Hoping to be the next McAllen city commissioner for District 4, three candidates answered questions about how they would serve their community as part of a candidate forum on Tuesday.
The three candidates — Rodolfo “Rudy” Castillo, Pablo D. Garcia and Javier Salazar — made their case to voters for why they should be elected to the commission during a forum held by Futuro RGV.
They were first asked about what they considered to be the city’s biggest asset and concern.
Salazar, a realtor, said the proximity of institutions of higher education, the proximity to Mexico, and communities of faith were some of the city’s biggest assets.
One of the negative aspects of the community, he said, was the current state of security. If elected, he’d propose establishing a police substation in District 4, install cameras and speed bumps, and hire more police officers.
“And take care of all the crime that we’re currently experiencing in my district,” Salazar said.
Garcia, board treasurer for the Camara de Comercio Internacional, or the International Chamber of Commerce, said his objective is to increase investments into parks and other recreational facilities for families as well as investments into the drainage system.
Castillo, a business owner, agreed that drainage in the area needed work, pointing to foul odors due to sewage and problems with flooding. He also said the area had a high crime rate, though he’s seen improvement in recent years.
“Change has to be done for District 4,” Castillo said.
As to what qualified them to serve on the city commission, Salazar said he had years of fiscal experience that came from sitting on the board of the city’s development corporation.
“I come from the era where we built McAllen into what it is today,” Salazar said. “I am the ideal candidate to lead our district into the future.”
Garcia referred to his experience working in commercial and industrial sectors and hoped to continue strengthening those areas of the city to create more jobs without raising taxes.
Castillo said he had experience with the foreign trade zone in the city and believed that would benefit the city.
All three candidates reached an agreement when it came to property taxes, believing the city shouldn’t raise them.
“I think we all agree McAllen should not increase property taxes; I think the money is there already, I think perhaps it’s not being appropriated properly,” Salazar said. “We need someone in there that has leadership experience, money experience like myself, and we just have to appropriate the money in the proper avenues, the proper direction.”
Garcia said that for taxes to not be raised, the city needed to attract and boost their international and foreign economy.
“I have, personally, a lot of good relationships with a lot of state governors, a lot of people from the federal government from Mexico,” Garcia said. “We need this to not raise the taxes.”
Castillo agreed with Salazar that the city had the budget to avoid raising taxes and added that they needed to investigate how tax dollars were being spent for the public’s knowledge.
The candidates were also asked about whether they favored offering subsidies to attract new businesses and how they would determine which businesses should receive them.
Salazar said the city should look at which businesses bring benefits to the city such as new jobs when considering subsidies. Garcia agreed that the city should focus on grants and the health of existing businesses.
Castillo said he would favor offering incentives to companies from Mexico such as those in the produce industry.
“I think it would grow our economy a lot more too,” he said.
The candidates are running in the special election to replace Commissioner Tania Ramirez, who resigned from District 4 to run for county judge.
Early voting for the special election began Wednesday and runs through Jan. 18.
The early voting locations include:
>> Firemans Pump House at 201 N. First St.
>> Palm View Community Center at 3401 Jordan Ave.
>> Lark Community Center at 2601 Lark Ave.
Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. except for Jan. 18 when they will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Saturdays — Jan. 8 and Jan. 15 — the polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The polls will be closed on Sundays.
Election Day is Jan. 22.
