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Three candidates are running for New Braunfels City Council District 1 position in the upcoming May 7 election, and two candidates are running for the District 2 spot.
The candidates for District 1 are Andres Campos-Delgado, Jimmy Vallejo Delgado and Suzanne Kasey Lynn.
The candidates for District 2 are Fabian Castillo Dealva and Christopher Willis.
Neither City Council seat has an incumbent candidate.
Candidate responses have been edited for length, style and clarity.
What would be your top priorities if you are elected?
City initiatives; continued maintenance and upgrades to our aging infrastructure; affordable housing; quality-of-life improvements such as parks, trails, sidewalks, etc.; district initiatives
How should New Braunfels handle growth within the city?
New Braunfels is an amazing place to live and is situated conveniently on the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio. Growth is happening. I believe that the city needs to plan accordingly to manage this growth. If we ignore this, or try to stop it, we move backward. New Braunfels needs to keep up with the infrastructure demands that a growing population requires.
What would be your top priorities if you are elected?
My top priorities if elected and not just in my district, is the safety of the citizens of New Braunfels, especially as it relates to your next inquiry, which is the substantial and rapid growth of the city already experienced and projected. We must empower New Braunfels police to have all the tools they need to keep the growing number of people now in New Braunfels and all the people wanting to make this great city their home, safe!
How should New Braunfels handle growth within the city?
I think the size of the city and its projected growth has brought us to also needing a public transportation system. A cheap or free way that our citizens can go to work, medical appointments, shopping or wherever without depending on private rideshare companies, which can get expensive. I think a smaller bus than the kind used in bigger cities, could traverse the city on a daily schedule that would benefit the city at large.
What would be your top priorities if you are elected?
My priorities are finding ways to grow and nurture community engagement in civic matters through more innovative channels, including social media, that meet them where they are. After all, how can we expect the community we live in to thrive without their input? Additionally, I want to make sure that not only property owners receive notices of rezoning, but residents also—renters shouldn’t be excluded. I'm very passionate about putting the 'serve' back in public servant.
How should New Braunfels handle growth in the city?
We may have reached a point where we need to slow down, assess infrastructure, environmental and current community needs before adding new high-density developments. Our schools are near capacity; it’s not just the school board's problem to keep up; council members are called to ensure that the city functions well as a whole and collaborate with other city entities like school boards, fire and police to coordinate New Braunfels proactively to prevent crisis later.
What would be your top priorities if you are elected?
First thing, take a deep dive in all the hard work the bond committee put into their respective projects helping our city grow. Every single one, and understand the residents' concerns and how they will affect them. The committee has a very exciting job helping our city grow.
How should New Braunfels handle growth in the city?
The city is doing a great job, and I am not against anyone moving here because we moved here 2 1/2 years ago and fell in love with New Braunfels.
What would be your top priorities if you are elected?
A large focus would be increasing public safety and quality of life, working with and through community organizations and city staff. Having worked in the local criminal justice community, I have experience with both city and county first responders. Although I have seen firsthand the amazing job our police department [has] done protecting our city, the small town I started a family in is not so small anymore.
How should New Braunfels handle growth within the city?
As previously mentioned, the growth in New Braunfels is unprecedented. Growth is not always a good thing. Our early city leaders did a great job managing the growth of their time. Somewhere in the mid- to late 1980s, our town started really seeing the growth to the numbers we have today. New residents mean new customers for local businesses, which in turn increases tax revenue. With the increase in tax revenue, cities can invest more in roads, capital improvement projects and parks.
