The three "minor" candidates thanked the chamber of commerce for the opportunity to participate, while the chamber thanked them for their assistance and asked them to not forget San Ysidro in the future.
As far as the subject of the lack of resources after the state government eliminated the so called "redevelopment agencies", Alvarez accepted that this is one of the resources which the communities of San Ysidro depended on a lot, due to the fact that the city uses very few resources in economic development in the southern part of the county, which is why federal and state resources are needed, especially for the border.
During his participation with the subject about whether it was necessary to provide incentives for civil organizations to participate in economic development, Alvarez affirmed that "we need to accept them" and he recognizes that the city needs these types of relations, given that sometimes the city cannot afford or provide the services needed by the communities like San Ysidro. which is why chambers of commerce, ONG's, social groups etc, can help and should be supported.
Questions were also made about the remodeling of the San Ysidro port of entry, whether or not they will see the mayor as "the voice of the city" when it comes to relations with the federal government.
Collins, the war vet, continued insisting that the problem was money, but Aguirre attacked the Republicans who represent San Diego in Congress, saying that the pressure should be placed squarely on them, so that in this way San Diego could have a voice heard by the Federal Government. Alvarez accepted that this is a problem, but more importantly, he mentioned we should "work together" regardless of political identities, just like it has been done in the recent visits to Washington D.C. which have been organized by the chamber of commerce of San Diego and the political leaders, all under "a single voice".
How would they deal with Baja California? That was another question made. Young Kemmer repeated some statistics of the impact the tough economic times have had, (thousands of jobs lost due to the long wait times at the border), while Alvarez says that he found himself "there when the mayor was with Carlos Bustamante in Tijuana when the San Diego Office opened" but that they needed to have a presence there always and funded. "It was a good first step, but there is definitely much more to be done", he pointed out.
Kemmer criticized the fact that city officials needed to do the same paperwork to go to china as they did to cross over to Tijuana, as well as the perception that Tijuana is dangerous, despite the reality that there are American cities with worse crime rates.
Aguirre said he will implement video-conferences with the bi-national officials.
Finalizing the forum with questions from the audience, they all said they were ready to be Mayor of San Diego, even the 22
year old candidate. They also committed themselves to the border and the city. Alvarez, Aguirre and Kemmer were the ones who criticized the lack of attention that "downtown" has with the southern part of the county and the border.
A person in the audience commented that, despite his faults, Bob Filner hit the mark when he established an "open doors" day once a month were he met with citizens. As well, all of the candidates committed themselves to continuing this tradition, as well as expanding it. Aguirre also said he would televise these meetings.
Alvarez reminded "your behavior in the best is a good way of foretelling your behavior in the future" and invited everyone to see his performance as Council member when representing the 8th district. He recognized that many of these opportunities are no longer available for communities like San Ysidro. He doesn't see the border as a barrier but rather as door to come and go to a region.
Aguirre marked his achievements and changes he has done for the region, from giving independence to the District Attorney's office and making great changes like civil rights, among others.
Jose.Sanchez@sandiegored.com
Daniel.Aguilar@sandiegored.com
