San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro re-elected with 82 per cent of the vote

Photo: From the San Antonio Express News

Mayor Julian Castro easily won his re-election campaign. Two strong points of his first term were his vocal support for SA's downtown as well as his continued support of education. Both are things which our local  politicians need to work on but have elected to neglect. Laredo downtown continues to wither and our children's education performance, although improving, hardly gets mentioned by our so-called leaders.

The SA Express News reports:

Castro said he will work during his second term to make the coming years the “decade of downtown,” as well as continue his efforts to improve the local education system.

In January, he publicly breached a long-perceived wall between municipal government and independent school districts when he said he'd involve himself in forming stronger school boards.

He actively supported former Councilwoman Patti Raddle in her bid for the San Antonio Independent School District's board of trustees. She'd planned to challenge Tom Lopez, the longest-serving member of the board, but after entering the race, Lopez announced he wouldn't seek re-election. “There's no question that after this election there will be a significantly different leadership dynamic at SAISD,” he said. “Patti won a great race.”

The mayor said he also looks forward to working with board President James Howard, who held onto his position in the face of Castro's support for Howard's opponent, Joy McGehee. Castro's reach into the school districts will continue as his Brainpower Initiative task force searches across the country for a program to implement here. He'll seek a 1/8-cent sales tax, the last bit of San Antonio's capacity, to fund the yet-to-be-determined program.

With the majority of the council allied with him, Castro should have no problem getting the proposed tax onto the November 2012 ballot. But he's expected to face some resistance, likely from the council's North Side contingent.

Despite a council with four new members, Castro said he's confident the next two years will be much like the last two — collegial and even-keeled, without “too much of a showboat” from anyone.

What? Without too much of a showboat from aynone?? Why, that's downright un-American. Well, downright un-Salinas-like anyway. 

Read the whole article at :  http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/article/Castro-winsre-electionin-a-stroll-1380218.php#ixzz1Pl0FFsOn