114. The Mayor’s Race: Beto Altamirano on Infrastructure, Innovation, and San Antonio’s Identity

Bob Rivard [00:00:03]:
Welcome to Big City Small Town, the weekly podcast all about San Antonio and the people who make it go and grow. I'm your host, Bob Rivard. This week's guest is Beto Altamirano, entrepreneur, business owner, creator of the city of San Antonio's three one one app, and candidate for mayor. He's the first of multiple candidates in a very crowded field that will appear on Big City Small Town this month. The election for mayor and city council will be held Saturday, May 3. Deadline for registration to vote was April 3. And with 27 candidates on the ballot, most political observers believe it is highly unlikely a single candidate will garner the necessary 50% plus one vote needed for victory in round one. That means the two candidates with the most votes will face off in a Saturday, June 7 runoff.

Bob Rivard [00:00:55]:
Mayor Ron Nirenberg is in the final months of his eight year run and is now term limited from seeking a fifth term. He's the first mayor to serve that long since the city charter was amended to allow for four two year terms. The last mayor to serve that long was Henry Cisneros from 1981 to 1989, before San Antonio voters approved some of the strictest term limits in any major US city. Since then, voters have relaxed term limits twice. The next mayor and council members will be eligible to serve for two four year terms. It all adds up to San Antonio's First Mayoral Race without an incumbent in sixteen years. Hopefully, that'll excite voters, and the dismal turnout in local elections that we often see will be surpassed by a robust turnout reflecting the importance of this election. Beto Altimirano, welcome to Big City Small Town.

Beto Altamirano [00:01:51]:
Hey. Thank you, Bob. It's great to be here with you and Corey and and Erica for the great work that both are leading with you. It's just, incredible to watch you grow this program. I remember when you started with this idea of how can we tell the stories of San Antonians and celebrate the collective wins, and you're you're doing so. So congratulations.

Bob Rivard [00:02:11]:
Well, thank you, Beto. I just won't go away, will I? But I'm old enough to say that at my age, I like having a great team around me with Corey and Erica and Alfie de la Garza, our sound engineer, and, not working full time, and probably believe that people my age that hit 70 and and above shouldn't be in public office anymore because the demands are extraordinary. And you've and your wife have just had a baby.

Beto Altamirano [00:02:37]:
Yeah. So three weeks ago, Anna and I, we welcomed our first child.

Bob Rivard [00:02:42]:
His name? Andre.

Beto Altamirano [00:02:43]:
Andre Altamirano. We call him Andy. Double a. Double a. Yeah. It changes your life. It really does. You know, it makes you reflect on on your why.

Beto Altamirano [00:02:53]:
It makes you reflect on your purpose. But look, it's a blessing, and it's a war zone right now. I'm getting, like, two hours of sleep per night. So Right.

Bob Rivard [00:03:00]:
Well

Beto Altamirano [00:03:01]:
and and I'm not doing the heavy lifting. It's Anna. She's allowing me to do this, right, beyond the campaign trail.

Bob Rivard [00:03:06]:
Anna y familia. Anna y familia

Beto Altamirano [00:03:08]:
is is is an entire, you know, support system of of her sister's, mother-in-law and my mom and yeah. It's it's a family, effort for sure.

Bob Rivard [00:03:16]:
Well, I should have put husband and father in the introduction as well. But let's just assume, Beto, I don't think this is true that we have some members of our audience that have never heard your name or who you are. And give us your origin story.

Beto Altamirano [00:03:29]:
You know, I was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, South Texas. This concept that that I like to call, the South Texas triangle. And and it was a beautiful upbringing, bicultural, bilingual. My mom is a teacher. My my dad, an HVAC technician, and and I learned the the value of hard work through them. And growing up in the in the Rio Grande Valley teaches you a lot about, heritage and and culture, and that's something that San Antonio has, this identity, this heritage that we need to continue celebrating. And I think it was, Mark Twain, right, says that San Antonio is one of the four unique American cities. And I think that's the essence of what South Texas represents, and that's something that I continue to celebrate today.

Beto Altamirano [00:04:10]:
But when I'm 17, the the reason why I I got involved in politics or became passionate about policy was because when I was 17, my father was, deported, and that impacted my life in so many ways. How our broken immigration system, is impacting families across it continues to happen today more than ever. And and and I just fell in love with this concept of understanding how as a citizen, you can influence, policy outcomes. If you get involved, you have a a voice in the public policy making process. And I think it's so important to exercise that leadership. And I I invite everyone who's listening to us, to continue getting involved. You mentioned something right now, Bob. You said, the low turnout in in elections at the local level in San Antonio.

