{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"startTime":2.72,"endTime":6.16,"body":"Welcome to Big City Small Town, the weekly podcast all about San"},{"startTime":6.16,"endTime":9.76,"body":"Antonio and the people who make it go and grow. I'm your host, Bob"},{"startTime":9.76,"endTime":13.139,"body":"Rivard. This week's guest is mayoral candidate"},{"startTime":13.545,"endTime":17.165,"body":"Rolando Pavlos, who has been on the podcast once already."},{"startTime":17.545,"endTime":21.225,"body":"But now that we are in the runoff, we invited the two runoff candidates, Gina"},{"startTime":21.225,"endTime":24.845,"body":"Ortiz Jones and Rolando Pavlos, back on. Rolando"},{"startTime":25.305,"endTime":28.939,"body":"Pavlos said yes. Gina Ortiz Jones campaign said"},{"startTime":28.939,"endTime":32.699,"body":"no. So here we go. This will be the last, podcast on the"},{"startTime":32.699,"endTime":36.059,"body":"mayoral race. And for those of you that are not yet"},{"startTime":36.059,"endTime":39.82,"body":"Monday Musing newsletter subscribers, I wanna make a pitch"},{"startTime":39.82,"endTime":43.605,"body":"that you sign up today. Just go to bigcitysmalltown.com"},{"startTime":43.605,"endTime":47.125,"body":"on our home page and put your email in. No cost. No"},{"startTime":47.125,"endTime":50.265,"body":"spam. And you'll get on my newsletter,"},{"startTime":50.805,"endTime":54.324,"body":"in time to read my Monday one coming up where I will share"},{"startTime":54.324,"endTime":57.464,"body":"my final thoughts about this mayoral contest."},{"startTime":58.57,"endTime":62.329,"body":"Regular, listeners and and, watchers of the podcast know that we"},{"startTime":62.329,"endTime":65.93,"body":"endorsed Beto in the first round, but, Beto is no"},{"startTime":65.93,"endTime":69.31,"body":"longer a candidate, and, it's time to make a decision."},{"startTime":69.69,"endTime":73.305,"body":"Early voting starts Tuesday, so my Monday newsletter will"},{"startTime":73.305,"endTime":77.065,"body":"have my last thoughts on the mayor's race. Thanks for joining us. And"},{"startTime":77.065,"endTime":80.905,"body":"Rolando Pavlos, thanks for being with us. Thanks for having me. I will"},{"startTime":80.905,"endTime":84.42,"body":"always come on. That's a deal. I should"},{"startTime":84.42,"endTime":87.94,"body":"probably say that, you know, you were born in Mexico. Your parents"},{"startTime":87.94,"endTime":91.64,"body":"immigrated to Texas. You're rooted in San Antonio."},{"startTime":91.7,"endTime":95.38,"body":"You went to Saint Mary's Law School. You're you're an attorney. I think"},{"startTime":95.38,"endTime":99.185,"body":"people most associate you with some of your high profile political appointments,"},{"startTime":99.405,"endTime":103.165,"body":"notably being secretary of state, and,"},{"startTime":103.485,"endTime":107.165,"body":"your interest in economic development, which has been a key part of your your"},{"startTime":107.165,"endTime":110.845,"body":"campaign to date. But, the fact is, long before"},{"startTime":110.845,"endTime":114.18,"body":"that, you were a practicing attorney here in San Antonio. So"},{"startTime":114.66,"endTime":118.02,"body":"anything else about your biography that you wanna share with people who may not have"},{"startTime":118.02,"endTime":121.62,"body":"tuned in until now? Yes. I've I've actually run three state"},{"startTime":121.62,"endTime":125.38,"body":"agencies. You mentioned secretary of state. I was always I was also on the public"},{"startTime":125.38,"endTime":129.22,"body":"utility commission regulating electricity. What years were that?"},{"startTime":129.22,"endTime":132.895,"body":"The medication? 11/12. Oh, right there. And I was"},{"startTime":132.895,"endTime":136.515,"body":"also on the Texas Racing Commission. That's a law enforcement regulatory"},{"startTime":136.655,"endTime":140.415,"body":"body, that regulates dog and horse racing, pari"},{"startTime":140.415,"endTime":144.06,"body":"mutuel, betting here in Texas. Who knew?"},{"startTime":144.14,"endTime":147.9,"body":"Who knew, right? We have a we have a a summer out here. I"},{"startTime":147.9,"endTime":151.599,"body":"know the summer track. Sure. Remind people when you serve as secretary of state."},{"startTime":151.9,"endTime":155.58,"body":"I served for the entirety of '17 and '18. Okay."},{"startTime":155.58,"endTime":159.015,"body":"Yeah. Two years. That's that's normal. That's"},{"startTime":159.015,"endTime":162.614,"body":"standard. Right. That's what I committed to doing. Well, let's"},{"startTime":162.614,"endTime":165.814,"body":"talk about the campaign, and it's been a long one. I'm sure you're feeling it"},{"startTime":165.814,"endTime":169.655,"body":"more than we are. Particularly Stronger than ever. Particularly with the runoff,"},{"startTime":169.655,"endTime":173.2,"body":"but we're in the home stretch. Yeah. What, what feels"},{"startTime":173.2,"endTime":176.26,"body":"different to you about yourself, your campaign, the city"},{"startTime":176.96,"endTime":180.72,"body":"compared to, the day you announced? What have you I guess, what have you"},{"startTime":180.72,"endTime":184.56,"body":"learned on the campaign trail? Or Well, I'll tell you. So whenever"},{"startTime":184.56,"endTime":188.265,"body":"I first, you know, started talking to folks, friends about the"},{"startTime":188.265,"endTime":192.025,"body":"idea of running, you know, I got mixed reactions from folks. But I"},{"startTime":192.025,"endTime":195.784,"body":"knew that I really wanted to do this. And so as I progressed"},{"startTime":195.784,"endTime":199.564,"body":"through this almost last year, year and a half, that's what it's been,"},{"startTime":200.49,"endTime":204.03,"body":"You know, the the support that's been growing, the momentum"},{"startTime":204.09,"endTime":207.47,"body":"that's been growing, I think has been the most surprising, especially, obviously,"},{"startTime":207.85,"endTime":211.53,"body":"after the runoff. After the runoff, the outpouring of support has"},{"startTime":211.53,"endTime":214.985,"body":"been incredible from all folks from the"},{"startTime":214.985,"endTime":218.605,"body":"community. I mean, we are truly building a broad based coalition."},{"startTime":218.665,"endTime":222.505,"body":"It feels it feels special, and I'm"},{"startTime":222.505,"endTime":226.105,"body":"honored because, for people to approach you who you don't know, who have"},{"startTime":226.105,"endTime":229.04,"body":"never met, who want to come on board,"},{"startTime":229.5,"endTime":233.12,"body":"and and participate in this movement. I mean, it's it's an honor."},{"startTime":233.819,"endTime":237.66,"body":"Your your public service has been aligned, with"},{"startTime":237.66,"endTime":241.36,"body":"the Republican Party, Gina Ortiz Jones with the Democratic Party."},{"startTime":242.195,"endTime":245.975,"body":"My producer, Corey Aames and I were, hypothesizing"},{"startTime":247.235,"endTime":250.595,"body":"after the first round that maybe, the nature of that would"},{"startTime":250.595,"endTime":253.895,"body":"somehow attract more voters. We've had such a dismal"},{"startTime":254.47,"endTime":258.23,"body":"level of participation in local elections compared to how people vote in"},{"startTime":258.23,"endTime":261.75,"body":"the state and national elections. I just wonder how you feel"},{"startTime":261.75,"endTime":265.43,"body":"about, the likelihood of a more robust turnout"},{"startTime":265.43,"endTime":269.125,"body":"in the runoff than in the first round. It's we don't really have the"},{"startTime":269.125,"endTime":272.965,"body":"kind of independent polling in our city that would give us a a"},{"startTime":272.965,"endTime":276.645,"body":"real measure. And, at this stage, I don't feel like I have"},{"startTime":276.645,"endTime":280.485,"body":"any idea what's gonna happen. Welcome to the club. No. I'm"},{"startTime":280.485,"endTime":284.0,"body":"just kidding. Well, let me let me go back to your initial comment about,"},{"startTime":284.46,"endTime":288.22,"body":"my public service. It hasn't all been partisan. I served"},{"startTime":288.22,"endTime":291.74,"body":"under Phil Hartberger and Ed Garza here in town. Okay. You"},{"startTime":291.74,"endTime":295.58,"body":"know, if if you go on to my website, publisformayor.com, you'll see"},{"startTime":295.58,"endTime":298.735,"body":"all of my public service, particularly here in San Antonio."},{"startTime":299.595,"endTime":303.435,"body":"I have volunteered half my time my entire career. So you look"},{"startTime":303.435,"endTime":306.955,"body":"at all the boards and commissions, nonprofits that have been a part of"},{"startTime":306.955,"endTime":310.635,"body":"here, I think that that that also needs to be accounted for when we're"},{"startTime":310.635,"endTime":314.01,"body":"talking about my public service. So it's broader than just those three"},{"startTime":314.01,"endTime":317.45,"body":"agencies, those three appointments that the governor's put me on. I've done a lot of"},{"startTime":317.45,"endTime":321.13,"body":"work here locally. Well, let me stop you right there because, people do"},{"startTime":321.13,"endTime":324.89,"body":"associate you more with some high level state appointments you've had. So"},{"startTime":324.89,"endTime":328.005,"body":"talk about some of the things you've done locally. I I should say that I"},{"startTime":328.005,"endTime":331.685,"body":"think you've been on the greater SATX economic development board. I've been on"},{"startTime":331.685,"endTime":335.285,"body":"the executive committee of greater SATX. I I served as"},{"startTime":335.285,"endTime":338.805,"body":"chairman of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber. That's right. What year was"},{"startTime":338.805,"endTime":342.6,"body":"that? 09/00/2010. Actually, it was two years. It was kinda combined with"},{"startTime":342.6,"endTime":346.28,"body":"Fernando Reyes, so observed two years. I brought Ramiro Cavazos on board."},{"startTime":346.28,"endTime":350.06,"body":"Okay. And that's when we moved the chamber to the Pearl. We got"},{"startTime":350.28,"endTime":353.74,"body":"a five star accreditation during my tenure. We work with Charlie,"},{"startTime":354.68,"endTime":358.515,"body":"with Saint Mary's University to try to bring a"},{"startTime":358.835,"endTime":362.195,"body":"President Cottrell. Cottrell. Sorry. I've tried to droop. It's alright. Charlie"},{"startTime":362.195,"endTime":365.955,"body":"Cottrell, and we created the Saved Institute. So we did all that"},{"startTime":365.955,"endTime":369.655,"body":"through there. I've been a professor at UTSA, professor of tourism."