 Good evening everyone and welcome to the Texas A&M San Antonio District 3 Candidate Forum hosted by the Mesquite Student Newspaper with support from the League of Women Voters and San Antonio, excuse me, and Texas Public Radio. Today we'll have an opportunity to hear from each of the three candidates in this very unique race to represent San Antonio Southside. District 3 has no incumbent per se but the council's appointee to complete the term left by Councilwoman Jennifer Ramos has served on the council for a, has served on the council for a year and a half. Her name is Letitia Ozuna, Rebecca Viegran and Gabriel Velazquez are challenging Ozuna. Both interviewed for the appointment as well. Our moderator and student panelist will ask questions of the candidates, but you too can participate. You've been given cards, should you think of a question please fill it out and discreetly raise it into the air and our runners will come by and pick them up. Now let's introduce our moderator Ryan Lloyd. He is the City Beat Reporter at Texas Public Radio. He focuses daily on policies and programs discussed and executed by the San Antonio City Council. Last year he traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina as San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro delivered the keynote address at this Democratic National Convention. His work has been recognized for reporting on the city and for keeping the public informed on government. Our student panelists who will be asking the line share of the questions are political science students Stephanie Pantoja and Jonathan O'Hara and myself Jacob Beltran. All three students you are hearing from this evening are enrolled in the School of Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M San Antonio. Ryan will explain the rules of the forum and introduce our guests. Thank you very much Jacob. Well tonight we welcome an alphabetical organ Letitia Ozuna, a cyber security specialist who says her primary issue is improving public infrastructure including drainage street and community centers. To her left is Gabrielle Velasquez, a community activist who has an architecture degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He says his primary issue is to improve people's trust and confidence in City Hall. To his left is Rebecca Viegra, a small business owner who says her primary issue is improving basic services like streets, drainage and sidewalks. Candidates will have two minutes to respond to a question and should a follow-up be necessary from another candidate will allow 30 seconds for that. The candidates may not address questions or comments to each other. I'd also like to thank Gene Aratangi from the League of Women Voters for being here, professors Jenny Moore and Christina Tsutana-Mont. Now cast essay and of course all of the students who are here tonight. Thank you for putting the song, I appreciate that. Before the forum the candidates drew straws to see who goes first. Mr. Velasquez drew the shortest straw and we'll begin with an introductory question to you Mr. Velasquez. You have two minutes to answer the following. A San Antonio City Council member receives $20 per meeting required to attend the City Council meetings as well as the assigned committee meetings. They must meet with constituents. They essentially maintain a full-time schedule at City Hall. Why do you seek to represent the city in District 3? Well first let me thank Texas A&M and NPR, TPR for holding this event. It's very exciting to be here at Texas A&M campus. I'm a South Sider and I always am just overjoyed whenever there's anything going on over here that I can participate in and it's a very good feeling. I tell you just straight out, it's not anything that I've considered the amount of pay or the amount of time. I know that it's a full-time job. I come out of an activist background and that world is a 24 hour world. And you never know what type of an issue is going to arise or what type of problem a person is going to have. From a senior citizen calling you in the middle of the night because their lights got turned off and they need somebody to help them find what they may consider justice or just find access to more efficient services or a family in dire straits that needs help or mobilizing a community or an action that may take place because maybe some legislation was passed in Washington D.C. and the city is just angry and they want to mobilize and they want to get their voice out. So coming into City Hall, I've never considered it to be an issue whether or not there was a pay or no pay. For me, I think that spirit of sacrifice is well worth it because after all, the people rely on our representative government. And I think we all believe in that. I'm one of these people that just hasn't given up hope that our government can work for us. You know, when you knock on doors, there are people that will tell you, well, you're going to get an office and you're just going to be like the rest of them. That is the common attitude from people that just refuse to vote. I refuse to believe that. I come from a community of people who keep their hands on top of the table and they put their money where their mouth is. And I think that that's the type of a leader that we need in District 3. Thank you. All right, Ms. Ozuna, same question to you. You have two. Actually, I'm sorry, it must be Iran. Your second. We'll allow you two minutes to answer. Thank you all again. My name is Rebecca Villagran. And I want to just congratulate you, the students here at Texas A&M San Antonio. What a great event. And thank you for the honor to be a part of this. Now, being born and raised here in District 3, I had the privilege of being raised by a family who taught me the values of service, of standing up for what is fair and for standing up for each other. Now, this goes without saying with or without pay because it's something that is right. And it's something about servant leadership and service to your community. Now, we see that with coming into city council that there are a lot of things pulling people in different ways, distractions. But, you know, we need to make sure that we have a council member who is dedicated and on target to serve the constituency of the area. I was able to serve and get my education here in San Antonio at St. Leo's and then received my undergrad at Texas State and then my master's of public administration from St. Mary's University, all coming back to this area. Not looking for a reward, but doing it all in service. Because this is the area that inspired me knowing that if a referendum were to go before the voters, it would have to go before the voters for a pay increase or to get paid for city hall members, for council members to get paid. It would have to go towards the voters. And the voters have voted once before that they didn't want it. But we'll see what if that were to come up, what the voters would want. But it would have to come from the voters. And, you know, and I'm running to restore respect, accountability, and accessibility for District 3. The district that raised me and nurtured me. Thank you. All right. And our final candidate to enter the introductory question, the one who drew the biggest draw, Ms. Ozina. Same question, do you have two minutes? Well, I can't begin to express how wonderful it is to be here addressing students from Texas. A&M San Antonio, it's wonderful that your class came together to invite us to a candidate forum. And to have been an Aggie from A&M in College Station, to know that all of you are fellow Aggies, it's great. It's a wonderful feeling. I'm looking forward to this campus growing and taking its place of pride amongst all of the major public universities in Texas. That being said, I have been serving as the city councilwoman, serving on committees. Public safety is one of them, serving on infrastructure and growth, serving with the Alamo Area Council of Governments, serving on the County Committee of Seven for drainage improvements along the entire river corridor. And it has been very, very rewarding and very time consuming. The job of a city council person is easily a 50 to 60 hour per week job, which doesn't include any other professional or family obligations that a council person could have. I think when you think about who's going to be the leader for your community or your representative, you want someone who has a vision, who can work towards accomplishing that goal, can work with the community and can be able to move things effectively. I've been doing that as your representative for the last year and a half. I'd like the opportunity to complete the many initiatives that I have started, some absolutely benefiting this Texas A&M San Antonio community, benefiting our school districts, benefiting our citizens of San Antonio. So thank you again for this opportunity to talk to you today. Thank you very much. Our student panels will begin with the topic of leadership. The first comes from Stephanie Pentova. You manage district three. All right, now we begin first with Ms. Ozuna, two minutes. Prior experience, that's a really great question and thank you for considering that as absolutely something that you want to be thinking about. I have a family. I'm a former small business owner. I continue today with my professional career and I would say that working as a bureaucrat, I worked for the state of Texas and Texas Parks and Wildlife for a number of years. I've worked in engineering consulting, traveling all over the country, working with cities like San Antonio and doing information technology projects and bringing engineering projects to fruition has given me a lot of exposure to both sides. One is being working in the public sector like I did for the state. The other working in the private sector with a municipality or state government. But more than that, I think it's also my community activism, being a member of the board for the Highland Park Neighborhood Association, being a volunteer for my children's PTA and Girl Scouts, gives you kind of a well-rounded reach to all of the different parts of representing a community of 130,000 people. It's all of those interests. It's the road projects. It's coming up with initiatives. It's building