Photo - Brax, Valley Publishing |
Interview: Anthony W. Cobos, EP District # 8.
We met at Barnes & Nobles, I had made a point of telling Mr. Cobos that there would be a photo shoot, both indoor and outdoor... weather permiting. He came dressed very casually.... and was horrified that I had my camera gear. So in order to coax Mr. Cobos into a photo I had to promise to keep it presentable and obviously that was a head shot. So only one photo.
He brought his 4-year old daughter along and so we found a couple of step-stools to sit on in the Children's section and unfortunately monopolized one whole aisle as Toni, his daughter, ran from book to book and back to her Dad.
I promised myself that I wouldn't be swayed by the family scene. Was this a ploy as the recent accounts mention that Barry Bonds pulled a family scene of his own... showing up and doing his "wooh is me" with his son along so reporters wouldn't ask about the steroid issue? But I'm sure I was easier on him than had he been wearing a suit and triggered my memory of him sitting in Council Chambers. Any way... we had fun. And I now have more understanding and appreciation about the Alligator who slept on the bank of the river.
UVB: One of the issues that is very pressing is that of open spaces.... the Arroyos and the Upper Valley. Should developers get their way?
AC: I think my record speaks for itself. I don’t think that any special interest should get its way. But, we need to find a balance.
We have had a couple of applications like Resler Canyon, the Keystone .... I think you have seen some extreme requests and we have rejected those requests.
I think we need a balance and that definition is still in progress. I don’t know what the resolution of Resler Canyon will be, but, I think this City Council is very sensitive to environmental issues and land issues.
UVB: The issue with Resler Canyon stands out is unusual because the developer, Hunt Building Corp., sued not only the City Planning Commission but also City Council. Please explain this tactic to our readers.
AC: I am not going to be intimidated by the threat of lawsuits. Yes, Mr. Hunt has great resources and good attorneys; but, the City also has great resources at its disposal and we are going to protect the interests of our residents.
We are not going to back down. We are going to fight the fight.
UVB: It is interesting how the pressure worked. The City Planning Commission reversed itself. Why did they do that?
AC: I don’t think that the CPC had as strong a case as we (City) do. I think that they realized that their back-up in this suit was the City’s lawsuit. So they didn’t have to fight that fight. They differed it to us (City).
UVB: In the Upper Valley developers have asked for and received R-3A which is actually higher-density than R-4 and this was on farm land. Because no one was notified and as such there was no opposition voiced; Jan Sumrall voted for it and it was approved. Developers did get their way.
AC: I think things have changed. Because of the Neighborhood Associations and the notification requirements have changed under this administration. (Demanded by Upper Valley residents) More neighbors are able to provide their input and get involved in the process.
UVB: The concern is that when the residents do get involved they have to spend their time away from work or family. This is something that we depend upon City Council to handle in a responsible manner. Why do people have to actually go down to City Hall to get City Council to do the right thing?
AC: City Council has to listen to both sides of the story. If residents don’t go down their and express their view they can’t always rely upon anyone to do.... to do ... to work for their interest because you always have opposing interests. This is the democratic process. I don’t think that a City Council Representative really understands or can count on a certain position without the support of the community. Because two opposing views... the side that makes the most sense and is the loudest usually gets the a ear of the representative.
UVB: Wouldn’t it be better for the City Representative to meet with the constituents after hours or on Saturday/Sunday to understand the residents position?
AC: Absolutely. The City Representative needs to make him or her available after hours... without question. When we had the meeting for Resler Canyon we had over 100 people and when we looked at Keystone Wetlands we had a huge turnout at Zach White Elementary School. Riverbend Road was also an issue.... huge turnout also. I think the City Representative should use community facilities to hold public hearings after hours. That is pretty basic I would think.
UVB: Do you hold weekly meetings with your constituents?
AC: No. I have held monthly meetings but due to my business, tax preparation, .... I have 15 Neighborhood Associations in my district. I have gotten away from my monthly meeting because I attend some of the regular meetings of the NA’s. And on an as-needed basis I have held ... I host my own meetings. We had one Tuesday with some underage drinking issues discussed.
