LOCAL ELECTIONS
The upcoming election has seats for San Marcos Mayor and San Marcos City Council member Place 5 and Place 6. The San Marcos Civics Club hosted a candidates forum on Oct. 28 at Tantra so that the public could interact with the candidates and hear their views on key issues.
San Marcos Mayoral candidates are incumbent Jane Hughson and Miguel Arredondo.
Hughson said she is a Rattler and a Bobcat that has lived in San Marcos most of her life. She is running again because there are projects that she’d like the opportunity to continue to work on. She listed some of the items she has supported while on council.
“Over the last few years, regarding housing, we have approved over 3,000 units specifically for low to moderate income that's at different levels of low income — 30%, 50%, etc. — for the adjusted median income. However, for some, the most affordable house that they have is the one that they're already in. So we have allocated almost a million dollars, again from federal funding, to help people get their houses back in order,” Hughson said. “Workforce Training is something that's near and dear to my heart. Austin Community College is teaching some HVAC classes at our library. So far we've had about 30 people finish with a certification. They're ready to go out and make a living without student debt.”
Hughson also discussed homelessness and renter’ rights.
“Regarding those who are unsheltered, our city staff have a huge heart,” Hughson said. “They have started a warehouse where residents can donate a couch, art for the wall, cooking utensils, etc., and that's where we can actually fill a home for people that now are no longer unsheltered. …City code compliance can help with certain issues, but for those that they that's not in their wheelhouse, we have contracted with the Austin tenant council. It used to be a $12,000 contract. It is now an $80,000 contract that provides a much higher level of service.”
Arredondo said he went to school at San Marcos CISD and later Texas State University. He has also served as a trustee for SMCISD.
“Then [I] decided to start giving back to the community that had given me so much,” Arredondo said. “For the last nine years, I’ve been advocating for our students, families, faculty, staff and taxpayers in the school district. In that time, we provided our ISD staff with historic salary and benefit increases, making sure that we are investing in our people. We've invested heavily in our students, making sure that we have social emotional counselors at every campus. We've approved a universal breakfast and lunch program, really just punctuating my belief and my commitment to making sure that our neighbors have the essentials that they need to not only survive but to thrive” For Place 6, Amanda Rodriguez was in attendance, but her opponent, Maraya Dunn, was not. Rodriguez is a native San Marcan and a policy writer by trade.
“When you look at our budget, almost 25% of our budget goes to police. That's a quarter. For social services, that's less than $500,000, which totals out to less than 0.5%. Need I say more? That's horrific,” Rodriguez said. “I go talk to the people and their most important issue is, ‘How am I going to pay my next bill? How am I going to feed myself and my family?’ And I mentioned I'm 28 years old; These were the same questions that my mother was asking when she was raising me back then, and it's still existing now.”
Rodiguez would like the people’s votes as long as they’re willing to give them.
“I want to sit there and be a part of this dias for however long the people will have me,” Rodriguez said. “So that y'all know that you don't have to show up to city council every time if you can't, but you know that somebody's there who gives a damn and who's willing to sit there and take the time to learn… and talk with the people.”
For Place 5, Roland Saucedo, Atom Von Arndt and Lorenzo Gonzalez were in attendance but Griffin Spell was not.
Gonzalez said he’d like to be more accessible to the public than he feels the current council is.
“I'm running to be your voice on city council,” Gonzalez said. “I want to be on that dias and represent you, even if your issue isn't personally my issue, I want to be accessible to you, come to things like this, meet our constituents where they're at and get your opinion on things.
“I want to change the culture of city council and the transparency of city council and make it a true representation of our… residents.”
Von Arndt wanted to address the housing crisis in San Marcos as well as making community gatherings less cost prohibitive.
“The rent by the bed model … is totally draining this town dry. Not only are the leases that you sign when you move into a place like this entirely predatory. But on top of that, they are alienating families. My baby mama is being kicked out of her house up the street there because they are building more student housing,” Von Arndt said, adding that these types of complexes often get purchased by Texas State University, which is not required to pay city taxes. “Then we see things like Hell Ride getting shut down. We see the just for fun parade, the Mermaid Parade getting handed a bill for 20 grand, saying, ‘If you want to do this, this is how much it costs.’ Why does our city need this money? Because all the money is getting taken in this town by the damn University. So I stand for Hell Ride. I stand for the Mermaid Parade. I love a good parade, and I don't like the fact that now they're all cost prohibitive.”
Roland Saucedo is a local San Marcan who has been involved in government since he was 12 years old.
“Before I was even old enough to vote, I advocated. I have fought from my community — all parts of this city, not only my neighborhood. I'm a huge advocate. Anybody that knows me [knows what I stand for] is for neighborhoods and protecting our cultural heritage,” Saucedo said. “The majority of the neighbors that I have have lived there all their lives, but the ones that the parents have passed away and the kids or the grandkids couldn't afford to maintain the home, couldn't afford the taxes. What happens? It gets sold to somebody else — a developer, and then what do they do? They come and they tear down that house and build a house that is not comparable to the neighborhood. … And what happens is people like me are easier to push out because we can't afford the taxes. So the whole reason that I want to be on the city council is because I want to be part of that conversation.”
Election day is Nov. 5, and polling locations are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
