 Okay, now that we have, the business now begins, now we know where he's here. We gathered today with our candidates for Bear County Commissioner of Precinct One, and Texas State Representative District 118, to learn from them on where they stand, on the issues that directly impact our community and our lives. Our future, safety, and quality of life will surely be impacted by how they choose to represent our area. We are here tonight to show our candidates for office that this community is extremely concerned about what happens in the south part of the city and of the county. We are fed up with taking a back seat to our neighbors to the north. We want a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. We want to partner with our elected officials to build parks, community centers, and recreational facilities to promote healthy living for our citizens. We want them to stop the abuse created by greedy financial institutions who are eager to take advantage of our friends through deceitful payday loans. We need them to help us improve our educational system by increasing the funding of our schools and stop placing the burden on our local school districts. Young people hold the key to our future, and they deserve better schools and a better education. We need their support on workforce training to provide meaningful opportunities to our citizens so they can break the cycle of poverty that unfortunately can extend from generation to generation. We want to show our political candidates that we need to work together and begin a dialogue so that we can improve the quality of life in the south side. We stand together as a community to be heard and to get your commitments to work with us. Thank you, Mr. Martinez. Thank you for explaining why we're here tonight. Now we will hear stories from individuals in our communities regarding the issues we are presenting to these candidates and for which we are asking for their support. The first story we will hear will be on the Payday Lending and Father Frank Macias will be speaking about Payday Lending. When I was a pastor, we had a lady that cooked for us, she was 85 years old and she had Alzheimer's. And actually, we actually did cooking for her. We actually had her come into the rectory to take care of her because she had Alzheimer's. Cada viernes se iba a ella y caminaba por el centro y el centro era González de Caspar. Entonces estaba lloviendo un viernes, it was raining on a Friday and I followed her. I said, I wonder where Selma is going? Her house is the other direction. La seguí entre una ofesina donde era un lugar de prestamos. It was a lending place. And I said, ¿Qué está haciendo ahí en el pleio? I entered there and I said, excuse me, but what are you doing here, yourself, dijo. Pues me demandaron una carta y me dijeron que tenían 100 dólares para mí. They sent her a letter and said, you have 100 dollars here, this office. Pues vienen y me dieron los 100 dólares. So I came here and they gave me the 100 dollars. And I said, how long ago was that Selma? Dice, oh, hace como dos o tres años y dije yo, ¿Y qué ha pagado? Pues yo siempre vengo, I always come here, that was about three years ago and I give them 30 dollars a week por 100 dólares. Entre yo le dije yo, let me see that folder that you have on this lady here. She said she has Alzheimer's and the manager gave me the folder. And I saw that she had paid over $2,000, los míos dólares, on a $100 loan because she would pay late. She would receive letters that would say that if she doesn't go there and pay there, they were going to give the information to the sheriff. Y estaba tormentada. And she was sick. And I took the folder from him, I said, I'm going to take this folder. And you can call the sheriff, you can call anybody that you want to call. But I'm taking her and she's never going to come in here again. And their face were white. And I guess maybe he could have shot me. But my brothers and sisters, I thought that was just one case. Yo estaba con la impresión que no más era mi selma, but it's not. It is a lot of people. And here in San Antonio, every time I pass by these places that you leave your car title there and then you end up paying all that money, it's screaming, it's a crime. So hopefully we'll have people that will support the honesty and the goodness of the south side because you know, most of them are located in this area. No, my focus was on this because we were poor. But we pray then that our eyes are open to that reality. Amen. The next story we will hear will be concerning the Highland Oaks issue. And for that, we have Saneth Gutierrez and she's from El Carmen. And from the Highland Oaks area. The newest member of Cops Metro. In the last 15 years, I have been a homeowner in the Highland Oaks subdivision. They're committed in the forest outside of Berkeley, outside city limits. That has no pastries, no sidewalks, no lights, no street signs. The roads are so bad that school buses don't go in. And we just lost trash collection services because vehicles get stuck in the sand. In the past February, my six-year-old daughter was making hot cocoa at home and stowed it all over herself. She suffered second-degree burns, tear