Victoria needs a young mayor

After reading all the comments about the proposed river walk, the talk of replacing our city council's old computers with iPads and everything in between; I think we need a mayor between the ages of 40 and 50 years old. The mayor would need to be old enough to know better but young enough to accept new ideas. Ideally, the mayor would have acquired their leadership skills in the military or as a manager of a large group of people. It might take a different viewpoint altogether, such as a woman's point of view, now that might shake up the good ole boy culture.

I can just imagine what's going through the mind of the City Council when it's obvious they are damned if they do and damned if they don't. A lot of the criticism is justified for past mistakes, but you can't move forward with a gun shy council. I understand our current mayor will not run for reelection, so it's a perfect opportunity to bring in new blood that can say with a straight face" I was not here when those mistakes were made, but we must move forward." It's quite evident that we don't use our city manager as to go- to person for important decisions but instead use the mayor to be our spokesman. The new mayor should campaign on their new ideas, and the voters should ask the pertinent questions.

I get sick of hearing “I’m a conservative, and I will ensure that we have smaller government and lower taxes" that's a slogan for a bumper sticker; nothing else. As Victoria slowly transitions itself from the powers of old to the future, we need to have someone who will lead, not pass the baton to someone who will follow in the same footsteps. I would like a young mayor that knows that we should consider the savings in paper and other obvious reasons as to why we should replace the old computers with iPads. At the same time, the mayor should be able to say that we need a fix that old 60 inch water main at today's prices before we tackle a large project like a river walk. That doesn't mean we can't continue the talks in committees, but we must be good stewards of the taxpayers' money. I think the new mayor should tell the naysayer who will always say" public funds should not be used" that we will not throw down the gauntlet; all ideas will be considered. If a good deal comes up that will benefit the taxpayer in the future, it must be considered.

Why do I want a young mayor? My city of birth and choice will not progress with people that are mired in the days of old practices and ideas. I don't know how well Robert Cortez, County Clerk, is doing but a replacement at that office was long overdue. I have no doubt that Victoria will grow because we have the foundation for growth; the only piece left out of that foundation is good leadership. It doesn't matter if the leader is conservative liberal, libertarian, democrat, or republican because they have to align themselves with Victorians, not the national party or ideology. It's like in baseball; it's much easier to replace the manager than the whole team.