San Anto Mayor’s Vision Is Green, Techy And Prosperous

It doesn’t take a lot of prodding to get San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro going on his vision for the future of his city. Education, jobs, green jobs, economic development and the promise of being able to work towards all of these things if his twin brother Joaquín wins a congressional seat, which encompasses parts of the city in the east, west and south. The mayor’s enthusiasm is palpable, perhaps even more so because the plan he lays out to make these things happen sounds pretty reasonable, actually.

“My overall vision for the city is to create a brainpowered community that is the liveliest city in the United States. What I’m after is to create the workforce that can take on the new energy economy jobs,” he told News Taco. If you recall, Castro actually made good with these pretty words in June when he pledged to shutter a coal-fired power plant, in addition to other green projects.

Getting these things from ideas to reality involves a few tangible goals, Castro noted:

1. Getting more young people into college so they can partake of these new jobs
2. Fostering the biosciences, information and cyber security, and healthcare industries already alive in San Antonio
3. Taking a regional approach to bring in communities near to San Antonio

To this end Castro points to the city’s northern neighbor, Austin, which fosters industries compatible with those in San Antonio, such as information technology, software and hardware. Plus, both cities currently focus on new energy, he said.

“It is clear that we need to take a regional approach in the coming years and this region, when you combine San Antonio and Austin — with almost a quarter of a million college students — has tremendous brainpower. It also is one of the most visited corridors in the U.S. All of the elements of success are there,” he told us.

An element that bolsters his argument is the potential that his brother may win the 35th congressional seat, putting two San Antonio natives who share not only history — but blood — on the same path towards lifting up the region as far as their energy and imagination will allow. If Joaquín is elected, and Julián is re-elected, the brothers could potentially serve simultaneously for a good four years, the mayor told us.

“I think that both of us are serious about policymaking and we both have a strong vision. We would bring an enthusiasm and a willingness to use imagination and to apply that to practical policy that I’m convinced would benefit the region very well,” mayor Castro told News Taco.

In the meantime, Castro told us he’s looking forward to another new energy announcement in mid-August of a 400 megawatt solar project, with accompanying jobs, and to fomenting the new energy companies that are already operating in San Antonio.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD