With only two declared Hollister mayoral candidates, incumbent Ignacio Velazquez and Keith Snow, there is no sense in being coy. Mayor Velazquez has earned my endorsement for a second term. Snow has good intentions, but no experience or road to his promised land – good intentions are not nearly enough in the complex world of government and politics. Besides, regardless of the challenger, I have always believed that the mayor should be a four-year term equal to that of the councilmembers; two-years is simply too short.
Velazquez has earned a solid B on the job; which means there was good progress, but lots of room for improvement. Considering where the city started out when he was elected, a B is highly commendable. However, serious dangers lurk and, while I will give credit, I am also writing to point out the rocks hidden in the shoals.
When Velazquez took over, what the organization needed most was a dousing with a bucket of ice water, and he gave it to them. The council and staff had been mesmerized into modern insanity – they were doing the same things over and over and getting the same bad results over and over. The ice water worked, but that technique has limited long-term usefulness. In his second term the mayor has to build a working coalition with a shared vision and keep his eye on the economic/financial ball. Those are the keys to real progress.
With the council’s support and with much better staff work, the city has significantly reduced some long-term debt, but the wealth effect is creeping in. The wealth effect works psychologically – you finally have some spending money and you feel much richer than you are. At that time, agencies often make ill-advised long-term commitments only to find that their hard-earned financial flexibility is all gone in a flash and they are back to square one.
A good example are the new security cameras. The capital cost was available, but reducing the annual software and system maintenance costs should have been the real focus of the council because they go on and on. Too many of those never-ending commitments, and you’re broke again.
All in all we are much better off than before Velazquez took office but as demonstrated by Gilroy’s recent financial difficulties, there is no such thing as being out of the woods. A public entity can overspend any amount of revenue – and that is the danger.
We must find the time and money for the professional development of the city employees. A small city/county environment must help its employees develop into better performers. Training pays for all parties; the employees increase their value, the residents get better service, and the city government gets better results. Velazquez has already proven that refreshing the process produces better outcomes. Professional development does it without ice water.
As for development, economic development has to be a full-time, full-focus job for someone with excellent managerial ability. We have been talked to death on the subject with little real progress. Sure, it’s difficult, but like a lot of difficult things the rewards are worth the effort. Stop hiring P.R. specialists to run the EDC – they are needed, but the boss has to be results oriented. All that said, Velazquez gets my vote, but I will be watching carefully; this is anything but an operation that can run on autopilot.