abdomen, and right thigh. I quickly realized her injuries were serious, so I called 911. The dispatcher was on the phone with me as I held my daughter who was screaming and shaking in pain. He was getting the instructions on what to do. At the same time, was asking me what my streets looked like, what was my cross-street, what was near my house, and asking me if someone can stand outside my house because the emergency responders could not find my house. As a nurse, I know that ambulances are expected to arrive in less than nine minutes from the time they are dispatched. In my daughter's case, it took over 25 minutes. Why? Because the things have not changed in Highland Oaks in the last 15 years. Somewhere we started to learn from cops Metro how to organize ourselves. We still don't have our paid roads, but last month, the county approved a plan to invest 4.4 million over two years to pay all of Highland Oaks. Then our streets are paved. Project Quest, and we have Sonia Serna present. Good evening everybody. My name is Sonia Serna. I am a participant of Project Quest and a nursing student at San Antonio College. I'm a Level 4 student, pending graduation December 2016. First job within RN, I will be earning about $52,000 having gone from $25,000 to $52,000. About why Project Quest is important to this community. At this time, I would like to share a quote that I have in my room. I see it and read it every day. If one were sufficiently trained and self-confident, if one were willing to labor with one's hands and one's mind, one could have what has come today to be called the American Dream. I believe that quote was written by Benjamin Franklin. Having lost both parents at a young age, that dream has been kind of hard for me to reach. But with the help of Project Quest, it has been much easier for me to find that dream. They have been a great blessing. They have helped me purchase books, which they're not cheap. They're about over $1,000. They've helped me pay for uniforms, medical equipment. They've even given us gas cards sometimes. Because of Project Quest, I've been able to concentrate on my schoolwork, rather than worry about how to pay for tuition and books. I'm here to tell you that the students of Project Quest are willing to labor with their hands and their mind. We ask for your support. We need Project Quest. Project Quest needs you. We will have now Mr. Martinez is going to be introducing candidates and going over the candidates for the rules for the candidates questions. Before we move on to the next part, I'd like to go ahead and introduce the candidates we have with us tonight. For State Representative District 118, we have Representative John Lujan and Tomas Uresti. For County Commissioner Precinct 1, we have John V. Lara and Gabriel, excuse me, John V. Garza and Gabriel Lara. I would like to just reiterate that all the candidates met with COPS Metro leaders beforehand, and they have all agreed to follow the rules. Now, I want to invite Mr. Cruz and Mrs. Martinez, who will be asking the questions. My name is Robert Cruz, a leader with COPS and Metro and a member of San Diego the Great Catholic Church. The issues and questions that will be asking the candidates and the representative have emerged from meetings and conversations within our community. And they're here the first question. He deals with education. This year, the Texas State Supreme Court ruled that the funding formula is unequal, but that it is not unconstitutional. The state legislature, instead of acting to improve education funding in the state, it has cut funds for education. Most recently, they are proposing restricting money for a special education. We are here to change that. Do you commit to raise additional state revenue for public schools, especially those that have large populations of students or economically disadvantaged and English language learners? Or to move us toward universal pre-K education in Texas and to cover the expense of the SAT or ACT for every high school student? On payday lending, every day, unscrupulous lenders rob families of their foreign-earned wages through payday and title loans. They make families poorer, yet say they offer a much needed service to deal with this issue. If elected, will you support a law that explicitly makes threats of criminal changes for non-payment of payday or auto title illegal? Will you support a law mandating Spanish language disclosure on all payday and title loan contracts and paperwork? Will you support urging the state to adopt the unified ordinance on payday lending that many cities have passed and to respect the right of municipalities to enact those consumer protections? If elected, will you support a law that will prevent the industry's attempt to raise the rates that can be changed for consumer loans to lengthen the loan term allowable from the current 180 days to a longer term and to add secondary products such as life insurance to loan transactions? Another issue, so far with the state doing nothing on payday lending, cities like San Antonio have bravely stepped forward to protect their residents. But now Texas wants to change that even, take that away from us and return to the wild west