Beto Altamirano [00:05:02]:
That is something that we need to change. Right? But it starts with people, having a voice in the process. And I I went on to work in the Texas House of Representatives in the US Senate, and in the White House. For for the House of Representatives, I I did the mock fellowship, the Mexican American Legislative Caucus Fellowship, at the Capitol. And then for the White House and Senate, I was a UT System Bill Archer Fellow, and and I learned all about federal state policies. And then when I chose San Antonio to to start my life, my my family, my business, and build community, I spent two years working at the Alamo area MPO, which is the Metropolitan Planning Organization, learning all about transit policy but also the funding mechanisms. So, you know, for the last fifteen years, a lot of my work has been around government. And and I'm I'm passionate about San Antonio because growing up in South Texas, San Antonio was a big city of South Texas.

Beto Altamirano [00:06:01]:
And as I mentioned, that heritage, that identity that I fell in love with is something that I wanted to be part of. And San Antonio makes you fall in love with this idea that you can shape its future and that the future's still unwritten, and I wanna be part of that. Right? And so, fast forward, in 2016, I started my technology company, CityFlag at the time, and I met you around that time.

Bob Rivard [00:06:26]:
Right here in Geekdom.

Beto Altamirano [00:06:27]:
That's right.

Bob Rivard [00:06:27]:
With your colleagues, Eduardo Bravo and Beto Gomez.

Beto Altamirano [00:06:31]:
That's right. Co founders. On the Seventh Floor, a small office. We had big dreams, aspirations. But, yeah, the company started here, Downtown San Antonio. And our go to market product was to fix, particles, issues related to three one one. Missing stop signs, stop lights, flooding, animal care services, business permits, anything related to three one one. So for almost ten years, I partnered with the city of San Antonio, helping thousands of people have a more efficient way to communicate with their local government.

Beto Altamirano [00:07:09]:
Because I saw that as a as my theory of change. How can we improve communication between the resident of San Antonio and the city of San Antonio? And that product has been widely celebrated, not just in The United States, but worldwide. And that product has impacted thousands of people in San Antonio. So when people ask me on the campaign trail, you know, Beto, have you fixed a pothole? We fixed thousands of potholes through the use of technology. I scaled that company, and and today we do cybersecurity. And we work with, organizations like the sixteen Air Force Wing, and many military bases across The United States, protecting our systems against threats from Russia or China, specifically working on on penetration testing, API development and protection, and desktop security. And we have close to a hundred employees, and now we're back in Downtown San Antonio. North Alamo Street, we have our office, and it's been a wonderful journey, Bob.

Beto Altamirano [00:08:06]:
But it's been also a San Antonio story, a story of us. I could not have done this without the community of San Antonio.

Bob Rivard [00:08:15]:
Well, I have watched that transformation, Beto, of your nascent enterprise here at Geekdom and how it developed over those years. And I I know you've been, associated with municipal and regional government for quite a few number of years, but let's let's cut right to the to the attacks that, you seem to be the only candidate that I see all the other candidates attacking, which may be a measure of their assessment of your importance in the race. But some of the I've I've seen District 9, councilman John Courage at the Texas Public Radio event take a shot at you as somebody that's reaching for the highest rung of the ladder, he said, without grabbing the lower rungs, first. He I think he's called you Elon Musk junior because of the technology aspect of your of your enterprise and not focused on the job creation that that you've accomplished or the acquisition that you made of of the, the other company last year. I've seen Manny Poulais, district eight, who's also running for government attack you, as a tech bro and and say that you'll work together hand in hand with state Republican leaders on some issues even if you disagree with them on other issues. So you're getting hammered because you're not coming from the council. What do you how do you respond to that either out in the community or on the debate forums that you're you're facing these, other candidates?

Beto Altamirano [00:09:33]:
Yeah. Well, you know, when you talk about, John Courage, I mean, he ran directly for, Congress on successful, run. And it's interesting that now he's saying that, you you know, I'm I'm running directly for, mayor without serving in council. I'll say this. I don't think that the wait your turn politics should define momentum today in public service across the country. We've seen people like Wes Moore out of Maryland running, for governor and not serving in the state house or the state senate. And he has had tremendous impact in the state of Maryland. And there's many examples across the country of people doing so.