community bridges. It's being an advocate for the members of your community that don't necessarily have a voice and being that voice on council to secure initiatives, to secure funding. All of my history has helped to create the way that I see the path forward. It's a collaborative path. I value my relationships with my council peers. I value my relationships with the constituents of my district. I value my relationships with the nonprofit sector leaders. So I think all of my previous experience has really helped to inform and guide the way that I work towards solving problems with all of the district members. Thank you very much, Ms. Bea-Grant. Your response, please? Yes. My experience in leadership comes from my long understanding of it. And that comes from servant leadership, as I shared before. Someone who can lead by example, but doing the same thing as we see the other community members doing. But not just being from behind, but being proactive as well. Taking steps and helping everyone move forward together. Previous experience that I've had is I've had the pleasure of working at St. Mary's University and being an adjunct professor. Working alongside with students very much like yourselves. We organized a rebuilding of New Orleans after Katrina. We spent a week there working with different organizations. We did faith and justice walks downtown. Organizing and helping with the students. Reach their potential and leadership goals. Because it's all about community participation and bringing people together. And then also moving and working in New York City. Volunteering with the American Red Cross after 9-11. Serving with them and volunteering and that building leadership as well. And then professionally working and advocating for issues such as comprehensive immigration reform. At a federal, a state level. To make sure that voices are heard and then as I shared before standing up for what is right. These are experiences that I bring as well as with my small business and our family business. Knowing that there's so many complexities. And taking this leadership experience to the community. A community that has always, always never back down. District 3. And I don't intend that they will. And I see that that just needs someone who can step up to the plate and not ignore people. And bring them their issues, our issues, our vision together forward. Thank you. Thank you very much. Our last respondent from Mr. Velasquez, the question. How we were prior experience helping manage District 3, two minutes, Mr. Velasquez. Well, friends, you know, any question about leadership, there's I think a vast array of answers that you can get. But the way I was taught, leadership is proven by having followers. So if you want to know who the best leaders are, you can look at the initiatives that they're involved in and look at what type of followers they have. In the city council, we have individuals who lead our city districts for the most part are volunteers. And we rely heavily on them to have the capacity to organize our communities in mass. There are people who are afraid of the idea of there being 100,000 people in a district. But there are those of us who come from mass mobilization backgrounds. That when we look at 100,000 people, we look at it as an opportunity. I think that moving forward in terms of our future for District 3. This near future, we need to have a leader, but we need to have a leader that has a proven track record. You know, I've served as the vice president of the Cesar Chavez Legacy and Educational Foundation for the last 16 years. I've been the vice president of Project Learn to Read, the president of Project Learn to Read. It's an adult literacy organization. The vice president of the Avenida Guadalupe Association here in San Antonio. And working in some of the most challenged communities was the chairman, is the chairman of the Uno Nocho de la Gloria Art Initiative. One of the greatest investments that we need in the south side right now is a commitment to the arts. You know, with regard to investment in the bond that just passed, there's zero monies allocated to art investment in the south side because there are no art investments in the south side. I think that we do need to have a proven leader and a leader with a track record to take on the future of District 3. In order to do that, friends, I don't think that it's enough to ask a question and to take us on our word. But to ask you, to look at our records and find that you will not find a leader with a track record amongst the three of us outside of myself. We do allow any follow-ups, so if there are any follow-ups, please raise your hand for Ms. Weber. I just want to make clear that I don't think that one of the great things about being a leader is that we don't have to just go online and look for leaders. We can see what their track record was. We don't have to just Google our candidates. What we can do is you can find me in my church, in my community. You can find me in the district serving and that's how you can find us there in the community. Thank you. Any additional follow-ups? Journalist Jacob Beltran now has a question on communication strategy. Yes, my question is how do you plan to develop or improve the lines of communication within District 3? This time we're going to start with Mr. Velasquez, two minutes, Mr. Velasquez. Well, you know, I think the first thing is to identify what the problem has been. And again, I think that if you look at the voting record, you'll find that very few people are participating. There's a lot of people who refuse to participate. So that means that if we're going to grow participation, we're going to have to communicate a different way. Right now the way that we communicate is to rely on staff at City Council. In many cases, you try to connect with staff and you're put on hold or told to call 311. The reality is that we have to grow participation. And the way you grow participation is interacting, physically interacting. Getting together with people and organizing on the ground, organizing for their participation, organizing for our collective good. You know, I think that one of the big problems that we will have in the future is that we will have more and more individuals who will claim leadership and blame Twitter or blame Facebook or blame whatever social networking media they're using for not doing the job. The reality is it has been and it will be and it will continue to be the job of individuals to get on the ground, to knock on doors, get with people and convince them that it's in our collective good for them all to participate in our process. And in order to do that, I think we have to make sure that our leaders or individuals who are not afraid of our community, who don't have a problem knocking on the door on the top of the hill, but at the same time who don't have a problem knocking on the door at the bottom of the hill. And I think that that's one of the big challenges that we're going to face in the south side and the southeast side as we see that as investment has moved further to the north side, our community is stressed and it makes them mad and they're angry and they need somebody who's willing to talk to them and not tell them to shut up but willing to say, no, you continue. I think that in order to do that, in order to encourage our participation, we have to do better at communicating and communicating is a one-on-one thing. Mr. Velasquez, thank you very much. Next up is Ms. Ozuna. Your response, please. Two minutes. Communicating with the district as diverse as the southeast side, it is a challenge. It's a challenge for a number of reasons. It's a challenge because we have a community that is definitely on one side of the digital divide. It's a challenge because we have a declining subscription to traditional media like newspapers. It's a challenge because the cost of moving our own printed media from a council office is becoming prohibitively expensive. It's a challenge because many of the community members might have the ability to access digital content but just because they have the line doesn't mean they have the knowledge. There's a number of challenges to communicating with the people that live here, all of us on the southeast side. I'm finding that our office, we have offices in the city dedicated to literacy. Not a single person has been considering digital literacy as part of the city's overall literacy standard because to have a population unable to work their way through a website that's offering benefits and explanations on Medicaid programs or CPS rate relief or water programs or programs from the city to help do food security issues, it doesn't help them to have that information out there but only accessible in one avenue. So I've been working very hard going out into the community. It really is a ground game. You've got to go out. We do print outreach. We do door-to-door outreach. But it is part of an overall strategy which is we need to make sure that this community does not get left behind in terms of all of the avenues of communication. Thank you very much. Now it's Ms. Biagran's turn. How do you plan to develop or improve lines of communication with the community as a question? We have many opportunities to improve the lines of communication here in District 3. I think the first one that I would definitely implement is returning phone calls and to giving correct information when that needs to come out, when we call our office. And one of the other opportunities is when it comes to reaching out to our community members, when it comes to sending newsletters in paper, not depending so much on digital, but really looking at using all of the facets, when it comes to social media, when it comes to email, when it comes to phone calls and print, we want to be able to use all of that as well. And having an open-door policy and making that loud and clear, open-door policy and longer hours as well in our office to make sure that that's available and to keep not just explanation but communication to our residents. We want to make sure that that is available. And those are some of the strategies that we would like to continue. We would like to work on and that I would like to see and move