of usurious lending. Will you support the right of all cities and counties to raise tax revenue without interference? Will you support upholding cities' right to regulate their local issues by passing ordinances? On Project Quest, for 25 years Project Quest has proven to be one of the nation's leading workforce development programs. In fact, last Monday the executive director, Sister Pearl Cesar Cesar was invited again to the White House to meet with the Secretary of Labor to showcase its success in developing a well-trained workforce to return living wages with economically disadvantaged populations. This is a program worth fighting for. Do you support maintaining the current level of state funding through the Adult Career Education, or ACE, fund to continue? Supporting the successful work of Project Quest here in San Antonio and throughout the state. On Medicaid, we hear stories about citizens being turned away from emergency room because they don't have health insurance. That people continue suffering without care is a moral stance that the state has taken. But it does not have to be that way. We have an option. Do you support expanding Medicaid in Texas? On the first issue on education, do you answer yes or no? Representative Grinnell? Answer yes. On Bay Day Lending, what is your answer yes or no? 100%. On local controls in the city, do you answer yes or no? Yes. On Project Quest, yes or no? Oh, definitely yes. And finally, on Medicaid, yes or no? Yes. You don't have to repeat the questions. That's yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. You're right. Any response to any of the issues that we covered? Okay. Give me a couple here. Okay, first of all, thank you for inviting us here. I'm the state representative right now, and I'm just blessed to be here. And I want to tell you, this is very, very important. The Bay Day Lending one really bothers me because it's predatory, especially on the minorities, especially in our community. That really bothers me. What bothers me the most is because it's affecting, and it's not, I can't believe that we don't have it in Spanish also. That has to be in there. We need to put laws in there to protect our citizens. That's 100%. Second one, and I do want to comment on what Mr. La Fuente was talking about at Highland Oaks. I've been there before. I drove with them and we went through the Highland Oaks. I drove there and I made them stop. It was raining, we had these four wheels. I wouldn't take my car there, I'd get stuck. We went over there and I said, how does a fire truck come to this house? I'm a retired firefighter. I was a firefighter for 25 years. I was a police officer for six years. I said, how does a police come here? How does a fire truck, and they said they don't come here. They just can't. That's a shame. This is America, this is the United States. That should not happen. Why our leadership has allowed that to happen really, really shocks me. That should not happen. Another one is Project Quest. I'm going to be honest with you, I didn't know much about Project Quest until you enlightened me and we looked at it. Then I was reading all the success stories and that's what I'm about. That's what prompted me to run for office because I know we can break cycles of poverty by teaching technology. The high paying jobs of tomorrow. I started a company in 1999, the three of us, and today we're a little over 400 employees. We're breaking cycles of poverty. We've done that through my company, helping kids in our community, and it's a beautiful, beautiful thing. These things are very important. Am I done with my time? Okay. Okay, and then the last one is the education. That's what prompted me to run. Because of the education, we need to fund it better. I don't like us being disadvantaged out here. Everything goes wrong in education. Who wants to bring companies in here if you don't have a good school board and a good system? You know, we have phasing schools. We've got to fix that. We have to fix that. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Well, I think most of you know that I've been sitting in the hard of the school board for right at 13 years. And education has been key. It's been my life. I've given bloodshed and tears into education. We have, we are sitting in the number one school district. I was right. As the number one school district in the entire state of Texas, we have right now what is going, of course, the funding is there and there's more funding needed. And yes, I will definitely support it. We have a STEM high school here in Harderville that me and my colleagues were able to put together. That when you graduate from Harderville STEM high school, you will lead with a high school diploma in one hand and an associate's degree in the other. We have cosmetology certificates. We have health careers high schools here in Harderville. We have the highest technology and automotive, technology here in Harderville. We have the best of the best. So we are breaking the cycles of poverty right here in Harderville, right here. And we're bringing people from SouthSan and from Southside from the entire, all the different missions want to come to Harderville. That's