SAEN July editorial on Mayoral candidate Julian Castro
Julian Castro (photo)
Candidate for SA Mayor
Express-News Editorial (July 5th)
It is often said that when one door closes another door opens. For San Antonio, AT&T's announcement that its corporate headquarters will soon relocate to Dallas presents a "turning point" opportunity for our civic leaders to rally the business community, educators and the general public behind a common vision for San Antonio's future.
Mayor Phil Hardberger, who has shown an impressive ability to lead, would be wise to summon the talent, wisdom and goodwill of 1.3 million San Antonians by launching a comprehensive, community-wide effort to enhance San Antonio's global competitiveness and quality of life.
Indeed, in the 25 years since the formation of the Target 90 Commission, San Antonio has flourished in every way a city can flourish: more people, more jobs, more things to do, better incomes. Along the way, our education level has risen and the number of companies headquartered here has grown.
The loss of AT&T reminds us all that we have more work to do, but it makes no sense to engage in the "satisfied-with-the-silver" perspective that San Antonio will never be Dallas or Houston. The better path lies in dreaming big for our city, in methodically addressing the shortcomings highlighted by AT&T's decision and leveraging the enormous advantages that San Antonio has to offer. As we do so, there are some aspirations to keep in mind.
First, we need to play some offense. In 2004, the City Council set aside over $30 million (to match the state's economic incentive fund) to retain and attract Fortune 500 companies. San Antonio should redouble its efforts to incentivize the clustering -that is, the aggregation of talent, suppliers and purchasers - of industries San Antonio is steeped in.
The city stands on the cusp of becoming the military medical research capital of the nation. The investment at Fort Sam Houston, together with the UT Health Science Center, the Southwest Research Institute and private biomed companies give San Antonio a prime opportunity to lure companies who would benefit from the cluster effect in that industry, grow new companies from within, and retain companies who already call San Antonio home.
Toyota and its 21 on-site suppliers as well as Rackspace, Security Hill and the National Security Agency's local investment offer similar opportunities in the manufacturing and information security sectors, respectively.
Second, a renewed effort to produce a well-educated, highly skilled workforce must set bold goals for the education of our youth. As part of this effort, a fiefdom mentality within our education bureaucracy must give way to a collaborative drive to meet specific achievement gains in graduation rates, SAT scores, and college matriculation - a "Master Plan for San Antonio Public Schools."
Our school boards are in desperate need of strong leadership, and it is past time that our chambers of commerce, PTAs and educators work together to cultivate and recruit highly competent, forward-looking candidates for school board positions.
Third, local job training initiatives must be expanded to take advantage of new opportunities. If someone asked you to name a region that leads the nation in software development, you would probably say Silicon Valley. If they asked about biotechnology, you might say Boston or San Diego.
Finally, as a city we must enhance the quality of our community and neighborhoods. In the coming 25 years, San Antonio's challenge will be to expand its economic and cultural opportunities and still maintain its fundamental character - that sense of community, of neighborliness and safety that distinguishes San Antonio from being just another American big city. The call to action is now.
Julián Castro is an attorney and former member of the San Antonio City Council.
Candidate for SA Mayor
Express-News Editorial (July 5th)
It is often said that when one door closes another door opens. For San Antonio, AT&T's announcement that its corporate headquarters will soon relocate to Dallas presents a "turning point" opportunity for our civic leaders to rally the business community, educators and the general public behind a common vision for San Antonio's future.
Mayor Phil Hardberger, who has shown an impressive ability to lead, would be wise to summon the talent, wisdom and goodwill of 1.3 million San Antonians by launching a comprehensive, community-wide effort to enhance San Antonio's global competitiveness and quality of life.
The good news is that this has been successfully done before. Target 90, initiated by former mayor Henry Cisneros, brought together hundreds of San Antonians from across the spectrum in an effort that produced policy and development initiatives instrumental to San Antonio's emergence as an economic powerhouse.
Indeed, in the 25 years since the formation of the Target 90 Commission, San Antonio has flourished in every way a city can flourish: more people, more jobs, more things to do, better incomes. Along the way, our education level has risen and the number of companies headquartered here has grown.
The loss of AT&T reminds us all that we have more work to do, but it makes no sense to engage in the "satisfied-with-the-silver" perspective that San Antonio will never be Dallas or Houston. The better path lies in dreaming big for our city, in methodically addressing the shortcomings highlighted by AT&T's decision and leveraging the enormous advantages that San Antonio has to offer. As we do so, there are some aspirations to keep in mind.
First, we need to play some offense. In 2004, the City Council set aside over $30 million (to match the state's economic incentive fund) to retain and attract Fortune 500 companies. San Antonio should redouble its efforts to incentivize the clustering -that is, the aggregation of talent, suppliers and purchasers - of industries San Antonio is steeped in.
The city stands on the cusp of becoming the military medical research capital of the nation. The investment at Fort Sam Houston, together with the UT Health Science Center, the Southwest Research Institute and private biomed companies give San Antonio a prime opportunity to lure companies who would benefit from the cluster effect in that industry, grow new companies from within, and retain companies who already call San Antonio home.
Toyota and its 21 on-site suppliers as well as Rackspace, Security Hill and the National Security Agency's local investment offer similar opportunities in the manufacturing and information security sectors, respectively.
Second, a renewed effort to produce a well-educated, highly skilled workforce must set bold goals for the education of our youth. As part of this effort, a fiefdom mentality within our education bureaucracy must give way to a collaborative drive to meet specific achievement gains in graduation rates, SAT scores, and college matriculation - a "Master Plan for San Antonio Public Schools."
Our school boards are in desperate need of strong leadership, and it is past time that our chambers of commerce, PTAs and educators work together to cultivate and recruit highly competent, forward-looking candidates for school board positions.
Third, local job training initiatives must be expanded to take advantage of new opportunities. If someone asked you to name a region that leads the nation in software development, you would probably say Silicon Valley. If they asked about biotechnology, you might say Boston or San Diego.
What city leads in the green industry boom? Why not San Antonio? Oakland and Philadelphia recently established a Green Job Corps to train workers in green-collar jobs. San Antonio should follow suit and implement its own initiative.
Finally, as a city we must enhance the quality of our community and neighborhoods. In the coming 25 years, San Antonio's challenge will be to expand its economic and cultural opportunities and still maintain its fundamental character - that sense of community, of neighborliness and safety that distinguishes San Antonio from being just another American big city. The call to action is now.
Julián Castro is an attorney and former member of the San Antonio City Council.
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