forward. And it does take a team together, not just one person. It takes a team to communicate that, to reach out to the neighbors, to knock on the doors and to be there and to reach out to those areas that are even new to District 3. We have some precincts that don't even know that they're now going to be voting for District 3. That's something that we need to communicate and to bring these voters, these residents in the area, not just voters, but residents into the fold and into the lifeline of the district. Thank you. Thank you. If there are any follow-ups, we'll allow 30 seconds. Ms. Ozuna. Yes, I just want to quickly add, you know, part of a communication strategy depends on communication infrastructure. Infrastructure that exists throughout the city of San Antonio. Infrastructure that all of us taxpayers paid for over 10 years ago. We have an infrastructure robust enough to provide telecommunications access for a campus like Texas A&M, San Antonio, your campus right here that could provide gigabit access, the ability for this campus tomorrow to be able to participate in the Human Genome Project. You want someone serving on council who understands modern communications policy and infrastructure. Thank you very much. Thank you. Mr. Moscos. Well, when we talk about increasing communication, you know, there's all kinds of problems. There always have been problems with communication, but you know what, unless we learn to see it as an opportunity, I see that as a major opportunity. But let me tell you what, I think that's one reason why it's very important that we do not elect an individual who can connect, but an individual who is connected. That's why being from District 3 is very important to the opportunity we have to have a leader at City Council. Somebody who's already connected to the existing social networks is very important. Thank you. And just a reminder to the audience if you have any questions for the candidates, you can fill out the card that you've been given and pass it along and we'll come by and pick that up. Our next question comes from panelist Jonathan O'Hara on the important topic of business and development. We're at the Brooks City-Based Campus of Texas A&M San Antonio, so business and development is pretty important. What problems or issues do you see new businesses posing to homeowners, if any? And how do you plan to serve existing homeowners as new businesses continue to move to the south side? Mr. Velazquez, we'll begin with you two minutes, please. Well, San Antonio south side is a community that has got very used to Kelly Air Force Base and Brooks. These are jobs that gave us the promise of upward mobility at the workplace in a community. Many families, many friends were able to go to college because their parents had access to healthcare and to benefits. I think that this is a part of the economy that is missing. And right now we see development, but that development is much a retail-style development. They're static wages. We need to encourage a new era of development in our community. I think that our residents can only benefit from the types of jobs that can give us the opportunity for upward mobility at the workplace. In order to do that, I really hesitate to say that I would bring this business in or I would bring that business in because what I've been taught in my architectural experience is that the best thing that we can do is create an environment suitable to economic risk. That means that if we can create a plan and create those visuals that are much in line with the development that happened along Broadway, that we can draw speculators that will come in and that they will be able to draw on our own encouragement, to draw on the future that we feel that we need for our south side. I think we are leading. We are in the driver's seat. And our south side develops in a way that meets the ambitions and the aspirations of generations of south-siders. You know, there was once a man that was a leader in this city, his name was Eloy Centeno, and he was a very strong believer that the south side should have seceded from the city because it could have supported itself. Well, let me tell you what. Now that Kelly's gone and Brooks is gone, the city is moving all of its investment to the north side. And I think it's very important that we send a clear message to the city of San Antonio, that it's payback time, that since we built that site of town, now that we've lost our economic basis, we need the city to be more encouraging about super fund opportunities for our district. Thank you very much, Ms. Biagran. Two minutes. Yes. I think some of it's a balance. It's definitely a balance, especially growing up here, being born and raised. We know what we have seen and we know how important small business is here in this area. And to be sure that we highlight our assets and our opportunities here. Some of those are highlighting those opportunities with already our land that we have accessible here in District 3. Make sure that what is coming, what is planned has the neighbors and the neighborhoods in conversation with the development. We want to make sure that everyone is on board when this development comes. And we want to even, let's talk to the community. Let's see what's going on and then see what the research says as well about investment in our area. We see, as was shared, a lot of restaurants, a lot of fast food places. What are other investments that we do want to see here in the area? Let's ask the neighbors, the homeowners, do they want to see some more apartments? What is it that they want to see? And we need to make sure that we create opportunity to connect with the Eagle Ford Shell corridor that's happening. That we have the small business opportunities for those workers who are ready to spend money. And we need to make sure that we have those small business investments here to meet those needs. And look at the congestion. We see development happening. But we need to make sure that it's planned responsibly and appropriately with our area. And look at the already the infrastructure. We need to invest in our infrastructure to bring new businesses here. But then to see what we have already here that can be revitalized at the Southeast Baptist Hospital. At along Roosevelt and the South Presa corridor. What can we do? And along 410 South. We need to make sure that we have that opportunity there and not ignore it. Thank you. And Ms. Ozuna, finally, the question on serving both the contrast between new businesses and homeowners on the Southside. Can you read the question? The full question one more time. Yes. Thanks. What problems or issues do you see new businesses posing homeowners if any? Thank you. How do you plan to serve existing homeowners as new businesses continue to move to the Southside? Thank you. You know, this is, that's a great question because it's one that I've been working on. It is one of the questions that frequently is one of the most challenging because it requires a really effective communication strategy. In many cases, we've got a number of factors here on the Southside that make development both residential and commercial and residential retail commercial and residential in close proximity to each other. A real challenge. We're not a master plan community here on many sectors of the Southside. This is one of the oldest parts of the city of San Antonio, which means that the zoning overlays, the base rules, the ground rules for development on the Southside are kind of skewed against community participation. That's just the reality of living in one of the older sections of town. So the real challenge for a council person is to open up the communication channels to make sure that everything can happen in a way that we don't have a constant state of conflict. So for example, just recently we had a multifamily housing development wanting to come and sit adjacent to in close proximity to a residential neighborhood as well as a park. So that in order for all the parties to be able to go forward and come to some sort of agreement. There were many, many, many sessions that were spent to have active engagement and discussion about the risks and rewards of moving forward on the project for all of the participants. And that was something that I as a council woman helped to spearhead. And it wasn't that there was a particular interest for any one side. And this is true for all of the developments, whether it was next along here on Brook City base or housing. It's primarily when you have communication, all the parties have to understand the risks and rewards. And I think we've had a really great track record in District 3 under the last year and a half. Thank you. All right, and if there were any follow-ups. All right, Mr. Velasquez. It's difficult to answer a question like that when you're having to sell projects right now. I spoke with a gentleman in the Pickwell area that's completely against the apartment complexes going up there. They have very serious concerns. Same with the Pecan Valley area. There is still community up there that's hoping that there's some way for them to get a better situation in the situation that they have now. But one of the things that I think is very important to understand is it's very hard for people that live in the area that own their houses to see development going on at a very high level for businesses yet their quality of life issues, which are very simple things like their curbs and their sidewalks and stray dogs, that we have to have a balance. People have to see development in their areas that balances with the development they see outside of their area. Follow-up? Yes. I think part of that is communication is key. And as I've been talking to residents as well, that communication has not been happening with the NEXELON that could have been closer to some industrial development with Pickwell Park, the development at Pickwell Park when neighbors did not find out about it because they weren't within the yards of the zoning change. There was that communication that did not bring them on board and they saw the surveying happening and they didn't know what was happening. This was what was missing. And I think is the balance that needs to take place. All right, and