Beto Altamirano [00:10:11]:
You know, I have the the skill set, you know, of being a a a an executive of an organization that's creating a lot of impact in San Antonio and across the country. The skill set of putting the right projects together, pursuing the the right projects and putting the right teams and and also dictating a vision for your organization, pursuing collaboration and consensus building, but making difficult decisions. At this stage in my life, I know what I'm good at, and I'm a good executive. And those are the entrepreneurial skills that I wanna bring to city hall. So I I disregard the the wait your turn politics as a way for us to to continue service into our community. We should not wait for anything. There's urgency in San Antonio. We cannot wait anymore.

Beto Altamirano [00:10:58]:
We have to get things done at the city level. And when we talk about this, you know, issue of of people calling me, Elon Musk Jr. Or a tech bro, I I laugh because, look, the future of our economy is gonna be largely dependent on technology. Every industry. I mean, today here, doing this podcast, I mean, you have folks like Corey and Erica supporting you, through a tech platform that you can leverage to tell the stories of San Antonio's, And it's all driven by technology. And so when when you brand someone as a tech bro, you're doing a disservice for the young men and women that wanna go into these fields that are powered by technology. That's why look. About two years ago, I launched the Better Futures Institute.

Beto Altamirano [00:11:49]:
Want to tell the stories of entrepreneurs and intrepreneurs in San Antonio, but also to help young people go into STEM careers. And we have supported over 20 young professionals to go into STEM careers by allowing them to work on the three one one San Antonio platform, coding and shaping the future of that product and learning how to work with the city government, but all all driven by the use of technology. And they have they have, paid internships. And, and now many of those fellows have gone on to work at big companies like Google and Amazon and others. And And so going back to that narrative, we're doing a disservice if we're calling people that, are impacting, the mayoral race through the use of technology as tech bros, because there's a lot of young women and men that aspire to have a career, in in in these, fields. And I just I think it's it's obnoxious, right, and irresponsible, of some candidates to be talking about it in that regard because in the end, I think there's a a large demographic in San Antonio that is craving to explore those fields, and and it's a disservice to our youth.

Bob Rivard [00:12:59]:
Well, let's talk a little bit about campaign strategy if we can. You weren't the first candidate to announce. I think that was John Courage, but you have clearly been the most active candidate on the campaign trail well over a year, countless events. Yep. I admire your energy.

Beto Altamirano [00:13:16]:
We haven't stopped, Bob. It's been continuous.

Bob Rivard [00:13:18]:
However, in in the local races, and your campaign manager, Andrew, Solano knows this better than I, Districts 89, and 10 tend to outvote Districts 1 through 7 in turnout. Now we have a mayoral race where, first of all, and I'd love to hear your comments about this, a hundred dollars gets anybody in the world, that lives in San Antonio on the ballot, whether or not they have any intention of campaigning, whether or not they have any suitability for public office or service or even any understanding of how the city works. So there's 27 of you on the ballot. We vote on these small computer screens that only hold x amount of names, so there'll be multiple screens before we get to number 23, Beto.

Beto Altamirano [00:13:59]:
Michael Jordan's number.

Bob Rivard [00:14:01]:
Okay. I'm I'm glad that, you found a positive in that. So you have, a sitting councilman in District 8, a sitting councilman in District 9, a former councilman in District 10, and a former Republican secretary of state Rolando Pablos all running for mayor on this ballot. How do you make an inroad into the parts of the city where the most voters live and turn out in local elections when the field is so crowded with other candidates who certainly have name recognition up there?

Beto Altamirano [00:14:33]:
Yeah. Look. I mean, it's how we tell the story. Right? My life's work has been dedicated to to public service, to servant leadership. From the start of my career working in different fields of government, to developing this platform that has impacted thousands of people in San Antonio, my my life's work has been dedicated to supporting government. And at the local level, I've been involved for over a decade. And that's the difference between my campaign and others. For example, some of the outsiders that are joining this race that don't have that local experience.

Beto Altamirano [00:15:09]:
But I think when you think about strategy, we were intentional about getting out there early. We announced our candidacy in June of last year, in May, actually, late May. And in June, we set out to do a listening tour, and we visited every corner of the city, the South Side, West Side, East Side, North Side Of San Antonio, and we heard directly from people. Our campaign wasn't transactional. We didn't ask for people's votes right away. We listened, and we use all that data that we heard on the campaign trail. Issues like childcare, issues like good paying jobs, crime, construction. We translated all that data into a policy framework that we call plan two one o, focusing on three pillars, economic development, public safety, and infrastructure.

