By Joseph Camacho
Former San Antonio Mayor Ed Garza informed political science students Oct. 18 about the planning and politics that goes into creating public policy in a lecture in Room 237 of Main Campus Building.
The lecture was hosted by Adjunct Philip Cortez who teaches POLS 4363, policy and policy making in the United States.
Garza lectured to a classroom of 12 students on politics and public policy as well as the initiatives that led to the development of the City South initiative, a 60-square-mile economic development effort led by the former mayor.
He spoke about how development around the South Side became a product of public policy when the City South initiative was launched in October 2002. The initiative is headed by the City South Management Authority (CMSA).
According to the CMSA website, City South is bounded by I-410 on the north, I-37 on the east, I-35 on the west and generally a line 1,350 feet south of the Medina River, and extending in part to Loop1604 to the South.
Texas A&M-San Antonio lies within these boundaries.
“It’s good to see that the vision is finally coming to fruition,” Garza said. “The late senator Frank Madla would be proud to finally see Texas A&M on the South Side.”
Garza said that during his tenure as mayor, his vision was to see increased development on the South Side of San Antonio while allowing the area to maintain its agricultural role. He also believed in re-development of older inner city communities.
“Policy can change as communities change,” Garza said. “It’s important to know the purpose of public policy,” Garza said.
Garza said that public policy is created by elected officials and that it is done for the greater good of a community. He also said that it affects the way community members interact with their surroundings.
“It truly will impact the greater community in how they live, how they work and the schools their children attend,” Garza said of public policy implementation.
He added that politics is involved in policy making and that sometimes when “going against the grain,” an elected official may become unpopular amongst his associates. Also, at times, not everyone in the public will agree with certain adopted policies.
A few attendees of the lecture expressed some grievances to Garza about policies that did not work for their communities.
“Everything I knew changed when Toyota was built,” communication junior Victoria Acevedo said. “All they have to show there is a barber shop, a daycare and a bank all in the middle of nowhere.”
Another woman in attendance explained that development implemented through public policy has caused property taxes in her area to skyrocket causing hardship for low income families and the elderly.
“Policy creates, many times, people that like it and people that don’t,” Garza said. “What may have worked for the community 25 years ago may not be the case now.”
Garza’s extensive background in political and public policies began in childhood. Garza said his parents took an active role in campaigning for potential elected officials.
From 1997 to 2001, Garza served as city councilman for District 7 and served as mayor of San Antonio from 2001 to 2005. He is currently the president elect of the SAISD Board of Trustees.
The former mayor was the first guest lecturer hosted by the political science department this semester. Mayor Julian Castro will speak from 4 p.m.-5:20 p.m. Nov. 15 in Room 207 of Main Campus.
