It is the first day post-election in San Antonio. Julian Castro is now the Mayor-elect of the City of San Antonio. He was able to garner enough votes to avoid a run-off in his second bid for the office. Castro got the support of 54% of voters (42,745 votes), Trish DeBerry-Mejia came in second place with 29% (22,031 votes). The one person I definitely did not want to be elected Mayor, Diane Cibrian only received a paltry 8% of the vote (6,181 votes). Shelia McNeil (whose connection to tax-payer funded trips, including the Inauguration; and having city workers paint her fence may have hurt her chances) recieved only 4% of the vote (2,962 votes). Here are links to interviews from KENS 5 with each of the four major candidates:
Diane considered tonights bleak performance a victory for her? Trish spoke tonight about needing more people to be involved in the process, and that more people need to get out and vote in city elections. She would have been a great choice for the City of San Antonio. She was the only candidate who had real business experience and could have led a city that needs to manage its budget and still provide basic city services. DeBerry-Mejia also spoke out during the campaign about Castro’s links to unions, and his support for “meet and confer” legislation in the Texas Legislature. And with a low turnout overall in San Antonio, those last minute robo-calls (likely backed by Cibrian or Castro) could have made a difference in this race.
Trish ran a quality campaign. She promised supporters at her campaign headquarters tonight that “this will not be the last you see of Trish DeBerry-Mejia.” I certainly hope that it isn’t. I am glad that I supported Trish for Mayor, and I was glad to volunteer and help out in any way that I could. And of course thanks goes out to all the College Republicans, who lent their support and volunteer hours to the Trish campaign. In the history of CR support for Mayoral candidates, we have improved. In 2005, the candidate we supported came in third. Now, our candidate has come in second. Next time, who knows maybe we can be vicotrious and take City Hall. But now begins a new phase of this blog that covers politics. We now will transition into keeping Castro and the new City Hall honest, and I look forward to that.
On Monday, San Antonio Living on News 4 WOAI hosted a Mayoral “Debate” with the four leading candidates for San Antonio Mayor. If you don’t know who they are, they include Shelia McNeil, Julian Castro, Diane Cibrian, and Trish DeBerry-Mejia. The show started with an opening roundtable discussion with all four candidates. [CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO]. Diane was trotting out the same old argument against Trish about her firm being involved in the process of building toll roads (a claim that I haven’t fully been able to investigate). But there are no active contracts to build toll roads. Diane didn’t want to talk about the fact that there was a recall campaign against her by the Texas Toll Party for her roll in toll roads with her work on the MPO. The video is an interesting 11 minutes long. Diane seems to pick up ideas along the way … parroting what other candidates say and co-opting the ideas and making them her own.
Then the four candidates sat down for individual one-on-ones with the host, Shelly Miles. In the order they took place:
I can’t figure out how to download these videos off of the dayport system that WOAI uses … if anyone knows how to let me know I would like to post them on to YouTube so that they are visible in case WOAI takes them off their system.
I have made it clear that I have endorsed Trish DeBerry-Mejia. She has practical business experience that can help this city realize its true priorities. But the videos are their so in the words of Fox News … I present. You Decide.
Go to the San Antonio Current for a live streamed online Town Hall Meeting with the candidates for San Antonio Mayor at 6:30 PM (CT) on April 14, 2009 (Tuesday)
Get more information from the San Antonio Current. SA Conservative will have full post-Town Hall coverage after the event.
REMEMBER: Early Voting for the San Antonio Municipal Elections (May 9th) will begin April 27th.
Little known candidate for Mayor of San Antonio, Napoleon Madrid, claimed that he got into the Mayor’s race because he felt that the other candidates weren’t addressing the right issues. But maybe he agreed with at least one candidate’s issue stances. This from the San Antonio Express-News website (www.mysa.com): I put some comments of my own in Italics next to some of the quotes…Just FYI
Madrid’s “Issues and Concerns” page on his Web site was nearly identical to the platform on Trish DeBerry-Mejia’s campaign site, including the order in which each issue was presented. The text was copied word for word in its entirety.
Madrid pulled the page down from his site Friday, shortly after a San Antonio Express-News reporter asked him how the two pages could be identical.
“No way,” he responded initially. “All I can tell you is the interns that were working on mine, I know that they went to everybody else’s to check it out. I can’t tell you on that, sir, to be honest with you.
“I would have never done that,” he said. “I don’t plagiarize nothing.” – Maybe Madrid should know not to use a double negative like ‘I don’t … nothing’ It’s … anything.
