OUR MEETING WITH CARLOS GUERRERO, CANDIDATE FOR CITY COMMISSION AT LARGE "A"

Carlos Guerrero, Candidate for City Commission At-Large A

With the decision by Cesar De Leon not to seek reelection, two candidates have emerged for City Commissioner At Large "A," John Cowen and Carlos Guerrero.

We sat down with Mr. Guerrero yesterday at Mi Pueblito Restaurant on Pablo Kisel Blvd. in Brownsville, getting a sense of why he's running for office and specific needs he can identify in Brownsville.

"I've actually been thinking about this for three years," stated Guerrero.

"My purpose in running is to help make it easier for small businesses to get started in Brownsville.  Many are still experiencing long delays and resistance in starting a business, while I hear of others who get totally approved in a week or so," continued the candidate.

"Are you talking about compradrismo?" I asked.

"Exactly.  It's the buddy system.  And, I'm not saying that the business getting approved so quickly is a good thing.  Who knows if they have safety issues, fire hazards or electrical or plumbing problems when they get passed that easily?" explained Carlos.

"Are you familiar with the proposed merger of the three valley Metropolitan Planning Organizations?" I asked Guerrero.

"I've been looking at that.  I don't think Brownsville should agree to merge unless they've locked down and exact percentage of funding," offered Carlos.

Guerrero feels the current city commission has difficulty with consensus building and wastes time "looking for dirt on each other."

"I'm willing to talk.  Let's find out what's important to the other commissioners and I will tell you what I think is important," he added.