Beto Altamirano [00:15:56]:
When we talk about economic development, childcare, workforce development, focusing on the emerging trends of our economy, small business support. When we talk about infrastructure, sustainability, construction, housing, public safety, crime, health, and animal care services, this is our North Star of our policy plan. And this has led incredible conversations around the city of San Antonio. That today, you know, people are jumping on board because they believe in our vision for a better San Antonio. When we talk about strategy in terms of get out the vote, we made inroads on the North Side, early on on the campaign cycle. We had, Michael, Mike Belden, Michael Belden, as our campaign treasurer. And Mike Belden has had a lot of influence on the North Side Of San Antonio.

Bob Rivard [00:16:44]:
And in politics.

Beto Altamirano [00:16:45]:
And in politics. And he was a campaign treasurer for Phil Harberger and Julian Castro. So he knows a thing or two about mayoral races. Right? And he's been an advisor in connecting me to a lot of people on the North Side Of San Antonio. And it's the same with Reed Williams, for example. And unofficially, judge Nelson Wolf was also helping me shape this plan two one o, policy platform, advising me. Folks like Henry Cisneros as well. And and recently, judge Nelson Wolf came out and endorsed us, for mayor.

Beto Altamirano [00:17:17]:
And I think that's a a strong indication of the type of trust that I received from local leaders. And those are the type of endorsements that we're seeking, in this race. We're not seeking endorsements from outside of San Antonio or outside of Texas. We're seeking the support from local leaders in San Antonio. Folks like a state representative, Joe Farias, who was my my first boss at the Texas House of Representatives is endorsing us as well. That's the type of support that we have in San Antonio. And and I think for us, one thing that has been the constant has been raising money as well. We are the campaign that has raised the most money from June of last year to today.

Beto Altamirano [00:17:59]:
Almost $500,000 raised. Building a solid machine ready for war. A well oiled machine ready for war. We have a great team of of folks that are, leading our field operations, our marketing and media operations, our management of the campaign. And that's what it takes, a winning team. And we're knocking on almost 10,000 doors a week. We are designing strategies for, digital. And and by this time, when our listeners, you know, are picking up on this podcast, we're gonna be everywhere on the digital ecosystem.

Beto Altamirano [00:18:37]:
We have the largest footprint when it comes to social media, more than any other candidate, 10 x, I would say. Because we're telling those stories using modern media, but also we acknowledge that the voter profile in San Antonio tends to be older, 65.

Bob Rivard [00:18:53]:
You gotta knock on doors still. Of

Beto Altamirano [00:18:55]:
course. And that's why we have a strong direct mail approach and field operation and we have advisors like Kelton Morgan. They've done it before. And so I would say a combination of of both how we're telling the story of who I am, my background, you know, that public sector leadership and private sector leadership combined to create this good theory of change in Bishop of San Antonio. My team and my campaign, the efforts that we've done since the start of the campaign last June, but also the funding mechanisms and the strategies of outreach and get out to vote. That's a combination that is gonna get us, you know, to win this race.

Bob Rivard [00:19:33]:
Well, most people that live in the city today and that can vote Beto either weren't alive or didn't live here when Henry Henry Cisneros was mayor, but he was the first person to actually have a vision for putting the city on the national radar. Yeah. And he traveled. He was evangelical. He thought big, and, he had a lot of success in that regard. You've created some jobs, and, I wanna ask you about job creation if you get elected mayor. There has been an incredible wave of corporate relocations to Texas since the pandemic. Something like a 60 plus different entities have either relocated their corporate headquarters to Texas or have established substantial, you know, manufacturing, or operational presences in our state.

Bob Rivard [00:20:23]:
San Antonio, unfortunately, has not, shared very many of those, wins like Austin and Dallas principally have. I wonder if you're a mayor, if you see a a role for yourself in economic development that would take you out of the city more and put you directly in that economic development, role of going out and evangelizing for the city, not to diminish the importance of protecting the job base we have already. It's critically important. But, but going out there and saying we can we can do better and attract more companies to San Antonio, but we're gonna have to go out and sell ourselves.

Beto Altamirano [00:21:01]:
We have to tell the story of San Antonio, who we are, our culture, our identity, our heritage, what makes us so unique. And that's part of the story that that we have to sell as San Antonias, and we have to celebrate that as well. And I think that's a unique value proposition that a lot of large companies, businesses, startups can get excited about. We have to get the fundamentals right though. Right? The infrastructure, the water supply, energy supply. All of those are fundamentals that if we wanna bring more investment in major companies and scaling startups to San Antonio, the infrastructure has to be well protected. It has to be efficient. Look.