UVB: So there are ways of obtaining feedback such that not all residents have to take their time over and over again to make their voice known to City Council.
AC: One of the purposes of petitions is to obtain a tally of the number of people who will be impacted by an issue.
UVB: Another issue, is the diversity in the Westside. How do you deal with the complexity of that diversity with the Upper Valley and the Segundo Barrio?
AC: District 8 is the most diverse district without question. You have the affluent Upper Valley and also one of the poorest Zip Codes in the nation, 79901 in Segundo Barrio. The issues, while the different neighborhoods experience different issues; I think that everyone is concerned with the same issues: Public Safety, Streets, Lighting, Street Drainage, Accessibility of Fire Fighters... Parks, Libraries.
But there are differences as well. The Westside has some land use issues, the central has some zoning.
UVB: You are bilingual aren’t you?
AC: Yes I am. It does come in handy. Language is key to communicating with people south of the freeway. (In Spanish: I think it is very important to speak both languages. I don’t speak Spanish perfectly but I can communicate with the people in that area at meetings.)
UVB: You were selected Mayor Pro-Tem. There was some dissension caused by this. What does this position mean to you?
AC: There is big responsibility in being selected Mayor Pro-Tem. I have had to act as an intermediary or peace maker between representatives and we try to work out things out before council meetings. That is one of my goals and responsibilities. To listen to all the Representatives and understand thier view and to appoint the appropriate person to committees where they would be effect at.
There was two opposing views. There was the view that the most senior Representative should have been selected. But that has not historically been the case. Jan Sumrall was the most senior City Representative having served four terms and she was never selected as Mayor Pro-Tem. I felt that I connected with the new members of council (2003) and I think we have done a good job.
UVB: It has been said that along with Susan Austin, you have many developers contributing to your campaign. How does that affect your vote?
AC: I receive a lot of campaign contributions and I very much appreciate those contributions. I am very pro-business. I think that we need to have more business in El Paso to move our economy forward. We need to have a pro-business attitude... so I am very proud to accept campaign contributions. By the same token, there is not a quid pro quo when I accept those contributions.
Woody Hunt, for example, has been a campaign supporter for the Cobos campaign. And just because I have accepted his contributions doesn’t mean that I am going to support his development in Resler Canyon... for quid pro quo. I did not do that. So, I really think that it depends on the City Representative and their character as to what they bring to the table.
Unfortunately, campaign contributions are necessary in national, state and even local races. We have had some special interests in the past... run candidates. But ultimately the constituents run the show because they control the vote. So it is very important for constituents to go down and show that they are serious and the Neighborhood Associations are growing stronger which is a good thing for our democracy. Maybe some day we won’t need contributions... but we do now.
UVB: Many residents do not have health insurance and don’t get the health care that they need. What can the City of El Paso do to address this problem.
AC: The low-income residents don’t have private health insurance. But they do qualify for Medicaid. I think that through the Congressman’s office and in Austin we are fighting for reimbursement. I think the City... what ever role we can play, we need to do it. But, predominantly, that fight is at the congressional/state level. So while many of our residents don’t have private indemnity insurance... I think that some of the other social programs are out there.
Take the CHIPs, the Children's Health Insurance Program... this is really under utilized by El Pasoans. And perhaps we need to focus on that more.
UVB: Some complain the requirements to register are a deterrent. Can the City do something to assist in this matter?
AC: I am not sure what the requirements are... but anything is possible. With community support and people like you we can get that done.
UVB: The City purchased a building on Clark Street and took a loss on it when it re-sold it. That is not good use of our tax dollar.
AC: I am glad that you brought that up. First of all, those funds used for the purchase where obtained from long-term debt instruments called Certificates of Obligation. They do not require voter approval. I voted against the issuance of every single one of those.
The Clark Street deal, I voted against it. It was a $35 million package. Clark was $3 million component of the total. It wasn’t a good deal. We had to decide if we wanted to get out of a bad deal and sell it or keep it and not utilize it. We thought it was best to get out of a bad deal.
