key equal is no I see a lot of them almost get out of the bottle see it's not registered for about that this is easy to vote out if you know where it's bought out or not it's all you can see where it bought out that's it's almost can't come from problem in it come from it's not a car it's a person I bought out you have a commitment card take a a moment to fill it out right now. Write down the information on the first half, check that you will vote, and then commit to get 30 people from your church and family to go out and vote. Do you know 30 people? 20? 10? I want you to think about who in your church, parents from CCD, family, friends and neighbors, you can ask to get out to vote and put that number there. But remember, we never tell anyone to vote for a particular candidate. We will tell them where the candidate stands on the issues and hold them accountable to vote. Now, when you are done, pass that paper over to the middle part of the aisle and the floor team will pick those up. Please hold up those forms when you're done. Once you've completed, please pass it on. If you commit to vote and or to get others to vote in this election, stand up and be recognized. Stand up. Stand up and get those votes up. Stand up high for us. My superintendent served from Dominion Church of God in Christ to offer the closing prayer. Thank you so much for providing me to be a part of this event, representing the community of churches of social action. Dr. Jerry Daley is our chairman. God bless you, Dr. Daley. Shall we pray? Father, we thank you for this opportunity to come together and to pray for our community, to pray for our city. I want to pray for all of our leaders and these individuals that are running for office. We pray that they will be people of integrity and wisdom and that they will acknowledge you in all their ways so that you would give them the direction that we need for our city. Bless every family that's represented here today. Bless their children and their children's children. As we leave this place, O Father, I pray for your safety and protection over everyone that's here today. Now unto you, God, we thank you for doing exceeding and abundantly above all that we can even ask or think according to the power that's working in us until you be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Thank God, amen. Candidates and guests, thank you for attending. Candidates, Mr. Phillips will now escort you out. Leaders, please stay seated for an evaluation. Please, please continue to fill out your cards and raise them high so that we can collect them. And don't forget to vote. This meeting is adjourned. Get to give us your cards. We need cards from everyone here. Thank you. If you have your card, please raise it up high so that we can collect it. Leaders, please stay for an evaluation. We will start in 10 minutes. Leaders, stay for an evaluation.