Beto Altamirano [00:21:51]:
By 2040, we're looking at adding over 4,000,000 people to San Antonio's economy. By 2050, you're looking at 8,500,000 people between San Antonio and Austin. The question is not whether we're gonna grow, is how do we prepare for that growth? And that includes our infrastructure. I just wanna make that clear. If we take care of our infrastructure, now the mayor has also the responsibility to go out there and recruit businesses to San Antonio. And I spoke about telling the story of who we are. And I think that's something that we need to convey in a message about also economic opportunity in San Antonio. What about that? And and hold on, hold on.

Beto Altamirano [00:22:33]:
Because I think this is where it gets really interesting, Bob. We have to study the emerging trends in our economy. And we have four great emerging trends in our economy, Bob. We have cybersecurity. We have bioscience. We have aerospace and advanced manufacturing. According to Greater SATX, we're looking at adding a hundred thousand jobs just in cybersecurity alone in the next five years, Bob. The challenge is that the workforce is not there.

Beto Altamirano [00:23:02]:
So as we go out there and market San Antonio as a cybersecurity hub, we have to make sure that the workforce is ready to go. And that includes, education. That includes pushing forward the partnerships with Alamo Colleges and UTSA. And if we do that correctly, more major businesses across the country are gonna be looking at us as a cybersecurity hub, as an advanced manufacturing hub, as a bioscience hub. And I think those are the the the ingredients that we need to make this recipe a success in terms of recruitment of major companies, building startups in house, and having a successful outcome when we look at the emerging trends of our economy.

Bob Rivard [00:23:46]:
So given our, deficit of skilled labor Yeah. Which has always been something of an Achilles heel for San Antonio, although we have developed a very impressive advanced, manufacturing economy since the arrival of Toyota in 02/2008, and we're seeing out at Port San Antonio the expansion into aerospace and cyber that's

Beto Altamirano [00:24:06]:
Yeah.

Bob Rivard [00:24:06]:
Almost breathtaking. I think it's 18,000 jobs and and counting out there. What do you think of, the mayor's, ready to work program, which was launched with great expectations over the number of people it would serve and the increase in in hourly wages and income that it would generate. Those numbers were never realized, but, almost everybody agrees we need to improve our our workforce. Will you continue that program? Would you discontinue it? Would you alter it?

Beto Altamirano [00:24:39]:
Yeah. We gotta think big. And, you know, to your question about recruitment, I think it it it connects, you know, with ready to work essay as well. We just gotta be thinking bigger. And we have to be aggressive if how in how we tell that story. Right? If we wanna bring those businesses to San Antonio, again, the workforce has to be ready. And so I think Ready to Work as I was, is a good start. I know that it has enrolled almost 10,000 people in that program already.

Bob Rivard [00:25:11]:
It's a $35,000,000 a year start.

Beto Altamirano [00:25:14]:
It is. It is. And and and those are the challenges. Right? How much money, is being leveraged for this program, and the outcomes. You know, we have to be critical of the outcomes. Absolutely. But what I'm looking at is if we continue this program, we have to prioritize and have more focus as a program. And I wanna focus on the demands that we see in our market, you know, for jobs.

Beto Altamirano [00:25:38]:
And I mentioned those, emerging trends like cybersecurity or bioscience, health care, advanced manufacturing. I wanna be training to those jobs of the future. If we can do that, we allow our workforce to be skilled, reskilled, and also it allows me to go out there and recruit bigger businesses to come to San Antonio. If we miss this opportunity in the next four, eight years of reskilling, upskilling our workforce for the emerging trends in our economy, we're gonna miss the opportunity of bringing those businesses that you're talking about, Bob, of of of big businesses, four to 500 companies, or, scaling startups to not look at San Antonio as a destination. And and look, we can make strides on quality of life, which, by the way, that's something that young people look at. Right? And I think we do have great quality of life. We have parks. We have a lot of systems that make our quality of life great.

Beto Altamirano [00:26:37]:
But if we're not training our workforce, it becomes almost impossible, number one, to have a healthy economy that is competitive in the twenty first century, but also to recruit big businesses to San Antonio. We're scaling startups. So I think ready to work, I say, is a is a good start. It has its flaws, just like any any project. Right? It's, it's a project that has good intention, but I think we need to prioritize Ready to Work SA. And in addition to that, what I would like to see is a component of childcare into Ready to Work SA as well. One of the biggest challenges that we heard on the campaign trail was how expensive childcare is getting in San Antonio. And we talk about, reskilling the workforce, helping our workforce.