Well we didn’t want our money tied up. We didn’t want to have our money tied up just like any equity and so the city had put another $500,000 more into that project without City Council approval... the departments did that on their own because it was in their budget.
Because of my effort and of course Mayor Joe Wardy we have a new policy direction.... We now go out to voter approved bonds in the general obligation bonds. So voters now have the decision and the authority to go out and get long-term debt as they did in February 2004 for capital improvement.
And I think that by going out to the voters the voters are going to require a higher level of accountability and just by their nature ask more questions. Had we gone out to the voters in 2003 and ....2002.... asked them if they wanted to put in $3 million in the Clark Street project and I think the voters would have asked more questions... and we would have discovered that it wasn’t a viable option and we would not have borrowed the money.
So Certificates of Obligation are bad public policy and I voted against every single one of them. And I think this election is very crucial in terms of where we are going to go with our long-term debt policy.
UVB: There was a Westside Voters Coalition forum held in the Upper Valley a couple of weeks ago.... you declined to attend.
AC: I was invited... but I felt that my time was better spent with grass-roots campaigning.... meeting people in their homes. I had been to this Westside forum many times and I didn’t think that there was any advantage to my campaign to go.... and everyone who goes to that forum.... I have pretty much spoken to them on a one-to-one basis anyway.
One of the individuals who set that up is a candidate himself and I didn’t think that it was.... it didn’t spell the smell test... where a candidate who is running for City Council should set up the forum. I think he probably should have excused himself from that process. But I have been to that forum many times and I felt that my time would be better spent elsewhere.
UVB: You are running for a third term. What is you main focus and incentive to run again for a third term?
AC: Well, my incentive.... number one, is the Keystone Wetlands and I think that could be the tourist epicenter that we have been looking for and I think if I can get one more term... Four more years... I think we can bring that project to fruition.
I think there are many issues on the Westside that have to be addressed. I want to follow through with the Resler Canyon issue and lawsuit and be a part of the council when the issue is settled.
But, I’m an El Pasoan ... just like you are and everyone is.... I have a 4-year old and a 14-month old boy and I have a vested interest in this community and I want to do everything that I can to be a part of the decision making process from this point forward.
I think that we have to get our financial house in order and I think long-term debt has been abused in the past.... especially with the Certificates of Obligation. We have to sell some of our assets... we have land.... we have 10-acres over near I-10 near Raynolds. We have Riverbend which the city acquired many years ago... and we need to sell that. We have to get some of our debt paid off. Just like any household... debt is not good.
There are so many issues... after four years on City Council I have really learned to navigate the bureaucracy... and I thought I knew the definition of bureaucracy before I came to City Council and I’m just baffeled and amazed at what bureaucracy really is and the complexity that come with it. And after four years I’ve learned to navigate those channels and I think I’m good for District # 8. Obviously, I have the support of Council and my peers on Council as they selected me as Mayor Pro-Tem. So we have the pull the clout the ability to get things done for District # 8.
UVB: Just a last question. Backing up again to the issue of zoning... What is to prevent City Council from only approving the re-zoning of Ranch and Farm to R-1, (2 homes per acre) at its very highest density. Why are you and Council so willing to give
developers R-3 or R-2A?
AC: I think that as long as it is compatible with the neighborhood... And a R-2 or R-3 may be in that area.... now. As long as it is compatible with the residents and the status quo in that area... I don’t have a problem with it.
Just because we have property (Riverbend Road area) we can get bids... we don’t have to sell it. So we could have someone who is going to put the road in their... we don’t have to sell it.
What I do want is to sell it to someone who is going to put houses on it. Because, when I’m gone, and eventually I will be, that the city bureaucrats will come back and try to push that road through again. So I think that one of the ways to deter that is to build homes on it and when they try to do it again and exercise eminent domain it will be too costly.
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Editor, Upper Valley Beacon
Copyright 2004 Valley Publishing Company
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