Madrid, who has said he believes theft is wrong, denied that he’d stolen from DeBerry-Mejia and placed the blame on an intern: “He was a student from, um, St. Philip’s (College).” – So you not only pawn off the responsibility to someone else, but you can’t even remember where he was an intern from? Sounds like you know whats going on in your campaign … and you wonder what would happen if you were Mayor.
When DeBerry-Mejia initially learned her platform had been hijacked, she said: “I didn’t even know Napoleon had a Web site.” – I didn’t even know he was running for Mayor.
Nonetheless, she was bothered by it. In all her years of journalism and public relations work, DeBerry-Mejia said, she’s never been plagiarized.
“I put a lot of time and effort and thought into that, so naturally, it’s disappointing that somebody would be that blatant,” she said. “But I guess you could always look at it as a compliment because the old expression is imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
DeBerry-Mejia recalled meeting Madrid for the first time after a February candidate forum at Jefferson High School.
“He came up to me that night and said, ‘It was very nice to hear you and they’re great ideas you have, and when I get into office, I’d certainly appreciate it if you’d consider being my deputy mayor,’” she said.
San Antonio doesn’t have a deputy mayor position, but Madrid has said he would fire the city manager and create the deputy position instead.
Madrid, too, noted that he’d met DeBerry-Mejia at the February forum. He said he recalls giving her some of his campaign issues and raised the question of whether she might have borrowed from him.
“No, we absolutely did not,” she said.
In a Friday e-mail to the Express-News, Madrid reiterated his stance that he did not plagiarize his opponent’s Web site.
“I never need to copy anyone because whom I am, and what I am is a Christian,” he wrote. – What exactly does being Christian have to do with it … oh yes … nothing …
Here are links to the pages in question … so you can decide for yourself:
Graffiti is a problem in the City of San Antonio (CoSA). Residents are fined if gang members (“taggers”) tag their property (I suppose they would also be fined if they tagged their own property … I guess). Residents must also paint their own fences or property at their own expense … that is unless your in City Council. Councilwoman (and candidate for Mayor) Sheila McNeil had CoSA workers paint her fence on her property on the east side. Here is the story from KENS 5 Eyewittness News:
Neighbors in the Sunrise Subdivision on the Eastside say tagging sprouts like weeds in the spring. So, who cleans it up? Homeowners are supposed to make the repairs. But some are complaining city councilwoman Sheila McNeil got city crews to clean up hers.
McNeil claimed a harship, as city crews re-painted her fence Monday. But KENS-5 could find no record of chronic tagging problems at her home.
Her neighbors, on the other hand, have been cited by code compliance for their graffit problems. They say it’s not fair.
“Her fence gets tagged, and the city comes out and paints her fence. Now, what makes her so much better that she gets her fence painted and we have to do it ourselves, out of our own pocket and the city pays for hers?” said homeowner Robert Hewitt.
There are changes proposed for the city ordinance that deals with graffiti. However, those changes haven’t made it before the council yet.
I guess Councilwoman McNeil’s hardship was that she has a campaign to run. In these kind of economic times when people might not have the money to pay for paint … Sheila McNeil made everyone in this City pay to paint her fence. Now with nearly two million people in this city the cost is in theory minimal to everyone, but the graffiti abatement program is not your personal Honey-Do program. Its irresponsible. She also probably had it done because she is running for Mayor. How would it look if a Mayoral candidate has graffiti on her property? Perish the thought. Here is a link to the video: http://www.kens5.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=345174&shu=1
I will continue to follow this story … trust me I will.
Diane Cibrian, who if you read this blog you know I don’t support on a personal level, apparently has more trouble than just practing debate responses and seeming relaxed as a candidate. Let’s just say that Diane Cibrian and the media don’t necessarily get along unless she can make you ask the questions she wants you to ask. This video is from an interview with FOX 29 News (KABB-TV in San Antonio) and Sylvia Rincon. She doesn’t understand that this is an interview and not a Mayoral forum. Notice that when she finally answers the question she tries to tie her and Phil Hardberger together (because she wants you to think that she is the next Phil Hardberger). Like I said before, she is unprofessional and if she can’t handle an interview … how’s she going handle being Mayor? Who storms out of an interview like that Diane? Was it because they didn’t ask you about strip clubs or how you and Phil Hardberger are the same people. Here is a hint Diane… YOU ARE NOT PHIL HARDBERGER, YOU ARE A HORRIBLE CITY COUNCIL PERSON. I am one of your constituents and I don’t think you’ve done a lot for our city except try to dictate what businesses open where in this city. And while we are at it … you can stop with the whole I’ve done this and I’ve done that … it sounds pretentious and conceited. You were afraid how they would cut the footage of this interview? That’s always concern number one … that’s why you practice and know how to put your ideas into good quality soundbites. Give them a ton of footage of you bitching about the interview … and thats all they have to show.
