CAMARILLO SAYS HE WANTS TO BE YOUR MAYOR

By Juan Montoya

Now there are five.

District 4 commissioner Edward C. Camarillo announced his candidacy for mayor from the steps of City Hall Wednesda.In announcing for mayor, Camarillo, who has held office for the last six years, is leaving his position with two more years to go in the term. He was first elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2009.

He joins incumbent Pat Ahumada, Antonio “Tony” Martinez, Michael “Mike” Garza, and Evaristo V. Cardenas Jr. in declaring their interest in filling the position.
Three other commissioners are up for re-election and include Anthony P. Troiani, at-large A, Ricardo Longoria Jr., District 1, and Charlie Atkinson, District 2.
Longoria and Atkinson say they will seek re-election.

In a press release to the media, Camarillo stated that: "Today I am your commissioner & on May 14 your next Mayor of Brownsville. The most important goal is to lead Brownsville into a stage of economic development that the citizens demand.”
Obviously aware that the city's double-digit unemployment rate is a major concern of the voters, he made his pitch to work to address the chronic problems facing local job seekers.
He said that with a series of programs and different incentives he can route the city’s current management towards creating an infrastructure of small business that will expand the job force in our community. He intends, he said, "to revitalize the local economy, especially downtown, and create enough jobs to raise the per-capita of our citizens.

“I believe that the only way to get out of these tough economic times is to bring our economy back to life,” Camarillo said. “We can no longer depend on federal or state funding to care of our problems; we must start to create our own solutions and not depend on others.”

He lists his public service activities his membership as treasurer of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council, chairman of Keep Brownsville Beautiful, board of director of Keep Texas Beautiful, founder of Project R.E.A.D.Y. (Resilient, Educate, Active Involvement, Diversity, and Youth), vice-president of PONY League, and founder of Camarillo Meals on Wheels.

He is a 1997 James Pace High School graduate and attended The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College. He received his bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in early childhood in 2002 and is currently pursing his master’s in public policy administration and management and will graduate this summer.

There is no doubt that there will be other candidates who will join the five in the race for the May 2011 election. Doubtless, the race will result in a runoff. Camarillo's supporters say they are counting on his candidacy to attract younger voters who will respond to his "green" approach to city issues and his views on economic development to create jobs in the city.