where everybody wants to be here. So yes, I'm definitely going to push for more monies forward to the public system. Because right now we're receiving the least amount of money in the average school district. We're in the lower and lower ranking. We receive about $7,500 per child versus other school districts that receive $12,500 per child. And that's not right. And so the legislatures to make that change once and for all. Payday lending is a joke. They need to be shut down. They don't need to be regulated. They need to be just totally shut down. The average payday loan takes 800% to pay back. But it's not just the payday loan conflicts. There are markets here. There are other companies here in San Antonio and throughout the state of Texas that will charge you, that will sell you life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance. Would you believe they say unemployment insurance when you buy a piece of furniture from them? It's not just the payday loan companies. Those are one of them. But there's a lot more than that. Project Quest. Good afternoon. My name is Bali Martinez. I am from Orlando, Moncarno in Bogas. Let me tell you what Bogas is all about. As community areas sell. And that is la voz de la gente. Commissioner Rodriguez was invited. He was invited by cops Metro. But he's not here. And we don't know why. Okay. So I thank Mr. John Garza. Mr. Geklu Lara. Thank you so much for being here with us. And so this is the questions. This year, Bear County Commissioners Court approved 750,000 to begin the study for Highland Oaks. However, this is just the beginning. Do you commit to support over the next two years the 4.4 plus million dollars necessary to pay the Highland Oaks subdivision? Many of our residents do not have a place to bring their children for educational enrichment classes such as Boys and Girls Club or other extracurricular activities. We need a space for our families, our community in South Bear County. Do you commit to support and fund a community center at the Mission Software Complex for South Bear County next year? This year, the Commissioners Court left the way again in fighting for paying his workers a dignified wage by passing a new budget with a minimum wage of $13.75 an hour. Leaving out the conviction that public money should not be used to pay poverty wages. They even went a step further and raised the minimum wage for contract workers to $9.50 an hour. My sister was part of that. She was getting $7.25, $7.25. And I know how much she had to work two jobs for that. We applaud them for their effort, but our work is not finished. This upcoming year, do you commit with COPS Metro Leaders next year to raise the minimum wage to county employees to $14.50 an hour and to raise the wage force set for contract workers to $10 an hour? Also, this year, the county raised their investment in Project Quest to $80,000 up from $50,000. Their work has continued to set the bar for quality workforce development. Will you work with COPS Metro Leaders to raise the county's investment Project Quest to $150,000 next year? Mr. Garza. Yes, Mr. Garza. We've been wages. Yes. Project Quest. Yes. Thank you, sir. Wages. Yes. Project Quest. Yes. Thank you, sir. Mr. Garza. And I do have to point out that COPS Metro brought up the minimum wage. Okay, so that's one of the important things that we're doing here. Mr. Garza, you have two minutes. Thank you for inviting me out. I want to talk first about the Highland Oaks. My record as State Representative of District 117 is providing basic services and improving services to the outlying county areas. So that would, of course, include roads, basic sewer systems, water. So I commit to expand those services, not only to Highland Oaks, but many of the areas of the cost, Sandy Oaks, as many outlying areas that need basic services. The second as far as facilities for the children, I believe, yes, that mission facility is there. It needs to be funded, but we also need the schools and other public entities to share in opening their facilities to the children in the outlying areas for sports, exercise, and other activities for the community. Also, as far as committing to you as a commissioner to make sure that there's efficiencies in every department, and those people that are working and working hard get that wage that can help them support their family. And last of all, Project Quest met with me in my office in Austin, being here in San Antonio Bayer County. I do commit to work with them and other organizations to increase higher education and training programs through Project Quest, but also other organizations and the school districts and other public entities. There's plenty of money out there. And with all the legacy projects that the county is involved in, spending millions and millions of dollars in parks and things that they can name after their names, we need basic services. We need roads. We need sewer. We need medical and transportation in the outer county area to bring students to college classes, to emergency medical services out in the outlying county areas for emergencies like what happened to your daughter. There should be a clinic around the corner, just like there is in the