I’ve always believed good leadership starts with listening. When you elected me to City Council from 2010 to 2014, our street maintenance budget was only around $150,000 annually. It didn’t take long to see that our streets had not been invested in properly for decades. Working alongside Mayor Fernandez, our City Manager, and my fellow councilmembers, we made streets a priority and increased that investment to approximately $1.4 million annually. When I was elected Mayor in 2022, one of my priorities was to keep pushing forward. Today, that investment has grown again to about $1.7 million annually. That’s real progress but it’s not the finish line.
Turning Safety Concerns Into Real Results
Because if you spend any time in Del Rio, you know this: people still have concerns about streets. And they’re not shy about sharing them. I hear it at the grocery store, at events, and in conversations across town. That feedback matters, and I take it seriously. Every concern shared with me gets passed along to City Hall, because staying connected to what residents are experiencing day-to-day has always been a priority. I also want to recognize the work being done. Our street maintenance crews are out there working hard and taking pride in what they do. They’re responsive when issues are reported. But their job isn’t to patrol the streets, it’s to fix them. Our campaign built a simple, easy-to-use way for you to report street issues directly (including location, photos, and details) all in one place. It’s a practical step that helps connect what residents are seeing with the crews who are ready to fix it.
We decided to move forward with this idea with our campaign resources and put it into action without delay. And while this tool may seem simple, it reflects something bigger, a commitment to doing things better, acting on information, and focusing on solutions. There’s a difference in approach. Some people talk about problems. I’ve always believed in listening and then doing the work to solve them. This tool makes it easier for you to be heard, gives City Hall better information, and helps the city respond more efficiently. It’s about improving communication, prioritizing what matters most, and raising the standard for how we serve our community. Our campaign built this because I believe Del Rio deserves government that moves faster, works smarter, and responds in real time. This is about putting your voice front and center and making sure our crews have what they need to get the job done. This is for Del Rio, this is for results.