},{"startTime":370.035,"endTime":373.53,"body":"I brought the Conrad Hilton College of Hotel Restaurant Management and I was a professor"},{"startTime":373.53,"endTime":377.21,"body":"there, hospitality law. I've served, you"},{"startTime":377.21,"endTime":380.889,"body":"know, from Phil Hartberger. I was on the homelessness task force. I"},{"startTime":380.889,"endTime":384.664,"body":"served on the SPADA committee. I was I was actually chairman when we"},{"startTime":384.664,"endTime":388.264,"body":"implemented the SPADA ordinance for small business here in"},{"startTime":388.264,"endTime":391.625,"body":"town. And the list is long. I just rolled off at Morgan's Wonderland five"},{"startTime":391.625,"endTime":394.985,"body":"years. I serve on the board"},{"startTime":394.985,"endTime":398.365,"body":"of Special Olympics Texas. I still do that right now."},{"startTime":399.199,"endTime":402.26,"body":"You know, my my community service is long, extensive,"},{"startTime":403.04,"endTime":406.88,"body":"and it's beyond reproach. You know, remember the the Free Trade"},{"startTime":406.88,"endTime":410.56,"body":"Alliance. I chair the Free Trade Alliance. You know, Tom"},{"startTime":410.56,"endTime":414.354,"body":"Frost, Mr. Frost asked me to serve there. So all that,"},{"startTime":414.354,"endTime":417.395,"body":"you know, has nothing to do with partisan. It has to do with my love"},{"startTime":417.395,"endTime":420.995,"body":"for this community and and me giving back to this community just like I wanna"},{"startTime":420.995,"endTime":424.595,"body":"give back now. I just wanna do it in a different way where now after"},{"startTime":424.595,"endTime":427.815,"body":"all these years my entire career of developing a skill set"},{"startTime":428.17,"endTime":431.95,"body":"that will benefit the community, I believe in economic development,"},{"startTime":432.89,"endTime":436.73,"body":"in business, international trade. I'll be able to bring all that to"},{"startTime":436.73,"endTime":440.35,"body":"the table. And so this is where we are now. As to"},{"startTime":440.685,"endTime":443.585,"body":"where we believe we are, I think we're in a great position."},{"startTime":444.605,"endTime":448.445,"body":"You know, no one can really predict right now. There'll probably be some some,"},{"startTime":449.085,"endTime":452.685,"body":"you know, polls out there that are coming out, but we believe that we're in"},{"startTime":452.685,"endTime":456.49,"body":"a great position to take this. Alright. And we're gonna talk a"},{"startTime":456.49,"endTime":458.75,"body":"lot about economic development."},{"startTime":460.33,"endTime":464.17,"body":"And do I recall that you somehow studied hospitality before you became a"},{"startTime":464.17,"endTime":467.53,"body":"lawyer? Is that I did. I that's in the back of my mind. I did."},{"startTime":467.53,"endTime":471.095,"body":"And so I'll tell you, I I worked at restaurants"},{"startTime":471.555,"endTime":475.395,"body":"practically all through school. Okay. You know, my parents, you know, they"},{"startTime":475.395,"endTime":479.155,"body":"they weren't able to to pay our entire way. You know, I I I"},{"startTime":479.155,"endTime":482.76,"body":"paid myself I I went through school with grants and loans,"},{"startTime":483.0,"endTime":486.52,"body":"but I also had to, you know, work, to pay for my room and"},{"startTime":486.52,"endTime":490.3,"body":"board. So I did some work study at Saint Mary's at the beginning."},{"startTime":491.8,"endTime":495.24,"body":"And then I found really good work in restaurants, especially because I was"},{"startTime":495.24,"endTime":498.824,"body":"bilingual. I was able to work with the kitchen guys, and and then eventually, you"},{"startTime":498.824,"endTime":502.585,"body":"know, I washed dishes and and and and and did cooking. And then"},{"startTime":502.585,"endTime":506.185,"body":"eventually, I moved to the dining room side and I cleaned tables, but"},{"startTime":506.185,"endTime":510.025,"body":"then I I got promoted to waiter. And so I I"},{"startTime":510.025,"endTime":513.145,"body":"waited tables for a long time. That's how Laura and I met, my wife and"},{"startTime":513.145,"endTime":516.679,"body":"I met. But then when she she was a dental student, she"},{"startTime":516.679,"endTime":520.059,"body":"got, admitted to the Houston, orthodontic"},{"startTime":520.36,"endTime":524.199,"body":"program, at at the UT Health Science Center"},{"startTime":524.199,"endTime":528.04,"body":"in Houston. We moved to Houston and that's when I discovered that the University of"},{"startTime":528.04,"endTime":531.485,"body":"Houston, that the Conrad Hilton College offered a master's in"},{"startTime":531.485,"endTime":535.165,"body":"hospitality. And I just I fell in love with it because I didn't"},{"startTime":535.165,"endTime":539.005,"body":"realize that you could actually study what I've been working, all these"},{"startTime":539.005,"endTime":541.965,"body":"years. Well, I've been working on all these years. So I got a master's in"},{"startTime":541.965,"endTime":545.35,"body":"hospitality management with a specialty in gaming, and hence,"},{"startTime":545.73,"endTime":549.17,"body":"that's how my first job came to be. And also that's why I did the"},{"startTime":549.17,"endTime":552.93,"body":"racing commission. That's where does that fit? And is your wife a a"},{"startTime":552.93,"endTime":556.07,"body":"practicing orthodontist? So Laura had a thriving,"},{"startTime":556.45,"endTime":559.915,"body":"practice, orthodontic practice. But when"},{"startTime":559.915,"endTime":563.755,"body":"Mia, our third born, came to this world, she, she was"},{"startTime":563.755,"endTime":567.515,"body":"born with Down syndrome. So at that moment, we decided that Laura should stay"},{"startTime":567.515,"endTime":571.23,"body":"home. Early childhood intervention is very important. And she sold"},{"startTime":571.23,"endTime":574.53,"body":"her practice and it broke her heart because she just loved her patients."},{"startTime":575.31,"endTime":579.07,"body":"And so she'd been staying home since, but now Laura's a public school teacher."},{"startTime":579.07,"endTime":582.91,"body":"She's teaching dentistry at Health Careers High School. Oh, that's terrific. Yeah. Well, it"},{"startTime":582.91,"endTime":586.235,"body":"sounds like her priorities were right anyway and I can now understand why you were"},{"startTime":586.235,"endTime":590.075,"body":"on the board of Morgan's Wonderland. Yes. Absolutely. And and we have a lot of"},{"startTime":590.075,"endTime":593.675,"body":"respect for Gordon Hartman and what he's accomplished out there and continues to"},{"startTime":593.675,"endTime":597.375,"body":"expand. Yes. Yesterday, he celebrated Morgan's celebrating"},{"startTime":597.515,"endTime":599.705,"body":"fifteen years. That's hard to believe. Yesterday."},{"startTime":601.8,"endTime":605.48,"body":"That's remarkable. Let's talk a little bit about hospital, not just"},{"startTime":605.48,"endTime":608.7,"body":"hospitality, but about economic development,"},{"startTime":609.88,"endTime":613.515,"body":"and whether you think a mayor in the mayor's role"},{"startTime":613.595,"endTime":617.295,"body":"is essential to the work that basically we're looking at greater SATX"},{"startTime":617.355,"endTime":621.195,"body":"to do. And by the way, they they, absorb the free trade"},{"startTime":621.195,"endTime":625.035,"body":"alliance some years ago. Right? So Mexico is in their portfolio, and"},{"startTime":625.035,"endTime":628.395,"body":"I wanna talk to you about that because you were born there. You're bilingual. You're"},{"startTime":628.395,"endTime":632.24,"body":"bicultural. And I'm one, and I've said this frequently on"},{"startTime":632.24,"endTime":635.92,"body":"the podcast over the years that I don't think the city has tended"},{"startTime":635.92,"endTime":639.3,"body":"the personal relationships in Mexico that we originally"},{"startTime":639.36,"endTime":642.9,"body":"established about the time when the North American Free Trade Agreement was"},{"startTime":643.375,"endTime":646.995,"body":"negotiated and initialed here right here in San Antonio, and that"},{"startTime":647.134,"endTime":650.975,"body":"that there's a lot more opportunity south of our border down 35"},{"startTime":650.975,"endTime":654.735,"body":"than than we've realized and that more work needs to be done"},{"startTime":654.735,"endTime":657.86,"body":"in that area. And I'd like to hear your thoughts on that. But,"},{"startTime":658.48,"endTime":662.18,"body":"do you think the mayor plays more than just a handshake role in economic"},{"startTime":662.24,"endTime":666.08,"body":"development? Do you do you see yourself somehow playing a key role?"},{"startTime":666.08,"endTime":669.52,"body":"And there's been a lot of conversation about, we made"},{"startTime":669.52,"endTime":673.345,"body":"tremendous progress under Jenna Salcedo Herrera from"},{"startTime":673.345,"endTime":677.045,"body":"the era of Mario Hernandez and the San Antonio Economic Development"},{"startTime":677.105,"endTime":680.865,"body":"Foundation. We have JCB coming online here. That's huge."},{"startTime":680.865,"endTime":684.545,"body":"We've seen a lot of advanced manufacturing centered in and"},{"startTime":684.545,"endTime":687.685,"body":"around Port San Antonio, but we've also seen way more"},{"startTime":688.26,"endTime":692.02,"body":"corporate relocations or expansions from the West Coast hitting Austin"},{"startTime":692.02,"endTime":695.54,"body":"and Dallas and and Houston. So I wonder what your thoughts are about"},{"startTime":695.54,"endTime":699.32,"body":"the the big picture going forward. Yeah. I will be fully"},{"startTime":699.38,"endTime":703.134,"body":"hands on on economic development. You know, that is my area"},{"startTime":703.134,"endTime":706.814,"body":"of expertise. I've done it at the state level, you know, as secretary of"},{"startTime":706.814,"endTime":710.495,"body":"state. I traveled the world promoting Texas, bringing billions of dollars and"},{"startTime":710.495,"endTime":714.26,"body":"and thousands of jobs to to Texas. I did it in El Paso at the"},{"startTime":714.26,"endTime":718.04,"body":"Borderplex Alliance. That was a binational economic development organization,"},{"startTime":718.1,"endTime":721.32,"body":"kinda like Greater SATX, but it was binational. It was regional."},{"startTime":722.18,"endTime":725.745,"body":"So, yes, absolutely. I will get fully involved and"},{"startTime":725.745,"endTime":729.425,"body":"immersed in economic development because it's really the mayor. You know,"},{"startTime":729.425,"endTime":733.025,"body":"given our form of government, you know, the city manager, you know,"},{"startTime":733.025,"endTime":736.385,"body":"runs the city, but the mayor is really the"},{"startTime":736.385,"endTime":739.96,"body":"salesperson for the community. I plan to be traveling,"},{"startTime":740.66,"endTime":744.5,"body":"with the business community, with with whomever wants to come with us to promote San"},{"startTime":744.5,"endTime":747.8,"body":"Antonio to bring investment. And, particularly"},{"startTime":748.02,"endTime":751.7,"body":"Mexico. Mexico needs to be our top priority. We we really shouldn't focus on"},{"startTime":751.7,"endTime":755.495,"body":"trying to sell ourselves elsewhere other than Mexico and Canada, at"},{"startTime":755.495,"endTime":759.334,"body":"least from a priorities perspective. Obviously, if someone from Japan wants to come"},{"startTime":759.334,"endTime":762.935,"body":"here, they're welcome. But our efforts, our our capital needs to be"},{"startTime":762.935,"endTime":766.394,"body":"spent in promoting trade relationships with Canada and Mexico,"},{"startTime":766.709,"endTime":770.55,"body":"primarily with Mexico because Mexico is our number one trade partner. I've been doing"},{"startTime":770.55,"endTime":774.31,"body":"business in Mexico for twenty five years. We have offices in Monterrey. I"},{"startTime":774.31,"endTime":778.069,"body":"think the relationship between San Antonio and Monterrey needs to"},{"startTime":778.069,"endTime":781.589,"body":"be amped up. We have a lot of those executives with homes"},{"startTime":781.589,"endTime":785.425,"body":"here and, and we have the relationships. I have the relationships"},{"startTime":785.485,"endTime":788.845,"body":"in Mexico, not only in the private sector, but also in government at all"},{"startTime":788.845,"endTime":792.365,"body":"levels. And I believe that, there are many Mexican"},{"startTime":792.365,"endTime":796.0,"body":"companies that are looking to come to Texas, but just don't have that"},{"startTime":796.0,"endTime":799.76,"body":"platform. And they really don't don't see"},{"startTime":799.76,"endTime":803.2,"body":"themselves going to Houston or Dallas. And so San Antonio is a perfect place. So,"},{"startTime":803.2,"endTime":807.04,"body":"yeah, I mean, I'm gonna go all in with Greater SATX and and whoever"},{"startTime":807.04,"endTime":810.615,"body":"else, the county, we need to cooperate with the county. But"},{"startTime":811.095,"endTime":814.615,"body":"the objective here, my one of my top objectives is to"},{"startTime":814.615,"endTime":818.235,"body":"focus on bringing in investment, high paying jobs"},{"startTime":818.455,"endTime":821.975,"body":"to this great community. Do you think the next mayor is handcuffed by"},{"startTime":821.975,"endTime":825.709,"body":"tariffs and that we're gonna see, you know, the the"},{"startTime":825.75,"endTime":829.589,"body":"let's just talk about the cost of producing a Toyota Sequoia or"},{"startTime":829.589,"endTime":833.269,"body":"Tundra here where we we see those trains coming up from Mexico"},{"startTime":833.269,"endTime":837.11,"body":"with the assembled chassis and other parts in our supplier"},{"startTime":837.11,"endTime":840.875,"body":"community are coming up from Northern Mexico, and they're all gonna get at"},{"startTime":840.875,"endTime":843.915,"body":"least 10% on them, I think, maybe more. Well,"},{"startTime":844.715,"endTime":848.075,"body":"we are very adaptable as a community. We can adapt. But"},{"startTime":848.075,"endTime":851.915,"body":"look, the USMCA is gonna be renegotiated in '26,"},{"startTime":851.915,"endTime":855.215,"body":"and and I will be mayor when that happens. And so I plan to be"},{"startTime":855.36,"endTime":859.14,"body":"part of those negotiations. I was part of the original USMCA"},{"startTime":859.36,"endTime":863.04,"body":"negotiations. And so I know how to get in"},{"startTime":863.04,"endTime":866.5,"body":"there and and really fight for what we believe is rightly"},{"startTime":866.56,"endTime":870.335,"body":"ours. And, you know, we need our state relies on"},{"startTime":870.335,"endTime":873.715,"body":"international trade with Mexico, so we have to make sure that whatever"},{"startTime":873.775,"endTime":877.615,"body":"provisions we adjust favor us. And look, I think"},{"startTime":877.615,"endTime":881.39,"body":"that at the end of the day, working with the president, we can make sure"},{"startTime":881.39,"endTime":885.07,"body":"that our USMCA provisions wash out those, those"},{"startTime":885.07,"endTime":888.61,"body":"tariffs. So, you know, we can get there. I have no no problem,"},{"startTime":889.47,"endTime":893.07,"body":"believing that that is possible. So how about our"},{"startTime":893.07,"endTime":896.305,"body":"education outcomes and how that affects economic"},{"startTime":896.525,"endTime":900.365,"body":"development and the perceptions versus the reality if there"},{"startTime":900.365,"endTime":903.745,"body":"is a difference in how people regard our workforce as either"},{"startTime":904.845,"endTime":908.68,"body":"a strong workforce that's continually getting better, or does"},{"startTime":908.68,"endTime":912.36,"body":"that remain our Achilles heel? You have a wife who's at a very"},{"startTime":912.36,"endTime":915.8,"body":"high performing magnet school or in district charter, but,"},{"startTime":916.2,"endTime":919.5,"body":"the outcomes in our school districts across the board"},{"startTime":920.465,"endTime":924.305,"body":"are not anywhere near what we want. And the numbers post pandemic are"},{"startTime":924.305,"endTime":928.065,"body":"pretty disturbing. We're really still struggling to recover to"},{"startTime":928.065,"endTime":931.845,"body":"pre pandemic levels. And I wonder what you think about all of our"},{"startTime":933.0,"endTime":936.84,"body":"Yeah. Look, there's perception and then there's reality. And right now, if you"},{"startTime":936.84,"endTime":940.14,"body":"go outside San Antonio, we're perceived as a low wage, low skill"},{"startTime":940.2,"endTime":943.88,"body":"community. And that's that's a harsh truth to swallow."},{"startTime":943.88,"endTime":947.24,"body":"Right? But, we also have a lot"},{"startTime":947.24,"endTime":950.945,"body":"of well educated individuals. We have more college students"},{"startTime":950.945,"endTime":954.625,"body":"here than in Austin. So we're It's hard to believe. It's hard to"},{"startTime":954.625,"endTime":958.245,"body":"believe, but it's true. We have great"},{"startTime":958.385,"endTime":962.225,"body":"students graduating from our colleges. The problem is that they're"},{"startTime":962.225,"endTime":965.63,"body":"leaving. Mhmm. We have brain drain. So,"},{"startTime":965.93,"endTime":969.77,"body":"you know, we can't we can't be so harsh on ourselves into thinking that our"},{"startTime":969.77,"endTime":973.31,"body":"students are are getting educated, our children are getting educated."},{"startTime":973.77,"endTime":977.375,"body":"So, obviously, some are are are having a tough time"},{"startTime":977.375,"endTime":980.975,"body":"graduating from high school. We have to help them. We have to work with those"},{"startTime":980.975,"endTime":984.655,"body":"school districts to make sure that they have the funding needed to be able to"},{"startTime":984.655,"endTime":988.15,"body":"turn their, fortunes around. But we"},{"startTime":988.15,"endTime":991.99,"body":"have tremendous talent coming out of San Antonio. The only problem is is that we"},{"startTime":991.99,"endTime":995.67,"body":"don't have those companies coming here that they could then"},{"startTime":995.67,"endTime":999.27,"body":"work for. They have to go elsewhere to find those great paying jobs. And it"},{"startTime":999.27,"endTime":1002.955,"body":"happens to happens in my family, my children, you know, you"},{"startTime":1002.955,"endTime":1006.635,"body":"know, Christina lives in in in Houston. David"},{"startTime":1006.635,"endTime":1009.595,"body":"actually found a job in San Antonio, so he's moving back. He's gonna be working"},{"startTime":1009.595,"endTime":1013.355,"body":"with Turner Construction. So he is starting his career. Did you see that article"},{"startTime":1013.355,"endTime":1016.555,"body":"the other day that this was the worst place to start a career? Those are"},{"startTime":1016.555,"endTime":1020.13,"body":"the perceptions that I wanna fend off. Because when I see"},{"startTime":1020.13,"endTime":1023.89,"body":"those articles, well, as mayor, I will call a press conference and push"},{"startTime":1023.89,"endTime":1027.19,"body":"back. Because, see, if we keep pushing back on all that negativity,"},{"startTime":1027.73,"endTime":1031.49,"body":"then we'll fight the perception and and and talk about the reality of this"},{"startTime":1031.49,"endTime":1034.975,"body":"wonderful place. Do we have an education outcomes problem?"},{"startTime":1035.035,"endTime":1038.715,"body":"Absolutely. Can we fix it? Yes. We have"},{"startTime":1038.715,"endTime":1042.555,"body":"17 school districts or so. We're balkanized as a"},{"startTime":1042.555,"endTime":1046.175,"body":"community. 10 city districts, 17 school districts."},{"startTime":1046.63,"endTime":1050.23,"body":"My goal would be, well, how can we, how can we come together and"},{"startTime":1050.23,"endTime":1053.93,"body":"obviously take advantage of efficiencies, especially like in things like purchasing"},{"startTime":1053.99,"endTime":1057.75,"body":"and those things, but also in, in setting goals"},{"startTime":1057.75,"endTime":1061.555,"body":"for outcomes, you know, the city can get involved"},{"startTime":1061.555,"endTime":1065.395,"body":"in many different ways. We can't be scapegoating our"},{"startTime":1065.395,"endTime":1069.235,"body":"teachers or our school districts. We have to bring parents in and we have"},{"startTime":1069.235,"endTime":1073.003,"body":"to work in Austin in making sure that we get the right funding. So I"},{"startTime":1073.003,"endTime":1076.47,"body":"will leverage my relationships in Austin to be able to"},{"startTime":1076.47,"endTime":1080.25,"body":"get those outcomes that we want for our school districts here."},{"startTime":1081.27,"endTime":1085.025,"body":"But a lot of it has to do with culture, making sure that"},{"startTime":1085.265,"endTime":1089.105,"body":"our people understand the value of an education. Here's the problem. We're"},{"startTime":1089.105,"endTime":1092.325,"body":"in such a we're we're in a poverty cycle right now"},{"startTime":1092.945,"endTime":1096.705,"body":"where many people are living paycheck to paycheck. A lot of"},{"startTime":1096.705,"endTime":1100.29,"body":"them are, in desperation"},{"startTime":1100.43,"endTime":1103.95,"body":"mode, you know. And when you're in desperation mode, when you're in"},{"startTime":1103.95,"endTime":1107.49,"body":"survival mode, you don't think about tomorrow. You think about today."