Beto Altamirano [00:27:26]:
But if young families don't have that safety net of childcare in San Antonio, these are the same families that are not gonna be able to compete in this economy. These are the same families that are gonna move out of San Antonio. And for me, part of my narrative in this, campaign is choosing San Antonio First. I chose the city because I fell in love with it and the possibilities and the opportunities of the city. And I want our children and grandchildren to choose San Antonio First. But issues like childcare are gonna keep us from achieving that retention of talent in San Antonio. And so what I'm looking at, right, is is potentially, helping, train more childcare professionals and supporting mom and pop shops with childcare professionals through an apprentice model that allows these mom and pop shops to subsidize our cost and lower the cost for the residents of San Antonio so that they can afford childcare.

Bob Rivard [00:28:19]:
Well, before we go on to another a a couple of other big ticket items, Beto, you mentioned potholes at the very beginning and infrastructure, a moment or two ago. You're aware of how unhappy citizens are with our public works department and, the street improvement projects that again and again have gone over budget and over the timeline for completion. I'm talking about Broadway. I'm talking about North Saint Mary's. I think it's embarrassing that the city's had to do a hurry patch up job on South Alamo just in time for the final four last week. Yeah. And now they're gonna tear it back up. And, again, it's over budget and over its timeline.

Bob Rivard [00:28:59]:
And, there's a serious question there of whether or not we're managing, those projects as well as we could. The new mayor and council will get busy very quickly, between, election and and, 2026 in starting to determine what we're gonna do about the twenty twenty seven five year bond cycle. And I just wonder if you have any thoughts about whether or not we have to we are one of the fastest, if not the fastest growing city in the country. But does that mean we permanently have to put up with chaos and disruption, or can it be done better?

Beto Altamirano [00:29:31]:
You know, if we are one of the fastest growing cities in the country, which we are, we have to act like it. And we have to become more proactive in how we develop our infrastructure in San Antonio. I get it. It's tough. These are growing pains. Every major city that undergones undergoes significant change is gonna experience growing pains. So I understand where we are in terms of our infrastructure development. I get it.

Beto Altamirano [00:29:57]:
But that doesn't mean that we should make excuses for our performance. We can always do better. We can push for improvement in every aspect of city development services and infrastructure development from the city of San Antonio. And so look, I mean, one of the biggest issues that we heard on the campaign trail, so far is construction. People keep talking about construction, the never ending construction. That is impacting small businesses as well. That is impacting neighborhoods across the city of San Antonio. I mean, we're still finalizing projects from the 02/2017 bond And when you look at the 02/2022 bond, we have like a 82 projects.

Beto Altamirano [00:30:42]:
And I guess, like, last time I checked was, like, 8% of them have been completed. Today, maybe it's a little bit more than that. Right? But it it's just it's unacceptable, right, how slow we're moving. And I get it. You know, government, you know, tends to be reactive, proactive. I'm not naive. I understand. Right? And I understand firsthand because when I introduced the three one one San Antonio San Antonio mobile application to the city of San Antonio, you know, we were delayed when we implemented this product because of the bureaucracy, the red tape, the challenges, right, of the systems that the city utilized at the time and revamping and connecting multiple city departments was a headache, was not easy, right, because they operate on older systems.

Beto Altamirano [00:31:29]:
So it took us longer than expected. So I understand the the complexity of management ultimately, what we did, we went from a waterfall development system to an agile development system, and we adapted to those challenges, and we were able to successfully complete this project. And I wanna see the same, you know, from city government when it comes to construction. That's why I'm calling for the the creation of a construction czar, someone that can be the quarterback in making sure that SAW, CPS, the city government, the private sector are all on the same page, and that we are driven by objectives and timelines, and that we stick to those timelines so that we save time and money. And we save headaches from a lot of community members and small businesses that are paying the cost of these delayed outcomes in terms of our infrastructure development. And let's not forget also that we have a city manager that is coordinating all of this as well. And I have a lot of respect for the city manager. And I know that it's Eric Walsh.

Beto Altamirano [00:32:34]:
And I know that it's a a a tough position. It's a it's a leadership position that is very demanding. But I'm also calling for a performance review of the city manager that can be conduct conducted in a public setting. And, I mean, look, I I I have a performance review in my company by my investors and my board members. That doesn't mean that I'm doing a poor job or anything. It just means that I look at how I can improve as a CEO.

Bob Rivard [00:33:03]:
It's accountability.

Beto Altamirano [00:33:04]:
It's accountability. And that's all I wanna look at. Right? And and this can be helpful in understanding our pain points, understanding the jobs to be done by the city government when it comes to infrastructure development. And and and it's something that is gonna help us push the ball forward. And I'm hopeful that the the next council can put more pressure on our city admin, can be more collaborative, can be understanding, but can be more objective driven. And look at the data and look at where we can improve. And that's what I'm calling for.

