A friendly atmosphere pervaded the Cuero Candidate Forum on April 16 at the Municipal Club House.uptive persons would be asked to leave was not needed at the gathering.
Hosted by the Cuero Chamber of Commerce, approximately 75 voters came to hear from candidates for two City Council At-Large seats, two DeWitt Hospital District seats and one CISD board seat.
Though necessary in the larger political context, the warning by Cuero Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Angie Cuellar -- that disruptive persons would be asked to leave -- was not needed at the gathering.
The candidates showed respect for, and even joked with, each other.
Each candidate had seen the moderator’s questions ahead of time, but voters could also make inquiries by turning in written questions. The Cuero Development Corporation Executive Director Maggie Cromeens served as moderator.
Other sponsors for the event also included The Cuero Record, the South Central Texas League of Women Voters, the DeWitt/ Lavaca County Democratic Women and the DeWitt County Republican Party.
At-Large candidates Adam Arroyo, Russell Mobley, and Charles Tounley discussed their visions for infrastructure improvements, economic development, budgeting and transparency.
Incumbent Adam Arroyo, who was appointed last June to complete the term of Emil Garza when he became mayor, highlighted the city's success in securing $8.4 million in grants for infrastructure projects over the last two or three years.
“It only cost Cuero just over $470,000,” Arroyo said. “That's a pretty good deal to go out there and look for these grants and then you're able to find out where the money is needed.”
Mobley agreed with the need for grants and partnerships, but emphasized the need for smart, proactive planning and community input.
“I'm especially passionate about improving access and quality of life in our underserved areas, such as the south and west side of town, where roads may not be in the best condition,” Mobley said. “Every part of Cuero deserves safe streets, reliable utilities and dignity of investment.”
Tounley said he would first want to discover what the infrastructure needs are with his own eyes then listen to all stakeholders.
“I would want input from employees, citizens and managers to do this,” he said. “I would prioritize based on the needs and goals, both short term and long term. Finally, these priorities should be integrated into a budget, and the public must be kept in the loop.”
Economic Growth
The candidates took turns going first on the questions with Tounley starting off on his vision for economic growth. He said he would like to see Cuero reach a population of 10,000. He said he thinks Cuero needs more industry to do that.
“I would like to see us get a large business that makes something and ships it off,” Tounley said. “That would be my goal for the next two years. We are relying on a lot of state and federal dollars here. Our schools do, our hospitals do, and things can get tough. We need something else.”
Mobley said he would like to make sure that good ideas aren’t delayed by red tape.
“I will make it easier to start operating a business in Cuero,” he said. “That means expanding programs like facade improvement grants to help business owners refresh their storefronts, launching pop-up retail initiatives to give entrepreneurs low barrier entry into marketing, and streamlining permitting processes.”
Mobley also had suggestions for bringing more visitors. “We can look into organizing festivals, food crawls and local, live music events that allow you to attract visitors, but also highlight local talent,” he said.
Arroyo acknowledged that Cuero had lost some businesses in the last few months and that it was painful to see them go.
“I would like to see businesses reach out to the Cuero Development Corporation for grants to maintain and beautify their buildings,” he said. “Also the Chamber of Commerce does an exceptional job of advertising. If it's a new business and they don't know much about who to contact, they can be in contact with them for their advertising.”
Arroyo said what we really want to do is create a community where the people want to live, to move back as he did and raise a family “through our schools and through our medical system and everything. I think it’s a great place and we can keep it that way.”
Transparency
Answering first on the question of public transparency, Mobley had several ideas on ways to improve communication to citizens who may feel overlooked.
“I'd like to see the city expand its outreach by making its website a user-friendly home where citizens can get updates on meetings, agendas, budgets, minutes, decisions and contact information,” he said. “The city can make better use of social media, posting regular updates.”
Mobley said he'd like to see the city send out monthly newsletters, summarizing decisions for future projects, livestream city council meetings, open a public records portal, have multiple language access, send out surveys and hold town hall meetings.
“It's about meeting people where they are, not just asking them to come to us all the time,” he said.
Tounley said meetings like the night’s forum were a good start.
“It's essential for fostering long term trust and transparency,” he said. “When people understand the kind of things that go into what we consider community basic services, they're more likely to appreciate and support them.”
He said he would encourage people to attend council meetings, ask questions, speak to their representative, and read the paper. Tounley commended the recent Comprehensive Planning Workshop held earlier in the month as a good start for community input in shaping its future.
“We need to get more out there for people,” he said. “But people need to get involved themselves, just like you guys are doing right now.”
Arroyo agreed that “people are going to be as informed as they want to be.”
He joked that people have come up to tell him how good looking he is on TV because they have seen video recordings of city council meetings.
“Like Mr. Townley said, you just have to want to be informed,” Arroyo said. “The tools are there to be accessible by anybody.”