},{"startTime":1107.95,"endTime":1111.31,"body":"And so we have to make sure that our families get out of"},{"startTime":1111.31,"endTime":1114.884,"body":"desperation mode, and the way to do that is by bringing quality"},{"startTime":1114.884,"endTime":1118.345,"body":"jobs that pay more. And once they're stabilized"},{"startTime":1118.725,"endTime":1122.404,"body":"and we move them, you know, into the"},{"startTime":1122.404,"endTime":1126.024,"body":"middle class, then I think we can get there. And so the objective"},{"startTime":1126.085,"endTime":1129.78,"body":"is to take that 18% that is living in poverty"},{"startTime":1129.92,"endTime":1132.4,"body":"and move them into the middle class. And the only way you're going to do"},{"startTime":1132.4,"endTime":1135.92,"body":"that is with education and with bringing in high paying"},{"startTime":1135.92,"endTime":1139.415,"body":"jobs. And that's really how I plan to do that. So let's talk about a"},{"startTime":1139.415,"endTime":1143.175,"body":"couple of existing programs at the city level that the next mayor will have"},{"startTime":1143.175,"endTime":1146.715,"body":"the opportunity to continue, to discontinue, or to modify."},{"startTime":1147.735,"endTime":1151.575,"body":"One would be the first, housing bond that voters ever approved,"},{"startTime":1151.815,"endTime":1154.56,"body":"in the 2022 bond. I believe that was"},{"startTime":1154.56,"endTime":1157.62,"body":"$150,000,000 and that is mostly the city,"},{"startTime":1158.32,"endTime":1161.92,"body":"partnering with private sector developers and letting them build the"},{"startTime":1161.92,"endTime":1165.68,"body":"housing. And the city is not getting into the business of building"},{"startTime":1165.68,"endTime":1169.294,"body":"housing. People, I think, by and large, consider that quite a successful"},{"startTime":1169.434,"endTime":1173.054,"body":"program, but in the scheme of things, not anywhere"},{"startTime":1173.275,"endTime":1177.035,"body":"near enough. And I assume the conversation about the"},{"startTime":1177.035,"endTime":1180.62,"body":"2027 bond is gonna include people for and"},{"startTime":1180.62,"endTime":1184.08,"body":"against a more robust, sum of money in that regard."},{"startTime":1184.46,"endTime":1187.58,"body":"And the other one I would ask you about, which looked very promising on the"},{"startTime":1187.58,"endTime":1191.34,"body":"outside, but has been very disappointing in the actual results in my"},{"startTime":1191.34,"endTime":1195.154,"body":"personal view, is ready to work, where the mayor"},{"startTime":1195.154,"endTime":1198.695,"body":"Nirenberg anticipated 40,000 people going through a pipeline"},{"startTime":1198.755,"endTime":1202.395,"body":"being up, you know, get given new"},{"startTime":1202.395,"endTime":1205.955,"body":"new job skills that would allow them to move into jobs"},{"startTime":1205.955,"endTime":1209.67,"body":"with participating employers here at much higher wages. And what"},{"startTime":1209.67,"endTime":1213.27,"body":"we've seen, I think, are, very"},{"startTime":1213.27,"endTime":1217.03,"body":"low numbers of people that have actually participated and graduated from the"},{"startTime":1217.03,"endTime":1220.515,"body":"program and gotten into jobs. And the average salary, I think,"},{"startTime":1220.515,"endTime":1223.955,"body":"remains under $20 an hour, so that's not very"},{"startTime":1223.955,"endTime":1227.475,"body":"impressive. But there are people that believe"},{"startTime":1227.475,"endTime":1231.155,"body":"that the program could produce results,"},{"startTime":1231.155,"endTime":1234.87,"body":"but it would have to be changed. I'm kind of wondering whether or"},{"startTime":1234.87,"endTime":1238.63,"body":"not it'll be continued. Look, I was"},{"startTime":1238.63,"endTime":1242.39,"body":"very supportive of the idea when I spoke to Ron"},{"startTime":1242.39,"endTime":1245.51,"body":"about it, I don't know, six, seven years ago, whenever it was. I did a"},{"startTime":1245.51,"endTime":1249.065,"body":"video supporting it, and I think it's a great"},{"startTime":1249.065,"endTime":1252.825,"body":"idea. It's a great concept. We need to invest in"},{"startTime":1252.825,"endTime":1256.265,"body":"in not only in educating, you know, our"},{"startTime":1256.265,"endTime":1259.804,"body":"workforce, but also in, getting them jobs."},{"startTime":1260.025,"endTime":1263.6,"body":"So the that's one of the missing pieces in this"},{"startTime":1263.6,"endTime":1267.44,"body":"formula is that we're upscaling them, but to what? You"},{"startTime":1267.44,"endTime":1270.72,"body":"know? So, okay, fine. They get out, and then is there a job waiting for"},{"startTime":1270.72,"endTime":1274.465,"body":"them? So we have to balance that two those two things. So, you"},{"startTime":1274.465,"endTime":1278.305,"body":"know, I'm good with spending taxpayer money on upscaling, like"},{"startTime":1278.305,"endTime":1282.065,"body":"ready to work, but we also have to spend taxpayer money in attracting"},{"startTime":1282.065,"endTime":1285.665,"body":"jobs here. Now with respect to the actual project itself or the"},{"startTime":1285.665,"endTime":1289.49,"body":"program itself, you know, it was mismanaged. Let's just let's just put"},{"startTime":1289.49,"endTime":1293.17,"body":"that behind us. Okay. Fine. It was mismanaged. Let's take it"},{"startTime":1293.17,"endTime":1296.47,"body":"and run with it, but now under a different,"},{"startTime":1296.929,"endTime":1300.545,"body":"type of management. Let's let's try to make it work because"},{"startTime":1300.545,"endTime":1304.305,"body":"we're already this far, to scrap it just for sake of scrapping"},{"startTime":1304.305,"endTime":1307.505,"body":"it. I don't think it's a good idea. I think we should take a look"},{"startTime":1307.505,"endTime":1311.04,"body":"at it, and we need to come in and implement just like, you know,"},{"startTime":1311.04,"endTime":1314.72,"body":"almost like a turnaround that you would have in the corporate world. Let's let's let's"},{"startTime":1314.72,"endTime":1318.24,"body":"bring a turnaround specialist to turn that program around"},{"startTime":1318.24,"endTime":1321.7,"body":"because I think that if it works at peak efficiency,"},{"startTime":1322.0,"endTime":1325.305,"body":"it'll be extremely effective. So I'm committed to looking at that."},{"startTime":1325.605,"endTime":1329.205,"body":"And and, we don't need to go over all the numbers and data on the"},{"startTime":1329.205,"endTime":1332.645,"body":"housing crisis that we've seen accelerate during the"},{"startTime":1332.645,"endTime":1336.485,"body":"pandemic. But, obviously, a lot of people suddenly can't afford to buy a house"},{"startTime":1336.485,"endTime":1340.26,"body":"anymore with interest rates, and and that's driven rents way up and created,"},{"startTime":1340.98,"endTime":1344.58,"body":"an environment where a lot of these working poor people that you talk about who"},{"startTime":1344.58,"endTime":1348.26,"body":"are paycheck to paycheck are suddenly, facing, the"},{"startTime":1348.26,"endTime":1351.655,"body":"risk of, you know, losing their home, being evicted."},{"startTime":1351.715,"endTime":1355.235,"body":"Evictions are up. That's a that's a, a a matter of"},{"startTime":1355.235,"endTime":1358.595,"body":"fact. Yeah. So do you A closure. Yeah. Do you"},{"startTime":1358.595,"endTime":1362.035,"body":"support continuing with the housing bond and increasing"},{"startTime":1362.035,"endTime":1365.875,"body":"it? Look. I'm of the belief that government isn't always the"},{"startTime":1365.875,"endTime":1369.58,"body":"only answer. And, let me just"},{"startTime":1369.58,"endTime":1373.1,"body":"propose an idea to you. Why not, when we talk about"},{"startTime":1373.1,"endTime":1376.78,"body":"affordability, home housing affordability, why don't we also"},{"startTime":1376.78,"endTime":1380.315,"body":"work on improving people's income so they can"},{"startTime":1380.315,"endTime":1384.155,"body":"afford a home? So I'm all for working in"},{"startTime":1384.155,"endTime":1387.675,"body":"dual tracks. So let's work on getting them higher paying"},{"startTime":1387.675,"endTime":1391.355,"body":"jobs so they can afford a home. And then with respect to the actual"},{"startTime":1391.355,"endTime":1395.01,"body":"house itself and and and and how to go about getting it, Look, there are"},{"startTime":1395.01,"endTime":1398.85,"body":"many factors that play in. You you mentioned one is interest rates, you"},{"startTime":1398.85,"endTime":1402.61,"body":"know, inflation for construction costs. All those things play in. But"},{"startTime":1402.61,"endTime":1406.309,"body":"what is government doing and what can it, also do"},{"startTime":1406.61,"endTime":1409.59,"body":"to get rid of some of these issues that are preventing,"},{"startTime":1410.575,"endTime":1414.335,"body":"housing from going up, like land use, you know, zoning. Let's"},{"startTime":1414.335,"endTime":1418.175,"body":"look at those those those barriers that are already in place that if we"},{"startTime":1418.175,"endTime":1421.615,"body":"just remove them, then maybe we can make housing more"},{"startTime":1421.615,"endTime":1425.409,"body":"affordable as well. You know, we have restriction, we have zoning"},{"startTime":1425.409,"endTime":1429.169,"body":"restrictions, we have like, you know, these additional dwellings that"},{"startTime":1429.169,"endTime":1432.95,"body":"we could put in people's homes. A lot of these HOA's don't allow it."},{"startTime":1433.009,"endTime":1436.529,"body":"You know, so let's get creative, in looking at the"},{"startTime":1436.529,"endTime":1440.265,"body":"impediments, first and foremost, because that's probably the easiest"},{"startTime":1440.265,"endTime":1443.005,"body":"and and cheapest thing to do is let's get rid of some of these impediments"},{"startTime":1443.625,"endTime":1446.985,"body":"that will allow me to bring to build a little old dwelling home for my"},{"startTime":1446.985,"endTime":1450.585,"body":"mom in my backyard. You know? And then that takes that issue out of the"},{"startTime":1450.585,"endTime":1454.38,"body":"way. The other thing is property taxes. And I proposed a property taxpayer"},{"startTime":1454.52,"endTime":1458.28,"body":"program, calling it a, you know, taxpayer time out where"},{"startTime":1458.28,"endTime":1461.88,"body":"we freeze property taxes for everybody and not allow our"},{"startTime":1461.88,"endTime":1465.64,"body":"city manager to budget for next year on the anticipated tax increases."},{"startTime":1465.64,"endTime":1469.265,"body":"Because that's what he does is he figures how much more money he's gonna get"},{"startTime":1469.265,"endTime":1473.105,"body":"from anticipated, you know, valuations and increases. And"},{"startTime":1473.105,"endTime":1476.385,"body":"then he budgets for that, and it's just this vicious cycle. And and it's an"},{"startTime":1476.385,"endTime":1479.929,"body":"upward spiral of of more and more taxation. Why not"},{"startTime":1479.929,"endTime":1483.69,"body":"just freeze it today and force our city manager to live"},{"startTime":1483.69,"endTime":1487.45,"body":"within the means, his means of today? That gives us a tax, that"},{"startTime":1487.45,"endTime":1491.13,"body":"gives us a break on taxes. And then maybe that allows a lot of these"},{"startTime":1491.13,"endTime":1493.929,"body":"individuals who are getting forced out of their homes to stay in their home. Nobody"},{"startTime":1493.929,"endTime":1497.495,"body":"should be pushed out of their homes, especially for things like that, especially for"},{"startTime":1497.495,"endTime":1501.255,"body":"property taxes. You know, right now you've got exemptions and all that,"},{"startTime":1501.255,"endTime":1505.015,"body":"but there I'm talking about for every homeowner, making sure"},{"startTime":1505.015,"endTime":1508.669,"body":"that we can freeze property taxes because it's really the valuations that"},{"startTime":1508.669,"endTime":1512.35,"body":"are driving everything, you know. And, I sat on the property appraisal"},{"startTime":1512.35,"endTime":1516.19,"body":"task force for Governor Perry. We went around the state talking about"},{"startTime":1516.19,"endTime":1518.83,"body":"this particular issue and it had and that was many years ago and it still"},{"startTime":1518.83,"endTime":1522.075,"body":"hasn't been resolved. Well, the state is coming forward with some,"},{"startTime":1522.794,"endTime":1526.095,"body":"they're they're they're raising, you know, the, the homestead"},{"startTime":1526.235,"endTime":1530.075,"body":"exemption. They're they're giving a little sum to people 65, I"},{"startTime":1530.075,"endTime":1533.115,"body":"think. So people are gonna get a little bit of a break there. I wanna"},{"startTime":1533.115,"endTime":1536.89,"body":"push back, though, because I I mean, we're all for increased wages, but you've"},{"startTime":1536.89,"endTime":1540.73,"body":"got you've got a, a safety net challenge right now"},{"startTime":1540.73,"endTime":1544.17,"body":"where people are in crisis. There's almost 70,000 names on"},{"startTime":1544.17,"endTime":1547.93,"body":"the Opportunity Home, San Antonio waiting list"},{"startTime":1547.93,"endTime":1551.395,"body":"for either vouchers or Section eight housing, some"},{"startTime":1551.415,"endTime":1555.255,"body":"sort of assistance. And our homeless population has gone"},{"startTime":1555.255,"endTime":1558.695,"body":"up, and almost every police officer you talk to on the street will tell"},{"startTime":1558.695,"endTime":1562.32,"body":"you there's an acute shortage of permanent supportive"},{"startTime":1562.32,"endTime":1565.919,"body":"housing, and we got a couple of thousand people that are either acutely"},{"startTime":1565.919,"endTime":1569.44,"body":"mentally ill or suffering from drug"},{"startTime":1569.44,"endTime":1573.279,"body":"addiction or both. And so they don't fit into the Haven for Hope or any"},{"startTime":1573.279,"endTime":1577.015,"body":"of these other sobriety based programs, and they don't have"},{"startTime":1577.015,"endTime":1580.775,"body":"anywhere to take them except the Bexar County Jail to get them off the streets."},{"startTime":1580.775,"endTime":1584.455,"body":"And so they're we're in a crisis moment that needs more"},{"startTime":1584.455,"endTime":1587.3,"body":"immediate attention, I think, than the"},{"startTime":1587.86,"endTime":1591.54,"body":"very sensible longer term solutions you're proposing. Yeah."},{"startTime":1591.54,"endTime":1594.9,"body":"I'm not saying not to address those issues. I mean, don't get me wrong. I"},{"startTime":1594.9,"endTime":1598.66,"body":"mean, I've worked with Haven for Hope for fifteen years. I understand the"},{"startTime":1598.66,"endTime":1601.88,"body":"homelessness issue and the challenges around that."},{"startTime":1602.42,"endTime":1606.188,"body":"You know, I I I I've even proposed a customized approach."},{"startTime":1606.188,"endTime":1609.822,"body":"We we have to take almost a look at almost every"},{"startTime":1609.822,"endTime":1613.456,"body":"individual to see what their specific needs are. But if there's"},{"startTime":1613.456,"endTime":1616.43,"body":"this long list of people waiting for public housing,"},{"startTime":1616.91,"endTime":1620.53,"body":"then, you know, the solution is removing the barriers"},{"startTime":1621.31,"endTime":1625.09,"body":"to constructing more. And a lot of people don't want"},{"startTime":1625.31,"endTime":1628.93,"body":"concentrated affordable housing in their backyard. And I understand,"},{"startTime":1629.755,"endTime":1633.355,"body":"but at the same time, what are some creative solutions that we haven't thought"},{"startTime":1633.355,"endTime":1636.975,"body":"of? And I've looked at the tremendous real estate inventory"},{"startTime":1637.034,"endTime":1640.794,"body":"that our local governments have. They have five little pieces of"},{"startTime":1640.794,"endTime":1644.634,"body":"land, five acres, two, three acres, odd. A lot of it. A lot of"},{"startTime":1644.634,"endTime":1648.21,"body":"it that we're having to pay to maintain. So why"},{"startTime":1648.21,"endTime":1652.05,"body":"not just gift these to the developers so they can put in"},{"startTime":1652.05,"endTime":1655.59,"body":"affordable housing in there? It'll be spread out over the city."},{"startTime":1656.45,"endTime":1660.07,"body":"The the cost of that land is their profit margin and everybody"},{"startTime":1660.13,"endTime":1663.835,"body":"wins. And now we've got a piece of property"},{"startTime":1663.835,"endTime":1667.275,"body":"that's actually being put to produce something which is a"},{"startTime":1667.275,"endTime":1670.875,"body":"home, a dignified home for somebody. Right now we just have lots"},{"startTime":1670.875,"endTime":1674.475,"body":"everywhere that are just sitting there. And we're spending money on maintaining"},{"startTime":1674.475,"endTime":1678.3,"body":"them. You know, that's what Kirk Watson did in Austin. And I'm this is not"},{"startTime":1678.3,"endTime":1682.14,"body":"a novel idea. This is something that he did in all those high rises you"},{"startTime":1682.14,"endTime":1685.74,"body":"see in Austin, that used to be a trash heap. And he talked"},{"startTime":1685.74,"endTime":1689.255,"body":"about giving away the piece of land to the developers. And all of a sudden,"},{"startTime":1689.335,"endTime":1693.015,"body":"he created the incentive for construction and look at what's going on over"},{"startTime":1693.015,"endTime":1696.775,"body":"there. Rolando, you mentioned city manager, Eric"},{"startTime":1696.775,"endTime":1700.455,"body":"Walsh, who has been in his position for quite some time"},{"startTime":1700.455,"endTime":1704.29,"body":"now. And city voters recently agreed"},{"startTime":1704.29,"endTime":1707.97,"body":"to undo the the salary"},{"startTime":1707.97,"endTime":1711.59,"body":"cap that was placed on him by the firefighters union with that election."},{"startTime":1712.61,"endTime":1716.235,"body":"He's now facing a, I would say, a relatively small"},{"startTime":1716.235,"endTime":1719.755,"body":"deficit of $30,000,000 and a billion dollar plus"},{"startTime":1719.755,"endTime":1723.195,"body":"budget. That's to me is not a rounding error, but it's not a a"},{"startTime":1723.195,"endTime":1726.635,"body":"crisis. I know it's gonna grow more in the second year, but even then, it"},{"startTime":1726.635,"endTime":1730.37,"body":"probably represents less than 5% of the budget. There's been no"},{"startTime":1730.61,"endTime":1734.29,"body":"public conversation from city hall about how"},{"startTime":1734.29,"endTime":1737.67,"body":"to, achieve a constitutionally mandated"},{"startTime":1738.29,"endTime":1741.51,"body":"balanced budget. The city's obligated by law to do that."},{"startTime":1743.41,"endTime":1747.115,"body":"Let me suggest that maybe attrition"},{"startTime":1747.115,"endTime":1750.955,"body":"and other cuts in the civilian staff population would"},{"startTime":1750.955,"endTime":1754.715,"body":"be easier than cutting services to the public, but there hasn't been"},{"startTime":1754.715,"endTime":1757.995,"body":"any conversation about that. And I wonder if you were mayor and you're gonna have"},{"startTime":1757.995,"endTime":1761.61,"body":"a new council, whether there would be any push to the city"},{"startTime":1761.61,"endTime":1764.35,"body":"manager of economizing on hiring?"},{"startTime":1765.69,"endTime":1768.89,"body":"The the last thing I would wanna do is to cut jobs. I mean, we"},{"startTime":1769.05,"endTime":1772.49,"body":"I don't wanna go there. I think there are other places that we can create"},{"startTime":1772.49,"endTime":1776.215,"body":"efficiencies. You know, again, I go back to the example of,"},{"startTime":1776.835,"endTime":1779.655,"body":"buying power and combining purchasing opportunities,"},{"startTime":1781.555,"endTime":1785.175,"body":"with all of our government entities here. We were just talking earlier about"},{"startTime":1785.315,"endTime":1788.94,"body":"having two library systems. You know, why can't you just put all library systems"},{"startTime":1788.94,"endTime":1792.54,"body":"into the Alamo Community College District and let them handle it? We get out of"},{"startTime":1792.54,"endTime":1796.38,"body":"the business of libraries, and we focus, you know, on on what we really should"},{"startTime":1796.38,"endTime":1799.42,"body":"be doing, which is basic services. So I think that,"},{"startTime":1800.175,"endTime":1803.615,"body":"what the the one thing I look forward to the most with Eric is working"},{"startTime":1803.615,"endTime":1807.155,"body":"with him on getting more creative, bringing outside my"},{"startTime":1807.535,"endTime":1811.295,"body":"my experience from business and and marrying the two. You know,"},{"startTime":1811.295,"endTime":1814.7,"body":"government obviously is not a business, but it should be run with the"},{"startTime":1814.7,"endTime":1818.539,"body":"discipline of a business. And I bring that to the table. So let's get"},{"startTime":1818.539,"endTime":1822.14,"body":"creative on how to do that. But I wouldn't want to look at cutting jobs."},{"startTime":1822.14,"endTime":1825.74,"body":"I'd want to look at, cutting inefficiencies, wasteful"},{"startTime":1825.74,"endTime":1829.515,"body":"spending, because at the end of the day, you know, the"},{"startTime":1829.515,"endTime":1833.355,"body":"the prospect of this deficit, the first thing that comes"},{"startTime":1833.355,"endTime":1836.955,"body":"into my mind is public safety, fire, police,"},{"startTime":1836.955,"endTime":1840.58,"body":"EMS. We're not touching that. No matter no matter what the"},{"startTime":1840.58,"endTime":1843.78,"body":"deficit is, we're not touching it. And so I don't want that to be a"},{"startTime":1843.78,"endTime":1847.38,"body":"threat to our public safety. So guess what? Go"},{"startTime":1847.38,"endTime":1850.74,"body":"find efficiency somewhere else because this is off limits. We we can't go"},{"startTime":1850.74,"endTime":1854.394,"body":"there. If anyone were to go there, our"},{"startTime":1854.394,"endTime":1857.455,"body":"city would go into a a death spiral because then"},{"startTime":1857.835,"endTime":1861.514,"body":"our crime would go up, the inefficiencies of of not"},{"startTime":1861.514,"endTime":1864.975,"body":"having enough, you know, fire, EMS"},{"startTime":1865.034,"endTime":1868.85,"body":"folks out there, first responders. And then it wouldn't allow me to go out and"},{"startTime":1868.85,"endTime":1872.53,"body":"sell San Antonio because people would see San Antonio as a as a dangerous place"},{"startTime":1872.53,"endTime":1876.37,"body":"or or a place where the EMS doesn't arrive on time. So we can't do"},{"startTime":1876.37,"endTime":1879.99,"body":"that. And so I will protect, you know, firefighters, EMS,"},{"startTime":1880.69,"endTime":1884.235,"body":"making sure that police have what they need. And then we look at other"},{"startTime":1884.235,"endTime":1887.835,"body":"stuff like parks. You know, county and city are"},{"startTime":1887.835,"endTime":1891.355,"body":"running parks. Can we can we just get along"},{"startTime":1891.355,"endTime":1895.135,"body":"and have one park system, one library system?"},{"startTime":1895.515,"endTime":1899.13,"body":"And and and the list is long. City city county consolidation would"},{"startTime":1899.13,"endTime":1902.81,"body":"make a lot of people happy out there that don't think it'll ever happen. And,"},{"startTime":1902.81,"endTime":1906.41,"body":"you know, you just saw the elbows between the city and county on the library"},{"startTime":1906.41,"endTime":1910.01,"body":"system as BiblioTech was developed. And, I would be all"},{"startTime":1910.01,"endTime":1913.765,"body":"for that. That would that would that would enshrine"},{"startTime":1913.765,"endTime":1917.385,"body":"you as a mayor if you're able to accomplish any city county consolidation."},{"startTime":1917.684,"endTime":1921.445,"body":"Tell you what, we'll start with we'll start with one concept. I I like the"},{"startTime":1921.445,"endTime":1925.285,"body":"library approach. Maybe we'll start with libraries. And and why would"},{"startTime":1925.285,"endTime":1928.679,"body":"you put libraries at the ACCD? I mean, they're an"},{"startTime":1928.9,"endTime":1932.74,"body":"academic institution. They're they're all At the Alamo Colleges. Yeah. Why wouldn't"},{"startTime":1932.74,"endTime":1936.28,"body":"you just say, Mike, here. You know, you you give funding for it,"},{"startTime":1936.34,"endTime":1940.1,"body":"but but right now, we're we've got double funding. You know?"},{"startTime":1940.1,"endTime":1943.835,"body":"Let's consolidate our library system so people can still enjoy their"},{"startTime":1943.914,"endTime":1947.595,"body":"their libraries. No one's gonna take that away, but it's gonna make the city more"},{"startTime":1947.595,"endTime":1951.215,"body":"efficient because we're in the business of providing basic services."},{"startTime":1951.274,"endTime":1955.115,"body":"And the ACCD is in the business of providing academic services. And"},{"startTime":1955.115,"endTime":1958.82,"body":"I would put libraries under academic. You know, same thing with other"},{"startTime":1958.82,"endTime":1962.66,"body":"stuff and, you know, I'll dive deep with that but, you know, I"},{"startTime":1962.66,"endTime":1966.28,"body":"will work with Peter Sakai. With friends."},{"startTime":1966.42,"endTime":1970.215,"body":"Kind of County Judge. Bexar County Judge. And with the commissioners. Mhmm. You"},{"startTime":1970.215,"endTime":1973.434,"body":"know, it's time that we we start really a true collaboration"},{"startTime":1974.054,"endTime":1977.894,"body":"because this is about the greater good. I'm I'm in it for the greater good,"},{"startTime":1977.894,"endTime":1981.575,"body":"not for any particular faction. And so we gotta make sure that we find those"},{"startTime":1981.575,"endTime":1985.34,"body":"efficiencies. And, look, that's kind of how I built my career is is"},{"startTime":1985.34,"endTime":1989.179,"body":"fixing things. I'm a fixer. We're entering the public phase of"},{"startTime":1989.179,"endTime":1992.64,"body":"what I would call the public phase of Project Marble."},{"startTime":1993.02,"endTime":1995.84,"body":"City council in their last meeting approved"},{"startTime":1996.86,"endTime":2000.485,"body":"adding the Sports And Entertainment District to what we're"},{"startTime":2000.485,"endTime":2004.005,"body":"calling now the Convention Center Complex, which is"},{"startTime":2004.005,"endTime":2007.365,"body":"this, in my mind, spectacular idea or vision"},{"startTime":2007.365,"endTime":2011.065,"body":"to dramatically, accelerate"},{"startTime":2011.125,"endTime":2014.664,"body":"the redevelopment of hemisphere, bring into the the Alamodome"},{"startTime":2014.885,"endTime":2018.12,"body":"with that, connect it with the Land Bridge, keep"},{"startTime":2018.34,"endTime":2022.02,"body":"our our Convention Center Complex the largest in the"},{"startTime":2022.02,"endTime":2025.779,"body":"state and with yet another expansion in"},{"startTime":2025.779,"endTime":2029.525,"body":"addition to what we did in 2016. And it"},{"startTime":2029.525,"endTime":2033.065,"body":"now appears that a very significant amount of the arena would be funded"},{"startTime":2033.365,"endTime":2036.825,"body":"with this terrors that the state has allowed the city to"},{"startTime":2037.045,"endTime":2040.585,"body":"capture some sales tax that otherwise would have gone to the state. So"},{"startTime":2040.805,"endTime":2044.61,"body":"to me, that's going to maybe ameliorate a"},{"startTime":2044.61,"endTime":2048.13,"body":"lot of people that were concerned about how much because are we going to pay?"},{"startTime":2048.13,"endTime":2051.33,"body":"How much are the Spurs going to pay? How much the county? And it almost"},{"startTime":2051.33,"endTime":2055.01,"body":"looks like a much more feasible deal now to me. But I"},{"startTime":2055.01,"endTime":2058.784,"body":"wonder how you see that as we sort of move past the city"},{"startTime":2058.784,"endTime":2062.224,"body":"council vote and start to get into the nitty gritty. Yeah. Well, first of all,"},{"startTime":2062.224,"endTime":2064.484,"body":"let me address. There's a lot of misinformation,"},{"startTime":2066.065,"endTime":2069.904,"body":"coming from my opponent's campaign that I had"},{"startTime":2069.904,"endTime":2073.12,"body":"agreed to giving 50% of, you know, taxpayer money."},{"startTime":2073.68,"endTime":2077.36,"body":"Again, just campaign rhetoric. I never did that. It"},{"startTime":2077.36,"endTime":2080.96,"body":"was a it was a questionnaire that was put in front of"},{"startTime":2080.96,"endTime":2084.72,"body":"me. What my intent was is to show, that we"},{"startTime":2084.72,"endTime":2087.695,"body":"really need to look at best practices. What has worked and what hasn't worked in"},{"startTime":2087.695,"endTime":2091.534,"body":"other cities, with other stadiums, other arenas, and let's use that as a"},{"startTime":2091.534,"endTime":2094.755,"body":"starting point. And so for me, this is"},{"startTime":2095.455,"endTime":2099.069,"body":"a project that that could take San Antonio in a much"},{"startTime":2099.069,"endTime":2102.43,"body":"different direction, in a positive direction, game changing"},{"startTime":2102.43,"endTime":2106.029,"body":"direction. We need to continue to become the"},{"startTime":2106.029,"endTime":2109.41,"body":"tourist hub of Texas, particularly on the convention"},{"startTime":2109.71,"endTime":2113.395,"body":"visitors side. We need to be I wanna be the"},{"startTime":2113.395,"endTime":2117.075,"body":"best convention side in the country where, meeting planners"},{"startTime":2117.075,"endTime":2120.675,"body":"fight to get in here and when we have a long list a long wait"},{"startTime":2120.675,"endTime":2124.29,"body":"list of conventions coming here. Let's get to that point, but we're not gonna get"},{"startTime":2124.29,"endTime":2127.75,"body":"to that point if we don't have the amenities around it like an entertainment district."},{"startTime":2127.97,"endTime":2131.73,"body":"The Spurs being downtown, extremely important. I wanna fix"},{"startTime":2131.73,"endTime":2135.57,"body":"the tower. The tower needs a lot of help. I wanna fix the"},{"startTime":2135.57,"endTime":2139.415,"body":"Riverwalk. The Riverwalk, I'm not saying it's in disrepair, but it's well on"},{"startTime":2139.415,"endTime":2143.015,"body":"its way to being in disrepair. We need to let's let's liven up those"},{"startTime":2143.015,"endTime":2146.375,"body":"things that that, you know, make the city great and bring a lot of"},{"startTime":2146.375,"endTime":2150.135,"body":"economic impact here. And then let's stop vilifying the Alamodome. Look,"},{"startTime":2150.135,"endTime":2153.24,"body":"the Alamodome delivers. It just delivered"},{"startTime":2153.24,"endTime":2156.68,"body":"$400,000,000 worth of economic impact on just the final"},{"startTime":2156.68,"endTime":2159.72,"body":"four. I don't know how much did that thing cost, a hundred and 50,000,000. I"},{"startTime":2159.72,"endTime":2162.359,"body":"don't know what it was. It was about a hundred and 90 at the time."