city. So these are commitments I've made in the past, and I will continue to represent you in the county commissioners' court. Thank you very much. Thank you for inviting me back. I was here in the early 60s with Father E. Bishop, C.C.D. and Sister Agnes for a bit of a while. On the Hundred Oaks subdivision, Mom and I have traveled that neighborhood. She said a reminder of the real problem which she used to live in Mexico. So it's just horrendous. It's a public safety issue, not just an issue about convenience. When you can't, I spent 34 years with the bar department. So if you can't get into a scene, it's an issue. So I definitely support getting that fixed. The community center, yes, but with some stipulations. And it's not just a community center that it's also be used for perhaps looking after our kids or after school care programs or education for diabetic training and other issues as such. Cops Metro, the rate, the minimum wage. It's not just a matter of dignity. It's just not just about getting out of government subsidizing. It's about keeping good employees. They're having an issue with their county where their turnover rate is just really high, especially in the detention center where they're spending thousands of dollars to train their detention officers just for them to go and find another job. So that's definitely an issue. And the last one with Cops Metro, I visited with Sister Pearl about two months ago. I've seen the return of investment that they offer. It's phenomenal. So I definitely support Cops Metro with Project Quest and other programs. I remember back in high school, Sarnia was the part we were back in. That's the other kind of programs I'd like to promote. That's where we need to be focusing on our children, not just projects in the downtown area. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Lara. Mrs. Mora? Thank the candidates for being here tonight. I appreciate your presence. But I have one more question to ask you. Will you commit, if you're elected, will you meet with Cops Metro within the two weeks after being elected and then quarterly thereafter? Do you have your commitment to meet with us? We do that when we have new candidates. We'll sleep for two weeks. I'll do the day after. We'll give you time to rest. Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Cruz and Ms. Martinez, will escort you all out of the hall as we move to the next part of our agenda. Thank you very much and good night. If you've been watching the news regarding the candidates who are to lead our nation, this election is different than any other election we have seen in our lifetime. Like never before, it is important that we all exercise our right to vote. We need to get our own families and our neighbors to go vote. It's up to us, the voters, to decide who will lead their nation. We do not tell you who to vote for. You make up your own mind as to who you want to vote for, but go vote. Your vote is your voice. Suvoto es su voz. Early voting began today, as you know, October 24th. And it's going to run through November the 4th. So it is best to vote early. By voting early, you will avoid the long lines that are expected to form on November the 8th, the actual election date. If the lines are long now, now for early voting, I heard today, can you imagine how it's going to be on November the 8th? So but if you vote early, you can vote at any of the voting places listed on the schedule. You all have picked up a schedule of the voting places. Does everybody have one? Does everybody have one of these sheets that tells you where to go to vote? You can go to the mall, to the library, and here in the south side of the Lovation Library, well, some of these are located. You can go to La Spalma's Library. On the Testerville Road, Collins Garden Library, South Park Mall, that's where I go to the regular shopping. South Sand ISD Administrative Building, Precinct One Satellite Office. It's the one where you pay your taxes, I believe on Pleasant Road. Palo Alto College, Southside Administrative Building. So if you can get one of these papers, we have them up there on the table to take with you. Don't wait too long. You have stars today and they'll run through November the 4th. Remember, when you go vote, we encourage you to not vote a party line. Don't just say, whatever party you want to choose because there are many important elections like the San Antonio ISD and the South Sand ISD elections if you're belonging to those school districts. You will miss out on them if you go the party line. So you need to go race by race and make your choice all the way through. Your duty as a citizen does not stop at the party or the president instead. It requires us to vote all the way through the ballot. Father, the son of a loving father, we thank you for bringing us together and keeping us together as your children as a community. We ask you to guide our leaders, help them know to bring us justice, to bring fairness to your community. We ask you to send your angels to watch over us and keep us safe as we leave here and go home. We ask this in the name of your son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you. Thank you for being here.