Bob Rivard [00:33:38]:
Alright. I only have 50 more questions, Beto. But, unfortunately, the clock the clock is running. So I wanna ask you about the big enchilada and make sure that, we get your, perspective on this. And that's Project Marble. Maravilloso. And, you know, to many, San Antonians and voters Yeah. It it's all about the Spurs Arena, right, and bringing the Spurs back downtown to hemisphere.

Bob Rivard [00:34:01]:
But we're really talking, about a 3 to $4,000,000,000, and that's in today's dollars, I think, project. The city envisions taking the Alamodome, which we built in nineteen nineties for a hundred and 89,000,000, I think, taking it down to the studs and doing a billion dollar renovation of the Alamodome, we're talking about five years after we put a couple hundred million dollars and 300 and some million dollars into the Henry B Gonzales Convention Center, 6 To 8 Hundred Million more for an expanded convention center, a new hotel, in addition to the Monarch Hotel, which Zachary is developing now. The arena, which, the Spurs in the city have estimated it coming in at about 1,500,000,000.0, which sounds about right when we look around the country and see other arena developments and the money that would go into making an entertainment district in that area. How do you feel about that and and how we would finance it, through a variety of mechanisms? But I guess the big question is, how much of a private public project is this with the Spurs owners, including several billionaires in that ownership, paying their fair share?

Beto Altamirano [00:35:14]:
Yeah. Bob, this is a a great question. When I think about Downtown San Antonio, I think about how Downtown San Antonio has gone from a business oriented, district to a tourism oriented district and the significance, right, of having a project, such as Project Marvel and its impact in Downtown San Antonio. Some say that is a facelift to Downtown San Antonio, and and I see it. I understand the excitement behind it, and I think sports districts, are powerful. And when you think about the Spurs, the Spurs bring people together, and that's something that we need to continue celebrating. With that being said, there's four areas that I wanna see, as we progress, you know, with this endeavor. Number one is more public participation.

Beto Altamirano [00:36:02]:
I wanna hear from the community, directly from them. And we need to host, a combination of town hall meetings, and and events where people have a say when it comes to, this project. I feel that we have not consulted the the community of San Antonio enough. And I and I say this, with this authority because we've been visiting every corner of the city, and that's one of the things that we hear directly from people. Well, the city has not engaged us, this neighborhood, organization, or the city has not engaged us and is a nonprofit or small businesses on the Deep West Side Of San Antonio, and we're interested in this project. And it's not necessarily negative reviews. Some are positive reviews, but they wanna be engaged. So number one, more public participation, and involvement on behalf of residents of San Antonio.

Beto Altamirano [00:36:52]:
Number two, I wanna look at the independent cost of each project that encompass encompasses, what is Project Marvel. And and when we look at the price tag, define how we're gonna move forward. Right? What are the funding mechanisms? You talk about the arena. Right? I mean, look, I'm against using general funds, but I think we can get creative with funds like, TERS, PFC, venue tax. I mean, these are funding mechanisms that we can leverage, for the arena and for the project as a whole. Now when we talk about the arena itself, I'm interested in seeing the private sector coming in strong and funding this endeavor. That's one of my priorities. And I think the remaining, amount can be funded through TIRS, Pfz, Venue,

Bob Rivard [00:37:37]:
HOD.

Beto Altamirano [00:37:37]:
I mean, we can get creative. But, ultimately, I wanna have the private sector coming strong in this endeavor. And I I know they can.

Bob Rivard [00:37:44]:
Alright. Last question, before we, wrap it up. And your campaign manager was in city hall, so he can, talk all day long about the 02/2019 climate action and adaptation plan that city council passed. I see little evidence of its implementation, Beto, in the last six years. Climate change, as you know, is, perhaps the the existential issue of our time, and yet, as society, nationally, regionally, even locally, we remain deeply divided over over the issue with many people not wanting to address it at all or or acknowledge the consequences of not addressing it. How as mayor would you get your arms around the need to address climate change, an issue that's so important, I think, to the emerging generations, the millennials like yourself, the Gen z's Yeah. And and those who will come afterwards who take it very seriously Absolutely. And wonder what kind of future we're leaving them.