},{"startTime":2162.359,"endTime":2166.015,"body":"It it's paid for itself multiple times over. So let's stop saying that"},{"startTime":2166.015,"endTime":2169.615,"body":"the Alamo, isn't AlamoDome isn't gonna work. We need"},{"startTime":2169.615,"endTime":2173.375,"body":"to, maintain and upgrade all these"},{"startTime":2173.375,"endTime":2176.734,"body":"facilities. I'm not a big fan of the Critter Bridge, by the way, that that"},{"startTime":2176.734,"endTime":2180.44,"body":"they proposed. The Critter Bridge is Hardberger Park. This is a human bridge for a"},{"startTime":2180.44,"endTime":2184.2,"body":"lot of people. A critter bridge too. Anyway, that's a lot of money"},{"startTime":2184.2,"endTime":2187.96,"body":"for a bridge. You know? Let's I'm not saying that we would tune it out,"},{"startTime":2187.96,"endTime":2191.32,"body":"but let's focus what what would be the priority? Priority for"},{"startTime":2191.32,"endTime":2195.145,"body":"me would be convention center and arena, you know, and then"},{"startTime":2195.145,"endTime":2198.765,"body":"entertainment district. Those are on the same side, needed,"},{"startTime":2198.905,"endTime":2202.585,"body":"another hotel there, making sure that we turn it into a world class"},{"startTime":2202.585,"endTime":2206.265,"body":"destination along with whatever's gonna happen at the"},{"startTime":2206.265,"endTime":2209.559,"body":"rest of the hemisphere and La Vida. We've got"},{"startTime":2209.559,"endTime":2213.319,"body":"500,000,000 worth of improvement at Alamo. So at the Alamo, so all"},{"startTime":2213.319,"endTime":2217.0,"body":"that is already working. We got the new hotel. So on the"},{"startTime":2217.0,"endTime":2220.76,"body":"West Side, the ballpark coming for the mission. Over there. Yeah. The ballpark"},{"startTime":2220.76,"endTime":2224.435,"body":"over there. I still I helped create the Sona Cultural around Market"},{"startTime":2224.435,"endTime":2228.195,"body":"Square. We gotta continue to push that westwardly. I see"},{"startTime":2228.195,"endTime":2231.875,"body":"some really good development on the West Side. You know, I would love to"},{"startTime":2231.875,"endTime":2235.155,"body":"create a a Conjunto or Tejano Walk Of Fame,"},{"startTime":2235.395,"endTime":2239.05,"body":"into the West Side. Why wouldn't we do that? I wanna have live"},{"startTime":2239.05,"endTime":2242.73,"body":"music in these venues along, these avenues on the"},{"startTime":2242.73,"endTime":2246.57,"body":"West Side. You just pick every restaurant and ask every restaurant owner to to play"},{"startTime":2246.57,"endTime":2250.01,"body":"live music, Tejano, Cojonto. Let's let's think"},{"startTime":2250.01,"endTime":2253.715,"body":"big, and it doesn't really take that much. It just takes a"},{"startTime":2253.715,"endTime":2257.475,"body":"concerted effort with the vision, that will get us there. So there's a lot of"},{"startTime":2257.475,"endTime":2260.755,"body":"stuff we could do downtown. But let me tell you this this one last thing"},{"startTime":2260.755,"endTime":2263.635,"body":"on on project marble. First of all, the first thing I'm gonna do is we're"},{"startTime":2263.635,"endTime":2267.32,"body":"gonna change the name, and and we might, reenvision it a little"},{"startTime":2267.32,"endTime":2270.76,"body":"bit. But project marble needs to benefit every"},{"startTime":2270.76,"endTime":2274.52,"body":"district. It can't just be district one or two. So"},{"startTime":2274.52,"endTime":2277.66,"body":"what I'm proposing is that the revenue that comes from the arena"},{"startTime":2278.6,"endTime":2282.015,"body":"needs to be put into a fund and that is"},{"startTime":2282.015,"endTime":2285.535,"body":"earmarked for every district divided into 10 equal"},{"startTime":2285.535,"endTime":2289.135,"body":"parts, but it will only be used for"},{"startTime":2289.135,"endTime":2292.735,"body":"infrastructure and public safety. And that way"},{"startTime":2292.735,"endTime":2296.48,"body":"every council person gets those funds that will"},{"startTime":2296.48,"endTime":2299.54,"body":"go to their district just for those two things because those are the two most"},{"startTime":2299.68,"endTime":2303.36,"body":"important things and those are the two things that are needed most. And"},{"startTime":2303.36,"endTime":2306.98,"body":"then that way everybody in the city wins. It's not just to play for downtown,"},{"startTime":2307.44,"endTime":2311.214,"body":"it allows everybody in the city to take advantage of this"},{"startTime":2311.214,"endTime":2314.575,"body":"wonderful opportunity. You'll have to negotiate hard with the Spurs,"},{"startTime":2314.575,"endTime":2318.115,"body":"Rolando. If we if they get the same model they have with the county,"},{"startTime":2318.815,"endTime":2322.515,"body":"they they took responsibility for the operational"},{"startTime":2322.654,"endTime":2326.01,"body":"costs in return for being able to manage the arena,"},{"startTime":2326.23,"endTime":2329.91,"body":"handle all the bookings, benefit from the concessions and"},{"startTime":2329.91,"endTime":2332.73,"body":"parking. And so it would have to be a very different,"},{"startTime":2333.59,"endTime":2337.224,"body":"negotiated deal here in hemisphere. That's where my years and years"},{"startTime":2337.224,"endTime":2340.825,"body":"of of negotiation will come in. I'm good at that. And,"},{"startTime":2341.464,"endTime":2344.025,"body":"you know, I like to sit down with them and say, look. You know, we"},{"startTime":2344.105,"endTime":2346.444,"body":"this if this is gonna be,"},{"startTime":2348.025,"endTime":2351.56,"body":"an arena, financed by visitor money,"},{"startTime":2351.56,"endTime":2355.24,"body":"whatever we end up doing. And the people, the taxpayers need to get their"},{"startTime":2355.24,"endTime":2358.76,"body":"return on their investment, 100% return. And the way they'll see"},{"startTime":2358.76,"endTime":2362.28,"body":"that is through the scheme that I just laid out, is every"},{"startTime":2362.28,"endTime":2365.74,"body":"district gets money for infrastructure and public safety"},{"startTime":2366.015,"endTime":2369.555,"body":"in equal parts. You know, Rolando, one of the things that perplexes"},{"startTime":2369.775,"endTime":2373.535,"body":"me about you, even disappointed me a little bit, because you're the American dream"},{"startTime":2373.535,"endTime":2377.155,"body":"to me. I'm second generation immigrant"},{"startTime":2377.295,"endTime":2381.06,"body":"families from French Canada. You're first generation born in"},{"startTime":2381.06,"endTime":2384.44,"body":"Sonora, Mexico, obviously had some parents that were,"},{"startTime":2384.74,"endTime":2388.58,"body":"you know, completely committed to building a better life for their"},{"startTime":2388.58,"endTime":2392.125,"body":"family. And it's the great American story. Right? And"},{"startTime":2392.185,"endTime":2395.945,"body":"one generation later, here's a guy with an attorney, multiple"},{"startTime":2395.945,"endTime":2399.305,"body":"advanced degrees, making a huge impact in the state and"},{"startTime":2399.305,"endTime":2403.065,"body":"city, now running for mayor. And yet when I heard you talk about"},{"startTime":2403.065,"endTime":2406.365,"body":"immigration, I think it was at the San Antonio Report Greater Chamber"},{"startTime":2407.41,"endTime":2410.93,"body":"debate with Gina Ortiz Jones. It was"},{"startTime":2410.93,"endTime":2414.77,"body":"mostly focused on, deporting criminal aliens. And"},{"startTime":2414.77,"endTime":2417.91,"body":"I think you have a handle on the data as well as I do."},{"startTime":2418.53,"endTime":2422.244,"body":"The the number of immigrants who are criminal is probably equivalent to"},{"startTime":2422.244,"endTime":2425.765,"body":"the number of citizens who are criminal, which is to say a very small"},{"startTime":2425.765,"endTime":2429.464,"body":"minority, but they have an outsized impact, but still they're a very small number."},{"startTime":2429.924,"endTime":2433.464,"body":"Whereas hundreds of thousands of immigrants have come through this city"},{"startTime":2433.684,"endTime":2437.269,"body":"and were processed. We didn't ask for them, but first in the"},{"startTime":2437.269,"endTime":2440.95,"body":"Trump administration, then in the Biden administration, you know, you had these"},{"startTime":2440.95,"endTime":2444.549,"body":"vast numbers of asylum seekers trying to cross the border or crossing the"},{"startTime":2444.549,"endTime":2448.17,"body":"border. And we became the the gateway and processed"},{"startTime":2448.39,"endTime":2452.055,"body":"those people on their way, you know, to the next flight or bus bus"},{"startTime":2452.055,"endTime":2455.734,"body":"ride to wherever they were going. And kudos to the city for how we did"},{"startTime":2455.734,"endTime":2458.875,"body":"it. We didn't even know if we were gonna get reimbursed for a long time."},{"startTime":2459.255,"endTime":2462.99,"body":"But, we are a city, where hundreds of"},{"startTime":2462.99,"endTime":2466.43,"body":"thousands of people trace their heritage to Mexico, by one"},{"startTime":2466.43,"endTime":2470.19,"body":"generation or two or three generations. And, we"},{"startTime":2470.19,"endTime":2473.89,"body":"have many people, who are Spanish language dominant,"},{"startTime":2474.75,"endTime":2478.525,"body":"Mexican culture dominant, and they're they're"},{"startTime":2478.525,"endTime":2481.964,"body":"living in fear over what's going on in our country with ICE, whether"},{"startTime":2481.964,"endTime":2485.505,"body":"they're whether they're citizens or they're noncitizens. And"},{"startTime":2485.885,"endTime":2489.265,"body":"it looks to me like you would move away from a more empathetic"},{"startTime":2490.23,"endTime":2494.069,"body":"position if you were mayor that has kind of been the tradition here in"},{"startTime":2494.069,"endTime":2497.91,"body":"our city of being open arms and, maybe more"},{"startTime":2497.91,"endTime":2501.589,"body":"of a law enforcement, more aligned with Washington and what they're doing."},{"startTime":2501.589,"endTime":2505.135,"body":"But let me give you the floor to clarify where you are on that. Sure."},{"startTime":2505.135,"endTime":2508.894,"body":"Well, first of all, yes. I'm an immigrant. My parents waited"},{"startTime":2508.894,"endTime":2512.335,"body":"ten years to get, our documents so that we can come"},{"startTime":2512.335,"endTime":2516.115,"body":"over. They came over legally. Of course. Yeah. We were here legally."},{"startTime":2516.93,"endTime":2520.53,"body":"My dad submitted whatever paperwork it was, and it took ten"},{"startTime":2520.53,"endTime":2524.13,"body":"years to get that. And that's when we finally came over to El"},{"startTime":2524.13,"endTime":2527.65,"body":"Paso from El Juarez. We have been"},{"startTime":2527.65,"endTime":2530.79,"body":"attracting immigrants, legal or"},{"startTime":2531.115,"endTime":2534.875,"body":"otherwise, for decades for selfish reasons here"},{"startTime":2534.875,"endTime":2538.715,"body":"because we need people to work in jobs that a lot of Americans won't take."