SAN ANTONIO – Voters in District 5, located west of downtown, will choose from among four candidates to represent them on the City Council this election.
Shirley Gonzales is on her third term as City Council member of District 5 and is hoping to continue serving her community.
Gonzales is facing three challengers: businessman Anthony Gres, retiree Nazirite Perez and afterschool program facilitator Jilma Davila.
Gres owns A & A Concepts LLC, a fresh food processing facility in District 5. Perez said he is a retired city employee. In addition to being part of the City Council, Gonzales is involved in her family business, Bills Pawn and Jewelry. Davila is a facilitator at an afterschool program and is a registered business owner of Hope in Tutus, a ministry.
Read below to learn more about what they have to say on several topics.
Scooters in the City
When it comes to scooters in our city, candidates have different opinions.
“I believe that we need to make better accommodations for alternative forms of transportation,” Gonzalez said.
“In the right places, in the right environment, yes,” Perez said.
“The scooters can be great means of transportation. It facilitates people who don’t have a vehicle. It’s economic, but we are not telling them where to put them,” Davila, said.
“We should be able to find a way on how to control the scooters with the same smartphone ID we have because we all have a smartphone ID or IP address to make sure that the person using it is leaving in a correct spot,” Gres said.
Sidewalk Problems
Residents in District 5 expressed frustration about sidewalks.
“They need to be fixed. Everything needs to be addressed,” Gres said.
“Connectivity of sidewalks to public transit to perhaps micro mobility like bicycles or scooters, really making a network of mobility options,” Gonzales said.
“There’s ways of improving it,” Perez said.
“We need to make sure we are not only building the sidewalks, we need to maintain the sidewalks. These are things that we can all work together on,” Davila said.
Chick-fil-A Controversy
Also, Chick-Fil-A’s exclusion from the city’s airport concession contract has impacted this election season.
“I do think it should’ve been brought back for a vote,” Gres said.
“The community has to make a decision,” Davila said.
“The city of San Antonio took advantage and started creating headlines,” Perez said.
“I voted on a contract to benefit small businesses and also to benefit our airport,” Gonzales said.
Click here to check out the sample ballot.
Click below to read more about the candidates:
- Nazirite Perez