Gabriel Q.

Velasquez - District 3 Candidate Questionnaire Thank you for participating in the San Antonio Currents City Council and Mayoral Candidate Questionnaire. Your answers will appear in our online voter guide and potentially in print in our April 17 issue. You must answer 10 of the following 15 questions. For those questions you choose not to answer please write No Answer. You may also address additional issues after question 15. 1) Could the Citys recent ethics reforms be better enforced? Should there be more of a focus on potential conflicts of interest among City Council members as well as City staff? City Council should represent a voice of agreement or discontent as the representative of the people regarding ethics issues. It is not just about reforms. By default, enforcement includes scrutiny and public dialogue by Council in the public forum setting. We have the system we need. We need leaders that activate the system. 2) Whats your opinion on encouraging economic development and cultural/nature programming via public/private partnerships, especially where public land, such as Hemisfair Park, is concerned? I am in favor of innovative partnerships throughout the city however I feel strongly that Hemisfair Park should be developed as a public park without private accommodations, excluding concessions and contracted public amenities. Cultural/Nature programming can be considered a contracted public amenities. 3) Should the city establish an independent police monitor to better oversee the San Antonio Police Department? Why or why not? No. I am not in favor of increasing the bureaucracy. 4) Do you support the way the health department currently regulates food trucks? If not, how could the regulations be changed to better serve San Antonians? No Answer 5) How can the City support sustainable transportation options? By investing in a state of the art rail system designed to transport citizens to major points of destination, i.e., Medical Center, A&M, UTSA (Downtown and 1604), ACCD Colleges, Bus terminal junctions, major retail centers, sports arenas, and outlying rural areas by ground train.

6) What value do you think the arts (visual, performing, literary, etc) bring to San Antonio? In what ways can the City support local arts organizations and individual artists? The arts are the core of any city with an authentic base root culture. As the culture strives the arts manifest. The arts are an integral economic generator. The arts should be invested in from the bottom up with larger organizations supported by philanthropic investment leading strategies for self-sufficiency with assistance from the COSA. 7) Is it important for the City to strengthen its non-discrimination ordinances to protect LGBT citizens? Why or why not? Yes. 8) Is Animal Care Services doing enough to increase its live-release rate? Is ACS' public-private partnership model is working? If not, what else could be done? Yes. But it needs to do better taking strays of the streets. 9) What would you do to address the high vacancy rate in downtown buildings? A balanced city wide economy will strengthen downtown. COSA is out of balance. I would balance the city by balancing District 3. 10) Is the Citys million-dollar incentive for the creation of a downtown grocery store appropriate? Why or why not? Is there a better way to bring a grocery store downtown? It is appropriate but it also defines how appropriate-like incentives are city-wide. San Antonio constantly forces a solution that seldom works as opposed to discovering the true nature of our place. The solutions present themselves. COSA forces solutions. The better way is a process of better minds leading. The real question is, are there better minds to imaging a functional downtown? 11) How can San Antonio balance economic development with historic preservation? Preserve with incentives through direct Owner/City agreement. I weigh property owner s rights heavier. Preservation should not create hardship for poor owners. COSA should strive to provide cultural sensitivity guidelines and codes for emerging architectural archetypes the result of cultural-economic transformations currently not defined in the HDRC processes. 12) Do you support union organizers' push for a Tip Integrity Act for the downtown hotel and restaurant industry?

Yes. However, as a City Council leader I would not support a boycott strategy. Council support of the boycott would be a hindrance to the negotiation process of a progressive ordinance agreement between COSA and the H/R Industry. As a advocate I have been supportive of the Unite Here initiative. 13) What is the Citys role in making consumer solar power affordable for residents as well as local businesses? No Answer 14) Is there more the City could do to protect the Edwards Aquifer in terms of building restrictions, funding conservation easements or other means? Yes. Control growth and annexation. Set a baseline population goal and invest in re-strategizing inner city redevelopment. Reductions of impervious cover can help while ushering in an era of greening San Antonio.

15) What are the most critical components to implementing Pre-K 4 SA? Are there any other opportunities for the City to support education? Pre-K SA is experimental to a certain degree. My main objective will be ensuring that educational opportunity reaches the children most in need. Another important opportunity is formally educating adults and parents, i.e., adult literacy, ESL, and GED.