},{"startTime":2538.715,"endTime":2542.315,"body":"And you recognize that as a business person that the economy needs"},{"startTime":2542.315,"endTime":2546.089,"body":"immigrants, Right? Not just as a business person, but I started my legal career as"},{"startTime":2546.089,"endTime":2549.93,"body":"an immigration lawyer. There you go. So so talk about"},{"startTime":2549.93,"endTime":2553.69,"body":"empathy. I have the empathy, and I know the struggles, and I know"},{"startTime":2553.69,"endTime":2557.425,"body":"the reasons immigrants come here. And I don't judge whether they"},{"startTime":2557.425,"endTime":2561.265,"body":"came here legally or not, particularly those that have"},{"startTime":2561.265,"endTime":2565.105,"body":"come here in the past that have been here. We've asked"},{"startTime":2565.105,"endTime":2568.945,"body":"them to work for us. We've embedded them into our economy, into our"},{"startTime":2568.945,"endTime":2572.609,"body":"society. They pay taxes. Their kids are dreamers. Kids"},{"startTime":2572.609,"endTime":2576.23,"body":"are dreamers. I consider myself to be a dreamer not because,"},{"startTime":2576.69,"endTime":2580.369,"body":"you know, we have, you know, I I don't have documentation, but"},{"startTime":2580.369,"endTime":2583.41,"body":"because I had nothing to do with my parents' decision to bring me here. I"},{"startTime":2583.41,"endTime":2587.045,"body":"was nine years old. So I'm kind of a dreamer, and and and I and"},{"startTime":2587.045,"endTime":2590.805,"body":"I want the dreamers I want their situation to get fixed"},{"startTime":2590.805,"endTime":2594.245,"body":"quickly. Okay? Because we need them to stay here. We"},{"startTime":2594.485,"endTime":2598.245,"body":"now this whole issue of, Gina saying that I wanna"},{"startTime":2598.245,"endTime":2601.869,"body":"deputize police officers to be ICE agents, that's baloney. Right? I've never"},{"startTime":2601.869,"endTime":2605.069,"body":"even said that. And they're not gonna do that. And they're not gonna do that."},{"startTime":2605.069,"endTime":2608.829,"body":"I think that's offensive to our police officers, by the way, that they"},{"startTime":2608.829,"endTime":2612.51,"body":"would be manipulated. I think chief McManus has has charted a very"},{"startTime":2612.51,"endTime":2616.045,"body":"sensible course on that issue from the beginning. He's been very clear. He has to"},{"startTime":2616.045,"endTime":2619.885,"body":"follow the law. First of all, sanctuary cities are illegal in Texas,"},{"startTime":2619.885,"endTime":2623.645,"body":"and, you know, I'm not gonna break the law. And the thing is is"},{"startTime":2623.645,"endTime":2627.405,"body":"that both Salazar, sheriff Salazar, and McManus have come out and"},{"startTime":2627.405,"endTime":2631.08,"body":"said they are gonna cooperate with federal officials because they have to."},{"startTime":2631.08,"endTime":2634.68,"body":"But that doesn't make them ICE officers. That's correct. And and and"},{"startTime":2634.68,"endTime":2638.22,"body":"so for for her to say that I wanna deputize, it's it's ridiculous."},{"startTime":2638.44,"endTime":2641.96,"body":"Again, going back to those personal attacks on, you know, on my"},{"startTime":2641.96,"endTime":2645.435,"body":"character and my integrity. But here's the reality"},{"startTime":2645.435,"endTime":2649.195,"body":"of it. When I say that I do want criminal aliens to be"},{"startTime":2649.195,"endTime":2652.895,"body":"deported, I mean it. But right now,"},{"startTime":2653.115,"endTime":2656.89,"body":"a lot of people are living in fear because I think a lot of it"},{"startTime":2656.89,"endTime":2659.869,"body":"is people stoking fear. Nobody is deporting"},{"startTime":2660.65,"endTime":2664.43,"body":"anyone if they're not haven't haven't already been received"},{"startTime":2664.89,"endTime":2668.674,"body":"a deportation deportation order. That's what they're looking for. I"},{"startTime":2668.674,"endTime":2671.954,"body":"think a lot of the people that were told you're okay until your asylum hearing"},{"startTime":2671.954,"endTime":2674.914,"body":"are suddenly finding out they're not okay and they're gonna be on a plane to"},{"startTime":2674.914,"endTime":2678.595,"body":"God knows where. Well, if you if you came here under"},{"startTime":2678.595,"endTime":2682.369,"body":"asylum, I believe and I said this the other night. You you you should"},{"startTime":2682.369,"endTime":2686.21,"body":"get your due process. You should have the opportunity to stand in front of an"},{"startTime":2686.21,"endTime":2689.89,"body":"officer or a judge so they can hear your case. That's absolutely"},{"startTime":2689.89,"endTime":2693.33,"body":"true. Okay. And The problem there is that ninety percent of the cases are getting"},{"startTime":2693.33,"endTime":2696.505,"body":"denied because they don't call. Well, that's always been the case. People want"},{"startTime":2696.744,"endTime":2700.505,"body":"economic asylum more than political in many cases, and and"},{"startTime":2700.505,"endTime":2704.184,"body":"the law doesn't So if they're living in fear, it's fear that their"},{"startTime":2704.184,"endTime":2707.944,"body":"case isn't gonna qualify. Now people who have been here for"},{"startTime":2707.944,"endTime":2711.62,"body":"a long time without documentation, who have been"},{"startTime":2711.62,"endTime":2715.4,"body":"law abiding and family people and the kind of people we want,"},{"startTime":2715.46,"endTime":2719.14,"body":"you know, they should not be living in fear. And they're not deporting those folks."},{"startTime":2719.14,"endTime":2721.94,"body":"I'm telling you right now. That's not how the only people who are getting deported"},{"startTime":2721.94,"endTime":2725.32,"body":"are those that have already been deemed deportable or criminals."},{"startTime":2726.115,"endTime":2729.715,"body":"And and and the fact that the other folks are scared is"},{"startTime":2729.715,"endTime":2732.455,"body":"because people are just stoking these, you know,"},{"startTime":2733.635,"endTime":2737.395,"body":"rumors about that happening. The other day, I heard that these babies"},{"startTime":2737.395,"endTime":2740.915,"body":"that were US citizens got deported. Well, they didn't get deported. It was their"},{"startTime":2740.915,"endTime":2744.74,"body":"moms, and the moms chose to take them with them. So they"},{"startTime":2744.74,"endTime":2747.8,"body":"could the babies could've stayed. We don't deport,"},{"startTime":2748.579,"endTime":2752.26,"body":"US citizens. Right? So there's a lot of misconception going out"},{"startTime":2752.26,"endTime":2755.859,"body":"there. But just to make my position clear is that first and"},{"startTime":2755.859,"endTime":2759.695,"body":"foremost, immigrants are human beings"},{"startTime":2760.475,"endTime":2764.075,"body":"and and they come here for the same reasons our ancestors came here and I"},{"startTime":2764.075,"endTime":2767.835,"body":"came here. My parents brought us here. We're a country of laws, so we"},{"startTime":2767.835,"endTime":2771.47,"body":"have to abide by the law. But we also have to recognize that the vast"},{"startTime":2771.47,"endTime":2774.849,"body":"majority of the people that are here were drawn here"},{"startTime":2775.309,"endTime":2778.829,"body":"for for the prospect of a job, and we've given them jobs. We"},{"startTime":2778.829,"endTime":2782.349,"body":"welcome them here indirectly. So we have to fix that issue"},{"startTime":2782.349,"endTime":2785.984,"body":"first, and that's where our immigration system is broken. And then we"},{"startTime":2785.984,"endTime":2789.525,"body":"hear about, you know, all these attempts to fix our immigration"},{"startTime":2789.585,"endTime":2793.285,"body":"laws. Well, we haven't been able to do that, so we have to fix"},{"startTime":2793.345,"endTime":2796.785,"body":"immigration laws first. We have to work on guest worker"},{"startTime":2796.785,"endTime":2800.51,"body":"programs because we do need workers. So it's"},{"startTime":2800.51,"endTime":2804.349,"body":"a matter of fixing, but that's a federal issue. I hope if you"},{"startTime":2804.349,"endTime":2808.109,"body":"do win the the mayor's race, Rolando, that you'll be able to"},{"startTime":2808.109,"endTime":2811.684,"body":"send a public message to people to say come out of your fear and drop"},{"startTime":2811.684,"endTime":2814.724,"body":"it. I'll say it right now. Come out of your fear. You have nothing to"},{"startTime":2814.724,"endTime":2818.565,"body":"fear. You know? You say that, but we have a Republican president who is"},{"startTime":2818.565,"endTime":2822.405,"body":"challenging the fourteenth amendment and wants to defend our whole issue."},{"startTime":2822.405,"endTime":2826.13,"body":"Yeah. I don't agree with that. Look, the the people that"},{"startTime":2826.13,"endTime":2829.57,"body":"are being deported are criminals who have a natural"},{"startTime":2829.57,"endTime":2833.25,"body":"record and those that have already gone to a judge and the"},{"startTime":2833.25,"endTime":2836.77,"body":"judge has deported them. That's all those are all the only individuals that are"},{"startTime":2836.77,"endTime":2840.615,"body":"being addressed right now. Whether that changes or not, I don't know. But I"},{"startTime":2840.615,"endTime":2843.975,"body":"will fight that because that that we can't have that. We we gotta make sure"},{"startTime":2843.975,"endTime":2847.335,"body":"that we we get rid of of the individuals that have already had their day"},{"startTime":2847.335,"endTime":2851.16,"body":"in court. Alright. Rolando Pablo, candidate for mayor. Thanks"},{"startTime":2851.16,"endTime":2854.76,"body":"for coming on to Big City Small Town. Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity. Thank"},{"startTime":2854.76,"endTime":2855.9,"body":"you very much, Bob."},{"startTime":2859.64,"endTime":2863.4,"body":"Please share this episode with friends and colleagues, and do sign up for Monday"},{"startTime":2863.4,"endTime":2865.535,"body":"Musings, our weekly newsletter at"},{"startTime":2865.535,"endTime":2869.375,"body":"bigcitysmalltown.com. Big City Small Town"},{"startTime":2869.375,"endTime":2872.975,"body":"is brought to you by Western Urban, building the city our children want to call"},{"startTime":2872.975,"endTime":2876.755,"body":"home, and Geekdom, where startups are born and smart ideas"},{"startTime":2876.815,"endTime":2880.44,"body":"become businesses. Our producer is Corey Eames, video"},{"startTime":2880.44,"endTime":2884.28,"body":"by Erica Rempel, and sound engineering by Alfie de la Garza of"},{"startTime":2884.28,"endTime":2887.339,"body":"Sound Crane Audio. We will see you next week."}]}