The final candidate in our look at the race for San Antonio City Council District 9 is Bert Cecconi.
He's been an office hopeful for several years. According to city records, among the races he's run are a 2003 and 2007 bid for City Council District 8.
He switched to District 9 when the new city district lines were redrawn. Cecconi's determination isn't wavering, though.
Cecconi said the city is doing well but he thinks there should be more city council members representing the city's growth. In the 1950s, he said, the population was 400,000 with the same number of city council members as there are today.
"Fast forward to 2014, we have approximately 1.4 million citizens. Our land area will be knocking on the door of 500 sq. miles and we still have 10 council people and the mayor," said Cecconi. "And to give you some idea of the size our council districts, if you would take District 9, and if it were a city in Texas, it would be the 19th largest city in Texas."
He wants council members to be paid also, saying the $20 members receive per meeting is archaic. It doesn't allow for regular people who need to work but who may also want to seek office, he said.
The streetcar project is an issue every candidate for District 9 has talked about.
Joe Krier, the interim councilman, wants the public to vote on it. Candidates Weston Martinez and Donald Oroian oppose it fervently. Corey Clark tells us personally, he would like to see increased public transit but said he would vote against it because most of the district opposes it.
Cecconi sees things a little differently, and said since money has been promised toward the project, now city leaders should focus their energy on making it a success.
"If on city council, I would want to concentrate on making sure it comes in on budget, it comes in on time, and it's an outstanding system that we want to take our kids and our grandkids down to ride and we want our tourists to talk about it and to use it," he said.
Cecconi said he believes traffic congestion plagues the district and he hopes to finally claim a seat on city council to help solve the problems of the district.
