San Marcos CISD Trustee Announces Mayoral Campaign
On Monday, San Marcos CISD school board trustee Juan Miguel Arredondo announced his intentions to run for mayor in the November 2020 election.
Arredondo has served on the San Marcos CISD School Board since May of 2015 and was reelected to the board in 2017.
Arredondo, a fifth-generation San Marcos native, San Marcos High School, and Texas State alumnus, is no stranger to public service.
“Now, more than ever, our community deserves new ideas and bold leadership at City Hall,” Arredondo said. “As mayor, I’ll fight to protect the things that make San Marcos a special place to live while advancing new policies to help residents and businesses recover from the economic shutdown, solve our housing affordability crisis, reduce homelessness, combat climate change, increase citizen engagement at City Hall, and implement systems to create a more resilient community able to withstand catastrophic events—both natural and manmade.”
“My record as a school board trustee and advocate for progressive change makes me well-suited to lead San Marcos. I’m excited to launch my campaign, and I am looking forward to conversations with voters about how we create a San Marcos that works for all of us,” Arredondo continued.
He also serves on the board of United Way of Hays and Caldwell Counties and is an active volunteer with the San Marcos Education Foundation.
Arredondo’s priorities and motivation to run for mayor are centered on responding to the three crises currently affecting the San Marcos community – the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic shutdown, and housing unaffordability – issues that, in his words, “follow racial fault lines of health inequities and toxic economic inequality, disproportionately impacting Latinx communities and people of color.”
These issues must be addressed if San Marcos is to thrive, Arredondo said.
“San Marcos needs a stronger response to the pandemic to reduce spread, support citizens who have been impacted and ensure testing and medical care is available to everyone,” he continued. “I will work to develop a plan, alongside economic development professionals, businesses and other stakeholders to ensure our local economy is strong and our residents can finally earn a living wage. Housing affordability has been an issue in San Marcos since before I was born. It’s past time for the city to adopt policies that create opportunities for affordable housing.”
Arredondo had intended to run for reelection to the San Marcos CISD School Board prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but reaffirmed his commitment to both San Marcos and local public schools.
“I love San Marcos and will continue to serve in any capacity that allows me to give back to my hometown. I will serve as the District One trustee through the November elections and if the voters elect me as their next Mayor, I look forward to District One residents electing their next representative on the school board.”
Arredondo pledged that, if elected, he will not accept the City of San Marcos’s mayoral monthly stipend of $2,200.00 and will instead use those funds to help San Marcans recover from the ongoing public health and economic crisis.
Arredondo currently works for Texas State University as a Program Coordinator. According to Texas law, an individual cannot accept a paycheck from two government-run entities, which includes local elected official stipends and public institutes of higher education.
“I have no intention of being paid to serve as San Marcos’ next Mayor. Especially as our neighbors and small business community try to stay afloat. If elected, I will use my stipend to support those in our community who are struggling during these uncertain times.”
As much as I would like to see a latino Mayor in San Marcos, I am not confident that Mr. Arredondo is the right person for this position. His past history with alcohol abuse is of deep concern. I understand that we all have are demons but I continue to see Mr. Arredondo drinking alcohol at functions (pre-covid), as little as a couple of weeks after his last issue was reported. Him being a school board member while these issues were made public shows two things. One is that he should not be in a position to make decisions for our children if he is under turmoil and shame on the school board for not ending his term at that time. The second is that he must have people behind him politically that swept this under the rug like its nothing and that was as a school board member. Imagine what else can be swept under the rug as a mayor. I do not have anything against Mr. Arredondo or in favor of any other candidates however I would like to see that the latinx community is represented by a strong, trustworthy leader. I would recommend that he work on himself first, you will need more than one year to recover and gain the trust of the community.
https://smcorridornews.com/corridor-news-reaches-out-to-juan-miguel-arredondo-on-arrest/
https://smcorridornews.com/smcisd-board-member-arrested-charged-with-dwi/
– Public intoxication… eh.
– DWI… Ouch! What was the outcome of the case?
Vote HELL No! We don’t want a 27 year old drunken openly racist, entitled man child driving around Texas state & passing out feet from train tracks as the leader San Marcos will surely need to get through what will be only more turbulent times forward getting back to business/school/peace!!!! I’m sick of spineless politicians and people looking the other way or agreeing to their evil states of mind, only because it’s politically incorrect to disagree cultures aren’t rocked more from problems by shameless IDIOTS leading the way like HIM!!!! ALL colors have been saying the opposite of what we need now more than EVER- leaders with INTEGRITY, INTELLIGENCE, and WISDOM!! Not someone like him who states gaslighting, b.s. ideologies they bought without thinking bc they are lazy, unaccountable, ignorant, and want to look virtuous. These snake oil leaders always bring nothing, but more racist, divisive, toxic, and fiscally retarded garbage policies!
Shame on this man for even THINKING of running to lead San Marcos vs resign out RIGHT after ethically assessing himself, but instead decided to focus on generations past and long dead, wasting all our time, and making anyone who reads his racist, stupid propaganda absolutely dumber.