The Great Debate 2016 for City Council Elections Deemed 'Superb'

The Great Debate 2016 brought in five candidates running for their single members districts (SMD) to the stage at the Riverview Restaurant, 800 W. Avenue D, to answer the questions important to residents of San Angelo. About 45 people attended the event hosted by KGKL-960 AM, Townsquare Media and San Angelo LIVE!.

The candidate for SMD 1 was Trinidad Aguirre Jr.; for SMD 3, Daniel Cardenas and Harry Thomas; and for SMD 5, Elizabeth Grindstaff and Lane Carter.

The debate's moderators of the evening were Boomer Kingston with Townsquare Media and San Angelo LIVE!'s publisher Joe Hyde and Editor-in-chief Brandy Ramirez. The questions asked consisted of various topics such as water requirements for San Angelo, roads, trash, business development, and small business taxing to name a few.

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One question asked early on in the debate was how encouraging youths to live in San Angelo is difficult when salaries are low and rent is high.

Daniel Cardenas, who was asked the question initially, said he did not feel prepared to answer this question and gave no comment. Thomas answered by saying the city is going to need economic development by bringing in businesses that pay the wages that allow young people to stay in San Angelo rather than move to a big city as the alternative.  

“We need competitive wages, but they need to be with an organization that allow these people to stand and grow here," Thomas said. "Costs of the apartments are going to continue to stay the same, or raise a little bit. It’s just a matter of business.”

Christina Lee, a member of the audience, said she felt the young people were left out of the discussion when Cardenas did not answer the question. Being 24 years old, she would like to move out of her family home, but the expense of living on her own in San Angelo restrains her from doing so.

An important portion of the debate included questions from the audience. One popular topic was the water reclamation project that the city council is reviewing. The project will cost the city an estimated $136 million to develop if approved.

Carter cited his experience growing up in San Angelo with a drought level three and positioned that the reclamation be set aside until further data could be collected on the topic. Carter pushed for aquifer projects that were presented at Tuesday's Water Advisory Board meeting, such as tapping the Lipan Aquifer. Carter suggested that water purchased directly and then delivered through the pipelines could be used in San Angelo in lieu of water reclamation. The down side being that the water supply the Lipan Aquifer's limited volume, and could be discharged after 60-90 days of usage, Carter said.

Grindstaff was asked a question about “putting the brakes” on the $136 million water reclamation project during the Feb. 2 City Council meeting. She was asked if she had changed her position on the reclamation project.

“My position was then, and has been, waiting for more information on the safety of reuse before the council is asked to approve it. We approved, what I thought, was a feasibility study or a pilot project, and yet we were being asked to make a decision on the project before the results of the ... study was in,” Grindstaff said.  

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Aguirre Jr. was asked about the idea of introducing a new city ordinance to prohibit the rental of someone’s home or a room in their home through the use of AirBnB.com. This being the idea of “sharing economy” where a home owner could sign up for a background check used on the website and then proceed to rent their property out to aspiring renters or vacationers.

“What you’re looking at is a less than a 30-day rental," Aguirre said. As President of Lake Nasworthy’s Home Owners Association, Aguirre said he will remain neutral until further information is provided by the City on this topic.   

“The question is now before the city council is should that be allowed," Aguirre said.

For the closing question of the night, Ramirez asked a question from the audience about how small business can be protected to keep them operating in San Angelo.  

Carter mentioned tax breaks which can prevent small business from going under.

“My plan would be to give them breaks to where they can afford to stay in business," Carter said.

Cardenas mentioned using committee development funds that can be placed in different areas through the City's guidance to assist some of the small businesses.

“We have to take the initiative. We can talk all we want here, but a lot of us, after we get elected, lose touch with our constituency,” Cardenas said.

Cheryl Arcemont, member of the audience who asked the last question, said, “They all addressed it very well and just what I thought that it should be, that there needs to be a happy medium between the government [and the private sector], because the government shouldn’t handle everything.”

After the event, many attendees said they thought the questions related to citizens' concerns, the setting was perfect, and the program superb. For those who missed the debate, By The Stream Media created a video of the entire event that will be available on sanangelolive.com Thursday. An audio "podcast" of the event will be available later today. 

San Angelo LIVE!, Townsquare Media and KGKL-960 AM will host The Great Debate 2016 for the police chief election Apr. 5 at 6 p.m. at the RiverView Restaurant, 800 Ave. D. Tickets are $20 and includes sampling Chef Carlos Estrada's finest appetizers. It is expected to sell out.

You can reserve your place by purchasing tickets for the police chief debate to be held on Tuesday, April 5. Click here to purchase tickets.