Newsletter Signup
The Austin Monitor thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Most Popular Stories
- For the first time in 20 years, more people are leaving Travis County than moving in
- Austin’s giant troll is finally finished. Here’s where you can find her.
- Travis County approves ambitious ‘Marshall Plan’ for northeast planning district
- Environmental commissioners air concerns about waterfront district plan
- Council hears plan for another South Congress PUD
-
Discover News By District
Place 1 candidate Cavazos seeks to include more citizens in government
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 by Austin Monitor
Although Perla Cavazos has lived in East Austin for more than 11 years, her route to
She is currently president-elect of the
Cavazos came to
Cavazos arrived in
But it was the fight over
That eventually led to a seat on the Planning Commission, where she served 2 and one-half years, and her current run for Place 1 on the City Council. “I quit my job in the middle of a recession. This is what I want to do,” Cavazos said. “I feel very passionate about serving at the local level.”
As a resident of
To that end, Cavazos would like to build partnerships with private institutions to expand financial literacy and debt counseling programs. “I’m also very interested in exploring ways that the city can expand its role in small business and micro-business lending. There were some HUD funds available at some point for a neighborhood business fund that I’m really interested in exploring if we can tap into those funds again,” she said. “The number one thing that City Council needs to be focused on is jobs and the economy.”
But, Cavazos said, the economic downturn should not divert the city from moving ahead with some of its long-term planning projects. “I am ready for us to go ahead with the Comprehensive Plan and the Downtown Plan. I know there’s a concern about the financial impact, but I think it’s a wise investment,” she said. “I think that we need to absolutely make that investment now. If we don’t do it now…it’s going to cost us more public distrust, it’s going to have financial implications. It’s been over 30 years since our last comprehensive plan and
Cavazos hopes the current recession will not deter the city from pursuing other priorities, such as historic preservation, health care, and affordable housing. She said she appreciated the effort made by City Manager Marc Ott to seek public input prior cutting the city’s budget earlier this year. “I feel that he’s starting to get to know the community and is making a greater effort to listen to the community,” she said. “It sounded like he got off on the wrong foot with the Hispanic community early on…and I don’t know what was the back story with that, but I feel that I’ve been seeing him more in the community.”
You're a community leader
And we’re honored you look to us for serious, in-depth news. You know a strong community needs local and dedicated watchdog reporting. We’re here for you and that won’t change. Now will you take the powerful next step and support our nonprofit news organization?