I know there was one more response from Ms. Azena. Yeah. You know, I'm just going to reiterate what we've got going on. I mean, there is no perfect solution and I think if you are, there are no perfect solutions when you've got a number of interests, you're really looking for the best way forward and you can't be spending a lot of time looking backwards. You've got to figure out ways to move forward based on the realities on the ground at the moment that the decisions are being made. And so working with as many people as you can to address concerns, make sure that consideration is brought to bear and avenues are open. I think that there's a lot of positive that has happened. Thank you. Thank you. The panelist Stephanie Pantoja now has a question on preservation and development. And go ahead with that. What are your plans for well-known landmarks on the south side such as the Pecan Valley Golf Course? And we'll start with Ms. Azena on this. Two minutes, please. One of the beautiful parts about serving District 3 in the southeast side is that, you know, as I've said, it is one of the oldest parts of the city of San Antonio. The major waterways, the primary parts of the major waterways are here in District 3, the San Antonio River, the Salado Creek. That means that there's a lot of history and elements of cultural significance. And I think that you would do such a huge disservice not to be aware of all of the layers of history that run through our south side communities. I've been working very hard in setting up recognition for areas of cultural and historical significance here in the district, working with the Office of Historic Preservation. In fact, we just kicked off National Preservation Month on significant landmarks in the district. We have marked them for preservation opportunities in the future. These are historic structures and businesses here, particularly. One of the particular areas that I'm proud of is, along that Salado Creek, where the new Valor Club development is being developed, the key part of fighting for that area was to maintain that historic green space, to maintain those heritage oak trees. And I'm really pleased that we've got 186 acres there that are zoned such that they will not fall under any other designation that will be held. More than that, I think it's about partnering with the opportunities we have on the Mission Reach to be able to open that up as a major cultural and recreational avenue for not just the districts of District 3 and the city of San Antonio, but really we have an opportunity for a worldwide audience to travel here to the south side. I'd like to say one final, which is one of the plans that I would really want to work on is to create a vacation right on the southeast side to be able to fish, to be able to ride your bike with the Blue Book Tour of Mauritius. Thank you. We'll get back with you if you want to follow up. Mr. Velasquez, you're next. In the south side, we definitely have treasures that we have to be very sensitive to and build on. I think that San Antonio is full of examples of planning gone wrong. So whenever we have a planning initiative in the city, it's very important to be just as afraid as you are when you go to the Alamo and you see a Ripley's Believe It or Not across the street. I think that with our missions in Roosevelt Avenue, we have an incredible opportunity to create a beautiful space. I think San Antonio has the habit of doing things without a plan, and if they do have a plan, it's not a consistent plan across a large area of our town. The south side is this great opportunity to create a new vision. So while we are able to honor and respect, particularly with respect to the developments that are going on with the Corps of Engineers on the river and the county and our wonderful mission string, I think that we have a wonderful heritage to build on. So while we are smart in preservation, we also have to be challenging ourselves to create a vision of the future for our city. When I think of Military Drive and remember Kelly Air Force Base and Brook City Base and the health that they brought for our major corridor, I have fond memories of businesses that were doing very well for quite some time. But if you drive down Military Drive, which as you know is kind of the heartline of our community, all our major economic corridors run right into it, you see an incredible decline. I think we have the opportunity to draw from the beautiful heritage that we have in the south side, but at the same time, because we are a newer development, I think we have the opportunity to really think outside the box, come up with a holistic vision and build on something that people can visit San Antonio and say those missions I've come here over the last 100 years and those missions have still been there. But at the same time, I've seen this wonderful, wonderful new world created in the south side of San Antonio. Thank you very much. What are your plans for well-known landmarks on the south side, such as the Peacock Valley Golf Course? Now, we all know that especially from here, we have a great identity and cultural connection and pride growing up in this area, most definitely. We see it, we know the stories, it was our experience as we would drive down Roosevelt, as we would drive down Goliad, as we're in this area, as we drive down Mission in Roosevelt and see the missions going through the mission reach with our bikes when we could drive our cars close to the river as well. We know this, we have this cultural identity there in the area and we see how preservation is key, preservation and community participation is key and we see how that was mishandled when it came to Peacock Valley, when the residents came, spoke up and they wanted to keep this PGA championship golf course icon there on the south-east side that was a jewel treasure in the area and it was ignored. Their desire to keep it was ignored. So in preservation, preserve the voice of the residents and preserve their will of the residents as well and to preserve and make sure that we have the opportunity, those landmarks, that they're not forgotten and to keep that, it wasn't just a golf course, it was a source of pride in the community. That is one thing that we want to preserve, maybe not just the location but also the pride that's there and keep moving forward but knowing that we have to work together to move forward. Thank you. Thank you very much. Follow-up, Miss, for Miss Azuna. Yes, I just have three quick observations. One is Peacock Valley golf course was never a municipal golf course. It was not a piece of city land and I can't wave a magic wand and make a business profitable when there is no profit to be made. But the second thing I want to point out that I have been working towards is we pushed a view shed to preserve the view sheds along the Roosevelt corridor to Mission San Jose. I'm very pleased about that. And the other major initiative that we did is we changed out the incentives along the Mission San Jose corridor so that housing is not an option there. We would be able to preserve that site for sensitive opportunities going forward. Thank you, Miss Azuna. We've had a few questions from the audience now so panelist Jacob Beltran will... Right, we have four more questions. Mr. Velazquez. I just don't want to minimize the fact that when we talk about the Peacock Valley community, there is a community there that's relying on an economic that existed for them. Above all, we have to be very concerned with the type of development that will go in that will encourage the community to know that their property values are not going to diminish when we talk about preserving community. I mean, that's an incredible Southside asset. And we have to make sure that it's able to sustain itself. And in order to do that, I think that we're going to need to bring this community together again. Miss Veigran, did you have one final response? Okay, now we'll move on to asking one of the questions from the audience panelist Jacob Beltran has that. This question is, if elected, will you tie Nextelon and Baptist Hospital System and other businesses to their promises? And for that, we're going to start with Miss Veigran. Yes, we absolutely need to hold to the promises that have happened with Nextelon and with the hospital and with any other development or business that comes up here because it is the responsibility of the elected official to hold these people to their promises, the developers. But, you know, we also need to hold our representatives and elected officials accountable to what they are sharing with the neighbors as well, what they're sharing with the community. This is what we need to do in order to hold everyone responsible. Now, what has happened there with Nextelon, we know that money has been given away and their promises of jobs, promises of job, promises of infrastructure development. We need to know that this money is going to be an enhancement for not just this area but for all of the south and southeast side. Why is this, we need to make sure that our monies are going to be impacting here, this area. So I think it's important for every single elected official to make sure that we hold these businesses accountable and that our, the residents, the voters, hold those elected officials accountable as well. All right, thank you very much, Ms. Ozuna. Can you repeat the question, please? Yeah. The question from Jacob. The question is, if elected, will you tie Nextelon and Baptist Hospital System and other businesses to their promises? Oh, thank you. So the question really comes down to when we as a city offer incentives and abatements to develop the creation of opportunities within anywhere in the city. So it's when a big operation like Nextelon comes in with 400 jobs at over $40,000 a year per job with a spillover of adjacent businesses to feed, much like Toyota, what is that worth to a community? In my opinion, that's worth an awful lot to have jobs right in your backyard. And I will say, one of the things that we've been very sensitive to is to make sure that we tear the incentives, so not everything is given away, and that it's not a giveaway directly to the company. The Nextelon deal, I think it's important to realize that the city was opening up infrastructure improvements on the site to open up five additional sites surrounding the one job opportunity that was coming into the community. And with Brooks, one of the challenges here is that this entire property has undergone, it's like 30 years, you know, trying to find good partners to come and redevelop sites of it for going forward. The same is true with the Baptist Hospital and the moving forward there. We really want strong incentives in place to make sure we have good community partners. The last thing I would say is if you haven't had a chance to go see a solar farm, I encourage you to head out to Blue Wing Road. That solar farm is providing one-tenth of what CPS has contracted for in terms of solar needs within the portfolio of the city of San Antonio. You can imagine that there are years of solar cell production down the line to feed the city's energy needs, and this is renewable energy for the city of San Antonio, right here, created in our backyards. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Lasquez. You know, the Nexelon situation is not so much about what Nexelon is going to do or what that deal is all about. I mean, for most of us there in the Southside, it's about the company that was selected. A company that has been nothing but a nightmare to us reading about in the paper how their numbers are bad every quarter, and there's a reality to that because the city had other options. But for whatever reasons, this company is the company that was pushed on us. So I think it's, without a doubt, Without a doubt, we're going to have a deal that was going to be worked out with CPS. And there's a good chance that it was going to be at Brooks. But I mean, why are we giving these options that make no sense to us? Much like the ethics issues that are going on in the city of San Antonio right now. There's situations that those of us that are sitting at home, we know there's something wrong with them. We know exactly what we would do about them. We look at our council, and we pray, and our prayers don't come true, because these guys just end up doing whatever it is that they want to do. The reality is, this opportunity that we have could have been tied to employment within a target area of the south side. Truth of the matter is, it means 400 jobs, but we don't know where those 400 jobs are going to come from or where they're going to go. We don't know how we as a community are capitalizing off of a workforce that is locked into a particular base skill. You know, the 400 jobs, somebody tells me that we're going to bring in 400 jobs. I mean, one question that I have is, what protection do these workers have? I mean, are they 400 manufacturing jobs, and somehow they have some kind of a union agreement? Or is there some way that they know that they're going to have a right to a grievance? If they, if somewhere down the line, things don't work out for them at the workplace? I mean, these are questions that we have to be very concerned about in our south side. Ten years, how many companies do we know when San Antonio, Texas, it came in with ten year plans and ten year promises, and in ten years they left? We have to be very smart about the development that we bring into the south side because the rest of this city is looking at our community like this is their new frontier. Well, you know what? It's not their new frontier. It's our district three. It's our backyard and it's our home. Thank you very much. We have time for follow-ups, if anyone has a follow-up response. All right, Ms. Vieira. I think this is all tied to, not just tied to their promises, but also tied to communication and transparency. Communication and transparency of how this process goes. And we need to be sure that all of the residents are made sure what is going on. We have to make sure that we keep, again, accountable those businesses and CPS and our officials accountable. Thank you. All right, any other responses? All right, we're going to stay in that same ballpark, and our panelist, Jonathan O'Hara, has a question now on the environment. The Mission Reach Ecosystem Restoration and Recreation Project aims to transform an eight-mile stretch of the San Antonio River. What value does this project have for you personally and or politically? And what, if any, role does resource preservation play in your agenda as councilperson? We're going to start this time with Mr. Velasquez. It's a topic that's near and dear to my heart. On the West Side Creek Restoration Oversight Committee, as everybody may know or not know that, you know, the creeks, Alassan, the Martinez, they all drain into the San Antonio River at Conception Park. So whatever it is that we do along our river on the south side, it's for nothing if we don't make sure that every creek that runs into it isn't clean as well. And that means that we're dealing with sewer overflows as well that are running into our creek and our river. And let me tell you what else, friends, that you may not know. The vast majority of pollution that we're getting into our river is coming from the San Antonio Zoo. You know, so we have to take this very seriously. We have a future of people that are just dying to go to this river and have a good time. The way that I think we used to without knowing what was exactly in our water. You know, we have a future that has an expectation that all the work that we're doing is for something. And I think that for sure we have a great asset that we're going to be able to build upon. But we have to make sure that we're very smart about the type of work that is going on and that everybody in the community is involved in a new culture of participation in assuring that our ecosystem is doing well. You know, we have conversations about the Edwards Aquifer and the things that we have to do, the protections that we have to create in order to protect our water source. Well, you know, on the south side of our town, we have what is known as the Creasel Wilcox Aquifer. And this is an incredible opportunity. Have you ever wondered why there were farms and ranch lands on the south side? I mean, this is one of the major reasons why that is the way that it is. Our future could end up being manufacturing plants on the south side polluting our next very special resource or us taking the bull by the horns and realizing that we have an incredible opportunity to build on what is special to us as a south side. And that is the environment that we know today and love. Thank you very much, Ms. Viagran. Personally, the mission reach, as I shared earlier, is a place of great memories growing up with the family. Going and experiencing all of what was there to be experienced with the bikes, with the fishing, with the family. This is what the mission reach meant to me then. That's what it means to me now as another opportunity to showcase our city, to showcase what increasing the healthy lifestyles is now in the south and southeast side. But for all of the city, this is what the mission reach means. And to make sure that that is preserved. Now, when it comes to our ecosystem, when the balance that has been created there in the mission reach for everyone to enjoy with the kayak, with running, with biking, this is something that we need to maintain and educate everyone who comes and visits our mission, our mission reach, to educate them on that, to highlight that. And also to make sure that when we build manufacturing plants, when they're out there like Nexelon, that we make sure that damaging waste that comes from solar panel manufacturing areas don't get near our source, don't get near our river, our system. We need to be sure that the community is educated on what can happen. And the neighbors in the surrounding area will be educated on what can happen. So it's a matter of preservation of just what we have there along our mission and the great time that can be had, but also valuing the river and valuing all of the habitants that live there in the river as well. Thank you. Thank you very much. Miss Ozuna, please respond. Two minutes. Yeah. I think this is the case where the personal is political. And when you live on the southeast side, you know, I like to tell people that the southeast side has more waterfront property than any other district in San Antonio. We've got the Solado Creek. We've got the San Antonio River. We have Six Mile Creek. So there's lots of opportunity there to interacting with the beautiful watershed. And it's the personal and it's also the political because it's how we move forward. How we move forward on trying to become a World Heritage designation right along that corridor. How we move forward to bring that many visitors along a river corridor that fronts that many residential sections. That's a sensitive interaction, you know, that's really going to set the tone for what those neighborhoods look like 10, 15, 20 years from now. So in many of those cases, personal and political success as a neighbor, as a homeowner in the community, you know, you're absolutely there intertwined. I think about, you know, water quality along the corridor. And I think Mr. Velosquez and I are both in agreement, you know, in terms of the dream of having people actually swimming in the San Antonio River. And some days, you know, that there's a very good chance that the water is clean enough to do that. We're not handling, but we're not handling the offshoots of it. We have still a street drainage program. Much of our stormwater drainage is off on the streets. And that in turn collects and finally, you know, overflows into our creeks and eventually into the river, threatening our water quality, threatening the habitat of any kind of aquatic life out there. So when I think about moving forward with the San Antonio River, with what our plans are, how we maintain the quality of life in the community, it is beautiful for me. It's about personal and political priorities. All right. Thank you very much. Are there any follow-ups, Mr. Velosquez? I think one thing that we differ to do with regard to the knowledge that we have as a city of San Antonio is to recognize the hard work of the Corps of Engineers and the county, the Bear County. Much of the work that we see, you know, people think