Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - 12 seek 3 at-large positions

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Sunday, April 1, 2001
12 seek 3 at-large positions
Voters go to polls Saturday to decide
By Dan Parker
Caller-Times
A total of 12 candidates are on the April 7 ballot for just three At-Large seats on the Corpus Christi City Council.
   The three candidates who win the most votes will win the seats.
   At-large candidates are elected on a citywide basis. They, like other council members, are paid $6,000 annually and have no staff. They are elected to represent the city, and not just a district.
   The three at-large members now on the City Council are City Councilwoman Melody Cooper, who is not seeking re-election, and City Councilmen Arnold Gonzales and Henry Garrett. Both Gonzales and Garrett are running to keep their at-large seats. City Councilman John Longoria, who now represents District 3, is also seeking an at-large seat.
   The Caller-Times asked at-large candidates where they stood on Packery Channel and if they thought the city needed a tax for economic development. Their answers, appearing in the order that the candidates appear on the ballot, are below.
   Should Packery Channel be dredged?
   John Longoria:
   "Packery Channel is part of a bigger picture of job development. It's important that we have many options."
   Richard Alonzo:
   "Yes, I am a believer. That is an economic development project. As a start, that's one project we could look at."
   Fred Meckel:
   "Packery Channel will give Corpus Christi a competitive edge in Texas that has been lacking in the past. We'll be able to compete for tourists and in general with cities like Austin, San Antonio and Houston."
   Henry Garrett:
   "It's a tremendous shot in the arm for the economy. Packery Channel is an opportunity for this community to take a great step toward the future."
   Arnold Gonzales:
   "I think it's another piece of the economic puzzle that will . . . give us all the ingredients we need to move forward."
   MaryLou Huffman:
   Would not answer other than to say, "The voters will decide that matter."
   Roy Martinez:
   "This is a bad project. I believe Packery Channel is not well thought through and not well funded."
   Sirfrederickvon E. King VII:
   "Yes. Progress will have to happen, and it's going to create some sort of business base."
   Betty Black:
   "I think it will be good economic sense for the city. I think it will provide jobs. Maybe not high-tech jobs. Maybe not computer jobs. But we build houses here. Real estate agents sell houses. We have plumbers, electricians and bricklayers in the community. Those are high-paying jobs."
   Frank Ferdinand Schlegel Jr.:
   "I'm for it as long as it doesn't cost the taxpayers. I'm not against the project, but the people voted it down once, so I'm against public funding for the project."
   Brent Chesney:
   "It is the first big opportunity for a great deal of jobs the city has seen in a long time. They're jobs that people in this community need. We've got to start somewhere."
   Rene Saenz Jr.:
   "No. I'm not convinced that this thing is environmentally sound, period. I'm concerned that where the channel would be dredged would destroy a park."
   Should an economic development tax be imposed?
   John Longoria:
   "Without it, we can't compete with other cities. We're going to continue to lose ground. It helps you compete with smaller, mid-sized cities."
   Richard Alonzo:
   "You could make money available for consulting and research projects and it can act as an incentive to attract lucrative corporations."
   Fred Meckel:
   "Yes. If you're not putting the money into it, (the city) is not going to grow. We need funding."
   Henry Garrett:
   "We go back to the polls in November. (We need to) do a better job of educating people of what an asset it would be to city government to give incentives. Other cities have that, and we need to be competitive."
   Arnold Gonzales:
   "Yes. People say business should be taking care of that, but that's why we have a city council. When we need an economic push, I think the sales tax would revive our economic engine and move this community forward."
   MaryLou Huffman:
   "It didn't pass in the 2000 bond issues. I feel economic development is best handled by the private sector. They can best do the economic development."
   Roy Martinez:
   "We had that (on the ballot) once and the people voted no. So that means we need to work within the existing budget."
   Sirfrederickvon E. King VII:
   "No. I feel that industry should pay for that . . . They have the money to do it."
   Betty Black:
   "No one likes tax increases, but there's no free lunch. It's going to provide money for us to go out into the world to explore companies we think would be advantageous to our community to bring here to bring better-paying jobs, more high-tech jobs."
   Frank Ferdinand Schlegel Jr.:
   "I think that economic development tax would be just a waste of taxpayers' money. They spend a bunch of money, but they don't do anything. The council themselves, if they got on the ball, they could go out and bring a lot of industry on their own."
   Brent Chesney:
   "We've got to put it on the ballot in a way that people understand it. But if people don't want it, fine."
   Rene Saenz Jr.:
   "I think (the tax) would be a good idea because what we're failing to do is bring in companies that bring in good jobs. What we seem to focus on is tourism, and it's not bringing what's needed. We need high-tech industries, and this could be a way of luring those industries down here."

Staff writer Jason Ma contributed to this report. Dan Parker can be reached at 886-3746, or by e-mail at parkerd@caller.com

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