KRWG Public Media is covering contested races around the region. Scott Brocato spoke with Genaro Soriano, who is running for City of Anthony Trustee.
Scott Brocato:
What in your background has prepared you for this office?
Gerano Soriano:
I have lived here in Anthony all my life, for over 40 years. My parents grew up here. My dad was a farm worker here. Since I remember, he's been a farm worker. He was a farm worker; he's now deceased. But that's part of it. I'm part of this community. I understand the community very well, as well as I am very bilingual. I can speak both languages quite well. I have the ability to cross multicultural and multi-generational avenues with the people here in Anthony, being that we do have a multicultural and multi-generational community here. I'm able to cross those gaps with my Spanish and my cultural knowledge, as well as I've worked both for the city of El Paso and the county of El Paso as well. So I understand the municipal government as well as the county government, and I do have that background of working for government entities as well.
When I was 28, I put (together) my own business, a machine shop, so I understand also from an employer point of view, I understand how it should work. And also I've been an employee myself, not just an employer, but an employee myself. So I think I have a diversified background that I don't think any of the other candidates that are running here can offer that.
Scott Brocato:
What do you see as the top issues facing the city of Anthony?
Gerano Soriano:
I think the primary issue, the number one issue that we face right now, is the lack of coherency within the government of the city, which is the city council, city mayor, employees. I think all that needs restructuring. Government needs to work fluently to be able to make decisions. And the services for the community need to be in a very effective and efficient manner. And I don't think that's happening. A lot of people will tell you, and a lot of candidates will say, “oh, housing, oh, this, and economic development”-- you can't have economic development, you can't have housing, you can't have any of that if the government is not functioning fluently.
Scott Brocato:
Well, how do you propose to best address those issues?
Gerano Soriano:
We plan to restructure the way the government is set up. The government, the board of trustees, and the governing body, the mayor--we're supposed to work coherently to make decisions. We're supposed to govern and make decisions. And I think that's one of the things that we'll be bringing to the table.
Another thing that we're bringing to the table is transparency. Transparency and ethical behavior. If people are aware, we do have a YouTube channel out there that was by some of the residents of Anthony that show how the behavior of the governing body is up there and how that affects the decisions that everybody makes. So what I'm proposing is transparency, ethics, and putting people first, ahead of politics. Politics really affects how the people govern, how the board governs, and it affects the residents. A lot of times we have a lot of residents here that are not as active in the local government, so we plan to change that.
I plan to distribute more literature out there, update the website, and come up with some sort of creative way to reach out to the people. When we have meetings, when we have important decisions, it is important for the people, for us to have the feedback of the people. And I think that's not happening. They only reach out to the people when it's convenient to them and to the governing body in this case. So that is what we're bringing to the table.
I plan to also make services more efficient for the residents, even if we have to go as far as redoing the employee handbook so that we have more efficiency within the services of the city. Like I mentioned, I did work for a municipality for the city of El Paso. So I understand the importance that they put into giving the best services possible for the residents. As a city employee, you do work for the residents. And that's something that is not, I don't feel is propagated enough or put at the top of the list by this governing board.
I think that services, it's no different than if you go to a store. How is it that you go to a store? You pay for a service, or you pay for a product, and you get the product or the service in return. It's no different. The residents get tax money for their wages, and in return the residents get a service. And that's the way should be set up, and that should be the mindset from the governing body and the employees, and I don't think that's emphasized enough. So we are bringing better services for the residents of Anthony and more efficiency to the governing body because we need to make decisions. If I'm elected, we need to make decisions in an effective and fluent manner. And I don't think that's happening. And the people are suffering for it.
Scott Brocato:
Final question: what else do you think is important for voters to know about you going into the election?
Gerano Soriano:
What they need to know is that...and I will say this with all my sincerity and all my heart: I'm running for this candidacy, not as a candidate, but as a cause. And I don't think any of their candidates can say that. We've been going to these meetings for over three years, and we have been criticizing the inefficiency of the governing body for three years. We have faced retaliations. We have faced all sorts of hardship on behalf of the city government onto ourselves. And we will continue to work for this cause. Regardless, we will continue to fight for the residents of Anthony. And I am the only candidate that will be able to say this boldly: I'm not running for an elected position. I am running for a cause and will continue to work on that cause.