This interview was last month but I was just informed of it’s existance. Leave a comment… Let me know what you think. Diane also seems very worried about Julian Castro. Here’s another tip Diane … stop trying to pretend your a Republican and for small businesses … we all know your a liberal … don’t try and hide it. Remember “I will not vote to lower taxes” at the UTSA Debate … yeah thats what you really think.
Last night, the four leading candidates for San Antonio Mayor were at the University of Texas-San Antonio for a 90-minute Mayoral Debate. These four candidates were Trish DeBerry Mejia, Julian Castro, Sheila McNeil, and Diane Cibrian. I think the debate shows that this race is really between Trish and Julian, Sheila and Diane left something to be desired (specifically the latter). There were plenty of interesting moments that I will share with you.
Julian stuck to his basic message he had back in 2005 that you shouldn’t have to go away for college “to make your dreams happen.” Even though he could have gone to St. Mary’s for college and law school but didn’t.
I was right when I previously said that Diane Cibrian wants to you to think she is the next Phil Hardberger when she was asked if there was one thing she disagreed with the Mayor on. Sheila mentioned the new Parade Ordinance and I can’t remember what Julian said, but Diane looked at each of them and said basically ‘Well, that wasn’t the mayor who did that.” She then proceeded to say that there was nothing she disagreed with Mayor Hardberger on and that he has just been fantastic. While Mayor Hardberger has been a great Mayor, I think everyone in town can come up with at least one thing they didn’t like that he has led on. (For me its Main Plaza … I just don’t get why it was done).
It really was a bad debate night for Diane Cibrian. She needs to practice what she might say and do a lot more prep before she does this again. There were two very prominent missteps. First was the question of raising property taxes in Bexar County. Diane first said “I will not support a vote to lower property taxes.” She would later correct herself … but its a quote that will live on for her. The other was on the subject of the rumored sale of Market Square. While Diane may have meant to say she didn’t support the sale … she said, “I do not support Market Square and I never have.”
Trish was the first to discuss desalination investment as way to diversify the San Antonio area’s water supply away from relying solely on the Edwards Aquafer.
Trish also focused on small businesses and helping them thrive in San Antonio, as well as regional partnership with areas around SA like Austin, the Valley, etc.
The entire night Diane tried to one up the other candidates (I know that kind of the point) by calling them out and staring at them while she basically verbally face slapped them. It was unprofessional and a very noticable lack of class.
The other thing about Diane was that she tried to make it seem like she was working with every committee on every topic. A friend of mine said that if there was a question about Mars and aliens, she would claim to be working on a city committee with NASA to ensure it happened. My question is … what results has Diane Cibrian gotten if shes been doing all that. Not enough to be mayor if you ask me.
Julian constantly seemed to be speaking down to me … and picked up on a lot of what other candidates said before it got to him. If he went first it was a lot of generalities. He also moved away from promising that he wouldn’t raise taxes, saying that no Mayor could responsibly say that … it just sounded like we were stupid for thinking that a Mayor would try to lower the burden of taxes from the government. I guess we were wrong.
So after all of that I came to the conclusion that Trish DeBerry Mejia is the best choice for the next Mayor of San Antonio. She has the leadership and creativity to move the City of San Antonio forward. For more information on Trish, visit her website at www.trishformayor.com.
It is the first day post-election in San Antonio. Julian Castro is now the Mayor-elect of the City of San Antonio. He was able to garner enough votes to avoid a run-off in his second bid for the office. Castro got the support of 54% of voters (42,745 votes), Trish DeBerry-Mejia came in second place with 29% (22,031 votes). The one person I definitely did not want to be elected Mayor, Diane Cibrian only received a paltry 8% of the vote (6,181 votes). Shelia McNeil (whose connection to tax-payer funded trips, including the Inauguration; and having city workers paint her fence may have hurt her chances) recieved only 4% of the vote (2,962 votes). Here are links to interviews from KENS 5 with each of the four major candidates:
On Monday, San Antonio Living on News 4 WOAI hosted a Mayoral “Debate” with the four leading candidates for San Antonio Mayor. If you don’t know who they are, they include Shelia McNeil, Julian Castro, Diane Cibrian, and Trish DeBerry-Mejia. The show started with an opening roundtable discussion with all four candidates. [