that we have river improvements. In fact, they're not river improvements. They're tied to an ecosystem restoration, the result of the 1954 Corps of Engineers coming in and channelizing because of the deadly floods that we had. That to me means that I think that we as a city take advantage of it looking like we're doing all that work and reality is a lot more work that we could be doing. Any other follow-ups? All right. Thank you very much. Our next question comes from panelist Stephanie Pantelha on the district's relationship with Texas A&M San Antonio. Given the number of universities and colleges already present in San Antonio, did the city really need this one? And how is the land acquired? Also, do you see opportunities where Texas A&M can make a specific contribution to District 3? And this time we'll begin with Ms. Ozu. What a great question. Exactly. You know, how, one, Hanagi, yeah, of course, we need another campus. But yes, yes to that question. You know, this is part of the movement that we have about educating our young people here in San Antonio. The demographic of San Antonio, indeed, you know, the demographic of the southeast side, 34% of the citizens of District 3 are under the age of 19. You bet we need college campuses here on the southeast side of town. But I would say that the way that the city partners them, and this is a wonderful way to describe what you can do with a partnership between a municipality and a university, we're working that right now at the Alameda complex that is in downtown San Antonio by opening up the city's own fiber lines so that Texas A&M can realize savings on telecommunications costs by piggybacking on municipally owned fiber optic lines. It's like a water main for data. So you would be able to have the ability to push this conversation that we're having here in seconds across the lines. You'd be able to stream in an opera being performed in New York. You'd be able to take your campus conversations and move them out into the greater world. All of those things are difficult to realize if you're standing alone as an entity, but when you can partner with the city and with city infrastructure, you can get incredible gains. In programs like this, universities have realized millions of dollars worth of savings. Many campuses have their telecommunication costs coming out of their general fund. Can you imagine what this campus could do with a million dollar per year savings, savings that would be maintained in a general fund? I mean, I would like to say that this office is very, very creative in partnering with all of the public universities in San Antonio, all of our public schools, all of our public institutions. Thank you. Thank you very much. When I decided right away to go to architecture school, one of the most important things for me was I wanted to go to school here in town. That's why I decided to go and study architecture at UTSA. I can only hope that in the future there's competition. A&M is teaching architecture over here on the south side. If I decide to get a master's degree, I think that would be a great opportunity to mix it up. Those are the type of opportunities that I think the citizens of San Antonio that are seeking higher education, that they have those great opportunities. And let me tell you that I had the pleasure of getting to know one of the gentlemen that was responsible for the vision plan of the Verano community. And that's the area that is the area of our Texas A&M 1604 campus that is based on a Prague and a Paris plan. I mean offering a really incredible opportunity to the city of San Antonio to have a planned community on the south side. Now I don't know how those plans are going now. I know that there have been some difficulties in the funding of that original vision. But most definitely I think that A&M is not just a much needed opportunity, much needed choice, but also a choice that was planned in a way that could lead the city in the way that you smartly plan a community, particularly a community planned around a university. I think that our future is just a wonderful future. But we also have to ask ourselves how are we going to create access to all these young people that are dropping out and aren't going to college. Most definitely partnering UTSA and Texas A&M and St. Mary's and Incarnate Word and Our Lady of the Lake to have those that are leading the academic field to get involved in how we get our whole community educated. I think that it's a plus all the way around. Thank you very much, Ms. Beatron. Yes, absolutely Texas A&M San Antonio is needed and are you making an impact? Yes, even tonight. Look at what you're doing. This is a direct impact of the importance that you're playing in District 3. And this is just one step of many impacts that you've made. Knowing how you at Texas A&M, over there at 410, you have housed artwork there from many people that have that access here for people on the side of town to go to see great artwork there in the main campus building. These are just opportunities and we have here in our presence students and faculty who are just go-getters and proactive and taking initiative on their own. And this is just a highlight of what you are a prime example of the great things that are here in San Antonio that many people just give them the opportunity. That's why we need the Texas A&M San Antonio and all the other universities here in San Antonio. And I believe that education is a great equalizer and we need to make sure that opportunity is there for everyone who wants to go to the university can make it to the university and not just make it and graduate from the university but stay in San Antonio after they get their degree from this university. We need to make sure that there as a council person we need to make sure and be in relationship with the universities to create these opportunities so students, so graduates will stay in San Antonio and not have to go away to Austin, to Dallas, to Corpus but to use their degree from this great campus, this great university to stay in San Antonio and to use these talents and treasures and education for the betterment of our city. Thank you. Thank you very much. Follow-ups? Mr. Velasquez first. You know, I think that the university presents, this university presents another challenge, another opportunity for us to be very serious about the type of south side that we develop. Now, I think that if we're going to have successful universities, sure, we need to have corporate support. Individuals that are going to move to San Antonio, Texas, open up their companies and be able to hire our higher educated. Now, I think that by rushing development, by moving in a manufacturing direction, I think we're really cutting ourselves very short. Thank you. And Ms. Ozina. Yeah, I think, you know, the question addresses, how do you partner the city with the university? And I think when I was at the BTOP conference, your university had the wonderful opportunity. The mothership had a wonderful opportunity to be a part of the greater university telecommunications background. But that left sites like this one, sites like the Alameda offline. I think that there's an opportunity there to partner the city with the university so that as you have disparate campuses, you can sit on a municipal infrastructure so that all lines of access are equal. Thank you very much. One more follow-up from Ms. Viegra. Okay. All right. We're going to take another question from the audience. And this time, Jacob Beltran is going to read the question, and it's about infrastructure. Yes, this question is essentially, what are your priorities for District 3's infrastructure? And then we'll start this time with Ms. Viegra. The priorities for District 3's infrastructure is to address our streets, our sidewalks, and our drainage. First and foremost, because this is what our residents see when they're opening their doors every single day, when they're trying to sleep at night every single night, and they hear either buses or cars slamming into streets that have potholes that are not paved correctly. These are issues that have been long outstanding that we need to address. And what we would do is strategically look with our residents and do an infrastructure inventory. Let's see where the needs are in these areas, in these communities. District 3, as we've already shared, is a huge district, all with different needs. And we know that there are areas that have long-sensed, have never had sidewalks. And there are also some neighborhoods who don't want sidewalks in the area because they like their large yards. We need to make sure that we put the appropriate needs to the appropriate areas, and that comes from communicating with our neighbors, with our residents, bringing them together, infrastructure inventory, seeing where are the areas that need the paving, where are the streets that need the reconstruction to do it right the first time so we don't have to do it over and over again. We need to make sure that we have the conversation with the residents to see where are the sidewalks, places that need curbs. These are priorities that we need to make, but they're the priorities of the residents. Where are the areas that need streets? That needs lights, turn signals. We need to make sure that those are areas that we meet with our residents and do an infrastructure inventory with every neighborhood. Thank you. Ms. Ozuna. I think I've already said this, that with this much waterfront property, you have some pretty significant drainage issues. One of the priorities that has always been drainage our streets, the soils here are not like the soils in other parts of town. We have in many communities about 30 feet of topsoil, and we've got a lot of sandy loam. They shift a lot. We're also one of the older, the subdivision I live in is one of the oldest, or is the oldest subdivision in the city of San Antonio. With all of the shifting soils, sidewalks buckle, streets buckle, the surfaces become pervious and the water starts to get in and buckle the street surfacing. So even when you have a repair cycle, it doesn't mean that the streets can last as long as they can in other parts of town. I've been working on the list of projects that we need to