Beto Altamirano [00:38:43]:
And that's a North Star as part of my my policy plat. I just I'm gonna finalize something on on the Spurs, Project Marvel, and it's also revisiting the conversations about the East Side and the promises that were made on economic development for the East Side Of San Antonio because the Frost Center is still there. So those are just the points that I wanna make sure I get across to the audience that are listening to us. And if you have more questions, you can contact me directly about Project Marvel. When we talk about climate change, climate change is impacting San Antonio in so many ways. It's getting hotter every year, and you can feel it. Right? And so we must protect our infrastructure. We have to build resilient infrastructure in San Antonio.

Beto Altamirano [00:39:24]:
What does that look like? Right? Sustainability outcomes that need to be measured. And and we are at this stage of mitigation and adaptation in San Antonio and across the country, in terms of of fighting climate change. What I wanna see more of is more access to green spaces. We I wanna plant more trees. I wanna continue funding the tree mitigation fund in San Antonio. I wanna use better materials when it comes to developing infrastructure like roads and and sidewalks in San Antonio. I wanna see more shaded, you know, sidewalks in San Antonio. When we talk about transit, I wanna see more active transportation that can lower the carbon emissions in in Downtown San Antonio and across the city.

Beto Altamirano [00:40:07]:
What does that mean? More more bicycle lanes and, of course, walkability in San Antonio, and they should be always protected as well. I think that's important. And and finally, I think what is important to look at as well is our water supply and continuing, to support and and and safeguard the Edwards Aquifer as a supply option that we have here in San Antonio, and we must cherish and protect that. And I know that we are also looking at innovative ways, for water infrastructure like desalination on the South Side Of San Antonio that SAWS is spearheading. And not just depending on the Vista Ridge, pipeline as a water source, but that we're continuing to diversify those outcomes when it comes to water infrastructure. Because all of these issues and and and policies that I'm talking about will make us more resilient as a city. And I think that should be the goal for us. And and let's not forget, public transportation.

Beto Altamirano [00:41:00]:
Right? I get excited about the possibilities of what we have in front of us with the green line and silver line. I'm all about the freedom to move, to choosing how to move, whether you wanna ride you know, drive your car or you wanna ride the bus, I'm all for it. Right? But I think if we we use our cars a little bit less, you know, we're gonna continue to help lowering the carbon emissions. But that means that we need a healthy, bus infra transit infrastructure, and I think that's what the green line and silver line, provide. And so I'm also supportive of those endeavors. But I think it's also raising awareness. Right? And I think the mayor has the responsibility to tell the story on how we can achieve sustainability outcomes, right, and partnering with the office of sustainability at the city of San Antonio and working closely with the resilient officer and other folks that are designing the future of San Antonio according to the sustainability standards. And that's something that we need to celebrate, and the mayor has to champion all of that.

Beto Altamirano [00:41:56]:
So I I wanna continue working on those efforts. And you can look at my policy platform, plan two one o, and you'll see my sustainability plan, which includes also more urban, agriculture in San Antonio and which includes, you know, partnering with innovative ways just like Local Sprout is doing to provide, more access to to, healthy foods in in serve certain parts of Downtown San Antonio or the South Side Of San Antonio. All of this, the sustainability outcome is also connected to health. You know? And and I think, you know, we should always be connecting the dots.

Bob Rivard [00:42:29]:
Well, Beto Altamirano, thank you for coming on to Big City, Small Town.

Beto Altamirano [00:42:32]:
Well, thank you so much, Bob. As as we spoke about my my why and my aspiration, you know, to be the next mayor of San Antonio, One thing is clear, is that we have a lot of homework ahead of us. But I also get excited about the possibilities ahead of us. I get excited about the vision for San Antonio. One that is inclusive. One that is about economic opportunity. One that is about innovation. Yes.

Beto Altamirano [00:42:56]:
It's taking care of those immediate needs, but it's thinking big. It's being visionary. And ultimately being bullish on this idea that San Antonio has a lot to offer. We have a strong culture, heritage, identity, and we must celebrate that every day. And running for office has allowed me to understand the city from a different angle. And one thing remains constant, that the number one power that the city has, it's its people. And that's something that we need to continue to celebrate.

Bob Rivard [00:43:26]:
There's a closing statement. Thank you, Beto.

Beto Altamirano [00:43:28]:
Thank you, Bob. Appreciate it.

Bob Rivard [00:43:33]:
Please share this episode with friends and colleagues, and do sign up for Monday Musings, our weekly newsletter, at bigcitysmalltown.com. Big City Small Town is brought to you by Western Urban, building the city our children want to call home, and Geekdom, where startups are born and smart ideas become businesses. Our producer is Corey Eames, video by Erica Repel, and sound engineering by Alfie de la Garza of Sound Crane Audio. We will see you next week.