(Community Matters) The Austin American Statesman editorial is insightful and candid. I still haven’t made up my mind. Fond of them both – plenty of potential, if underwhelming records.
(AAS) Diligence, leadership overdue in East Travis County
We frequently have criticized Gomez’s performance on the court, but we don’t find an alternative in challenger Raul Alvarez, a former Austin City Council member. He is a nice guy and well-intentioned but lacks focus and displays little practical working knowledge of county government. Granted, he has dreams, but reality is a harsh light that dreams rarely survive.
The two county commissioner precincts east of Interstate 35 have historically been targets for projects nobody wants industries and facilities that generate noise and flies. Now, the eastern part of the county is experiencing development pressure of a different kind.
The construction of Texas 130 and a designation of eastern Travis County as a desired development zone could be a blessing or a curse for the area. The blessing would be creation of jobs and business opportunities that development would bring. In the unincorporated areas of the county where county commissioners have limited authority over land use, only vigilance, political alacrity and the ability to push the envelope a little stand between residents and developments that become instant blight.
If ever there were precincts that needed effective, alert representation on the county commissioners court, it’s Precinct 4, which covers south and southeast Travis County, and Precinct 1, which covers north and northeast Travis County.
Precinct 1 incumbent Ron Davis will face the voters in two years. This year, it’s Precinct 4 incumbent Margaret G?mez’s turn to account for herself.
As the precinct’s voters make the choice, the question they should ask themselves is: Will my choice make things better or just different?
We frequently have criticized G?mez’s performance on the court, but we don’t find an alternative in challenger Raul Alvarez, a former Austin City Council member. He is a nice guy and well-intentioned but lacks focus and displays little practical working knowledge of county government.
Granted, he has dreams, but reality is a harsh light that dreams rarely survive.
Given the threat of a tight budget year and intensified needs for county services in courts, law enforcement and social services, the precinct needs assertive leadership, which neither candidate has demonstrated.
It’s not a great choice, but at least G?mez, a county commissioner since 1995, knows the courthouse and its quirks. She’s more of an inside player, but it’s time she brings her game out front.
She cares deeply about social services. As an aide to former Commissioner Richard Moya more than 30 years ago, she helped make county health clinics a reality. But she has been content to play small ball. She’s obviously an effective campaigner, though.
The energy and the intensity she has put into campaigning should translate into making what should be her last term into a productive one.
The race is pitched as a generational contest that pits the old barrio-style of political leadership against the newer, hipper more formally educated Latino candidate. While that scenario might play in the coffee shops, it’s not really the case. G?mez has been a crossover hit for years. She has developed strong ties with non-Latino political groups, including labor and environmentalists.
It just happens that she’s a generation older than Alvarez. She is 65, and he is 43.
Alvarez is a favorite of the ultra-hip but a disappointment to people who expect results. G?mez hasn’t got a lot to brag about, but at least she knows how to pull levers of county government — if only she would.
Instead of hiding behind the limitations of county government, G?mez ought to figure out how to leverage what power the county has to meet the development pressure the toll road is putting on the eastern edges of the precinct.
She is the dean of the commissioners court and ought to act like it. She needs to make things better and different.
Community Matters 