be addressing and prioritizing them. We can do that now. We've got the ability to do coding for prioritizing the road condition and the sidewalk condition throughout town. But more than that, it's really about how, I call it parity minus. So District 3 is about 70 square miles. It's the largest city council district in the city. What's happening is that the resources are allocated across city council district based on headcount, not on square miles, not on miles of street, not on the condition of the roads, but on headcount. So we already start behind the curve. We're the oldest part of town. We have the most changing soil. So the things that we do build shift and move more than most. And we have more miles between places. And we have the same pot of money as a smaller city council district. So it's really about the equation, just the basic equation that we use to allocate resources throughout the city to take care of basic infrastructure needs. And those are part of the conversations that I'm having today. Thank you. Mr. Velazquez. I thought that's why it's important that we elected individuals from the south side. Because what she's talking about are things that, I mean that we in the south side know. You know, Rebecca, your father worked with cops. They formed a method of fighting for the things that we needed in the south side and the west side and the east side. Because we know that when it comes to the needed improvements that are required on our side of town, well, there's all these challenges because obviously we live in a place that's softer on the soil. You know, you go to the west side. They live closer to the creeks. That's why their houses flood. The reality is we need a leader who understands all of these things, who's not going to explain it to us, but who's going to get up and fight for us. And we've known and we've learned the hard way that unless we're able to speak up for ourselves and unless we're able to make that fight, we're not going to get what we need in infrastructure. You know, our streets are separating and their levels are changing and the reality is we need to look at better ways to build these streets. I come from an architectural background. I know that if the city is willing to pay for it, we can come up with a system that is going to work. You know, the existing appointee there, Miss Uzuna, has talked about and have been a champion of this concept of corridor periphery development, which means that we're going to develop downtown and we're going to benefit from the trickle-down economics of that development downtown. How many leaders have told us this, from the Alamo Dome to the Pink Elephant on the other side of town to the Hemisphere? You know, right now they're having a conversation about tearing down the brutalist buildings downtown. Well, you know, the Kingpin brutalist building downtown is a Hemisphere. I mean, as we've gotten educated, I think that we all need to know when we're being given a story that means that, well, I'll let you know when we get there. The reality is I don't want anybody to let me know when we get there. We need to change the leadership. We need to change the leadership now and we need to organize this community in such a manner that we're able to take on City Hall and to fight for the things that we know that we need on the south side of town. And if we don't take advantage of this opportunity now, the chances that we're going to have the same councilperson for eight years and the incumbent rate is, the return rate is pretty high. Thank you very much. Are there any follow-ups to that question? Okay, thank you very much. We are running short on time here, so we do have just a couple more questions from the audience and if the candidates don't mind squeezing the time now down to one minute, will that be okay with you? Just to get through the questions. Our first question will now come from Stephanie Pantoja. So one minute after she asks the questions. Would you advocate giving away land free to pull in business and industry? We'll start with Mr. Rollins, please. No, no, it's private choice property and then I think everybody knows it. The city is getting landlocked. They know where they're going to have to come and everybody knows that the south side is a beautiful place. I've got a joke I've told people for a long time not to forget that when the Spanish came to Texas, they went to the south side. Okay, we all know this. We have some of the richest farmland and the greatest communities, people that have lived there for a long time. This vast stretch of high schools everybody knows each other. This is a wonderful community. We have to prepare for a brilliant future. The last thing that we can do is throw the baby out with the bathwater, become the manufacturing backyard of the city of San Antonio. The reality is there's a lot of places in town for them to diversify their different economies. I think in the south side, raise our standard, get our heads in the sky and dream like there's no limit. All right, Ms. Viegron. No, I don't think so, because we see it happening already. And we need to put a stop to it and we need to stand up and put a stop to it. We need to share our voice and say we're not going to give away the south side because it's happened too far in the past. We've been sold a bad of goods for far too long and now we've had enough of it and we're not going to let that happen. I'm not going to let that happen. We've seen it with Brooks. We don't want that to happen with Brooks because of all the land that we have here and we don't want to see it happen to Pecan Valley either. Thank you. And Ms. Ozuna. Yeah, that's one of the nice things about being a change of pace is that you get to take a look at like the last 15 years of city council decisions and work hard to kind of turn the page. I think one of the reasons we've set up Brooks as an independent development authority is to be able to have a level of oversight to vet opportunities that present themselves. We have an independent board that's able to look at opportunities like hotel development or housing development like it's happening at the landings right now where the median income is about $80,000 a year for the residents, which is an incredible, incredible thing that surprises many people when I talk to them. So I think we're not looking... Nobody does well when we give away land at the Brooks Development Authority. I think we all understand its promise as a campus, a multifaceted campus. It's an economic generator for all of us here on the south side. All right, thank you very much. Any follow-ups for that? Just real quick? You know, the next salon in America, I think that the moment that the bad numbers came out and the express news and the report that came out of CNN, the first thing that happened was they had to hold on the decision, hold on the decision. And it didn't take long before the head of the Brooks Development was on television saying, well, I can't hold this back. I have to let it go. I have to let it happen. So we're stuck with what we've got. I'm not necessarily sure that the system that we have in place has the backbone that we need to do the work that we need done. All right, thank you very much. Any other follow-ups? Okay. Our next question comes from Jonathan O'Hara. If elected, what will you do to make sure that seniors, including those who are not computer savvy, have the ability to reach out and ask for help? And we'll start with Ms. Ozuna. Thank you. That is, as we had said earlier, about communication, how do you talk and how do you reach into so many disparate households, so many disparate voices, so many disparate constituents. We've been working with the senior community, me and my staff, with the city's offices of delegate agencies, with many of the nonprofits, reaching in, delving particularly into food security issues, working very hard around the senior facilities, our community centers that exist, primarily for seniors, on developing yet another senior center that was funded by the bond. And it isn't, you know, it isn't, the expectation should never be that first a senior must be computer literate and then services are available. That completely inverts the way it is. We have a job to do to service all of the constituents of District 3 in the best available manner that we can. And that involves boots on the ground, you know, in front of people. Thank you very much. Thank you. Mr. Velasquez? Well, as a cornerstone of the things that I would like to achieve as a council person, is to create a community in the south side that integrates our seniors into everyday life. I think for too long, we've compartmentalized life as a youth, or life as a middle-aged person, or life as a senior. I think one of the things that we're missing, one of the great opportunities that we're missing, is to create a community where we all live together. So we need to make sure that we invest in things like senior housing opportunities for our seniors to not have to leave the south side in the event that they find that they can't live on their own or choose not to live on their own, but want to live in a community that is supported and that is a part of the greater mainstream of San Antonio. So I feel that if we design a community that is an enhancement for the lives of our seniors, it will only enhance the rest of our lives. So I stand by that, that I believe that our seniors should be, and we should do everything that we can to make them the cornerstone of every decision that we make. All right. And lastly, Ms. Viagran. Our seniors have served as the backbone of this community, of the south side. We need to continue. We need to respect and honor that hard work and dedication that they did so long ago, but that they're still here and they're still involved. We cannot exclude or ostracize them. We need to continue to build inclusion and create opportunities for exchange with multi-generational people together, talking together. We need to create those opportunities and to honor and respect those seniors here and to make sure that we have, at the senior centers, we do have already programs that were established years ago for seniors for learning computer literacy. They have that there and they're crowded. And then we also need to establish apartments for seniors to live and work in a great, great community. Thank you. Thank you very much. Any follow-ups to that? Okay, thank you very much. We're going to have our last question now from the audience and Jacob Beltran is going to ask that. Yes. If not elected, how will you continue to serve District 3? And then this time we'll start with Ms. Viagran. If not elected, I will continue to serve in the capacity that I've been serving my whole entire life here in the district. Continue to make sure that I'm connected with the neighborhood associations. Continue to be in partnership and in relationship with all of my neighbors and with the leaders of District 3 because together we're stronger. That, and that is the main cornerstone. Being together, being united, we will be stronger. Staying in relationships with the university, with the schools, and with, through my small business because we need to make sure that we have a strong, united voice at City Hall. Even if we're not agreeing with what the leadership says, we still have to work together in order to make sure that the south side is not ignored, is not disrespected. We need to stay together and united. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Ozuna. I would sleep. If things did not come to pass, I think just my previous life here in San Antonio was indicative of the level of commitment I have to my community. I've been an active volunteer. I've worked in fact with Charlotte and Lucas back there trying to move these hyper-local media outlets so that forums like this have an ability to be front and center throughout the city of San Antonio. I would be definitely continuing to advocate for municipal broadband infrastructure available to all of our universities and school districts and public institutions. I would continue to work with the San Antonio River Authority and serve a role in preserving the jewel that we have of the River South. And I would probably spend more time with my family. That's what I would do if it didn't come to pass. Thank you. Thank you, and Mr. Velasquez. I think the question really draws out an answer that pushes me to try to get you to understand how critical it is that we elect the right type of leader for this job. You know, I have worked in the community for a long time and I don't know where that comes from or how that happened. It's just a calling. I feel that no matter how I look at it, I'm dedicated to that community that I love so much, which is San Antonio, Texas, and the South Side. But this opportunity is a little different because I think right now the decisions that are being made are critical to the future of the South Side. There's a lot of people looking at our community and they're using politics to get what they want despite the desires of our own community. And for that, I think that there's not a whole lot of time to think about what I'll be doing after the election if I'm not elected because I'm hoping that I get the message out that we need to change, we need to change the leadership and we need to make that change now. Okay, any responses to that? All right, so that brings to a close our questioning for tonight. Now we are going to move into the closing statements. We're going to move that back to two minutes to allow the candidates to close and tell us why voters should choose them or the District 3 seat on the San Antonio City Council. We're going to start with Miss Ozuna. I've been serving this community for a year and a half and in this year and a half we've passed a bond that has benefited of the community in excess of $47 million. We've passed drainage streets, park projects in the last 90 days, 77th Street and sidewalk projects have broken ground. We've created programming that has affected, directly affected over 500 seniors with 28 separate opportunities to engage and experience outings and other cultural events that they wouldn't otherwise be able to experience. So there's been an awful lot that we've been able to move forward with and this, with a very, very steep learning curve being thrown in to a number of very sensitive and volatile situations and I think I deserve to continue what I've started. There's an awful lot of really great initiatives that are moving forward through my leadership though particularly the broadband network initiative which has the ability to save every single public school district in the city of San Antonio about a million dollars per year in telecommunications costs. Within District 3 there are four school districts that would qualify. In 10 years we could realize such huge levels of savings. Forget about connectivity, just think about it as a million dollars put back into the coffers of our public schools and universities and the cost of being able to deliver it the most expensive part has already been paid for. It's just a matter of having the political will to turn it on and light it up. Let me work for you, let me advocate for my community, let me do what I've been doing, let me continue to deliver. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Velazquez, why should voters choose you to serve? Well, I've been very clear in all the debates in the forums that we've had that what I hope to bring is a different option. You know, I think that the most important thing that we can do to prepare for the south side's future is to prepare for a better future. I think that it's a time that we have a qualified individual who has experience in planning communities and I think that I bring that to the table. It's time that we bring everybody together, bring ourselves to the drawing board and come up with a south side that isn't the type of south side that is built so that it can be torn down and rebuilt but the kind of south side that we can build together that will be our legacy, that will be our future. It's important, friends, that we don't elect a rubber stamp. We've already seen what's happened with the 8.4% saws hike. We've already seen what happened with the PGA, the, you know, our Pecan Valley site and I think that we've already and continue to live through this next law in America situation as to whether or not they're actually going to be able to survive. We don't need this type of stress, but we need our hopes, we need a vision and I think that that's the most important thing for our future, to make sure that the next time you drive down military drive that you're dreaming because you know that we're going to get together, we're going to map it and we're going to build it. That's why I think that it's important that you elect the right person. That, friends, it's not enough to ask us a question and get the answer. I think that you can look at our records, you can look at our history and find out what kind of commitment we've had to the city of San Antonio, to the south side. And let me tell you what, friends, you won't find from this candidate that I just moved into the district four years ago. I haven't heard my whole life and have been connected to it and it's important to be connected to this community. Just like those residents at the Pickwell area, they'll tell you how they want to live in one of the next two. And if you're not from that area, you don't have the empathy. You know, it may seem a good option to go with what the business people want. The reality is we need to change our options and I hope to bring that much needed option to the table. Thank you. Thank you very much. And finally, Ms. Biagran, what makes you the best choice to serve on the San Antonio City Council? Well, I think I want to thank you for this opportunity to be here with you and thank you for putting together this important forum for the democratic process. Thank you very much for being a part here and what I can bring to the table here for you all is my experience serving and serving as a council aide. I've served as a council aide to two separate council areas, district five and district eight. Those are two very distinct in different areas. We see the disparities in both of these areas. This, what I can do knowing the process, being able to come and step into this seat and not need four months or two months to get my legs underneath me, I can hit the ground running for you, knowing the information, but then being accountable to the voters, being accountable to those who elected me. This is what I can bring as well as my education and my experience and the connections to the community that I have established and my family have established for over four generations in this area. Bringing that knowledge and making sure that we work together and not ignoring and not putting off to the side, but making sure that every voice is heard and not looking out for personal accolades, but making sure that the one that gets the most attention is district three and the residents. I will fight for you. I will fight with you on issues at City Hall and on the City Council and make sure that our that the vision that we put forward is not just my vision, but it's our vision that we vision together. Definitely. And I want, I'm running to restore respect, accountability, accessibility to district three. And I respectfully ask for your vote. Thank you very much. Thank you. I want to extend our form today, but I want to thank the League of Women's Voters for their help in helping us put this together. Our host, Ryan Lloyd from Texas Public Radio, our sound team, they really did a nice job at the setup. Thank you all very much. More importantly, I'd like to thank our audience for coming out today. Thank you for your questions and more importantly for your participation and we hope you continue to do so. And I'd like to turn it over now to Ryan Lloyd to close us up. We have one in this room and watching on Nowcast Essay that you can vote till Friday, May 3rd, 8 to 6, and then on Saturday, May 4th, from 8 to 8, on Sunday they're closed this time. But then Monday and Tuesday of next week, 8 to 8, and then of course, election day is Saturday, May 11th, and voting is from 7 to 7 there. I'm Ryan Lloyd from Texas Public Radio. Go vote. Thank you very much. We do have refreshments for your life, but either way, head over there and get some food. Thank you. Thank you.