Why I support the "Seguin 13" bond

Starting Oct. 21^st, registered Seguin voters have the opportunity to vote on a new bond referred to as  “Seguin 13”.

The Seguin 13 bond proposes a revamped Seguin High School, completely new library, and revitalized parks and recreation areas. Although the bond totals can be startling (83.3 million in bonds for the school, 14.8 million in bonds for the library and 5 million in bonds for the parks and recreation areas), it will only increase your taxes approximately $20 per month, for a home whose taxable value is $150,000, which is $35,000 more than the current median home value in Seguin.

I know what you’re thinking. The aesthetics are not the city’s problem, it’s the crime. It’s the condition of the roads. It’s always rising taxes.

And I hear ya.

I am a regular Seguin citizen and taxpayer. I am not wealthy. I am not a pillar of the Seguin community. You do not see my face in Seguin Gazette photos. I am not your typical activist for “city change”.  But I am voting “YES” for "Seguin 13", and here’s why.

I love Seguin. It’s my hometown. I think it has a lot of potential. But unfortunately, that’s where the description tends to stop because not much is being done with the potential. Seguin schools were not rated well, so I found my education in New Braunfels. Seguin’s job market was not strong enough, so I found my income in New Braunfels. Seguin’s library was antiquated, so I found my answers in New Braunfels. Seguin’s parks and social scenes were tired and uninspiring, so I entertained myself in...you guessed it...New Braunfels.

For years and years, Seguin has been compared to New Braunfels, and we have fallen short in the comparison. Some argue that their crime rate is considerably lower. But that’s not really accurate. Over the past 5 years, the crime proportions of both cities have run astonishingly parallel.  New Braunfels’ city population is almost exactly twice that of Seguin’s. And the crime statistics support that almost to a tee, with aberrations in New Braunfels’ favor, regarding robberies and burglaries, and aberrations in Seguin’s favor, regarding cases of arson and auto theft. So…we’re still pretty even.

Of course there are the issues of drugs and gang activities. With respect to Seguin’s citizens, in the case of drugs…Seguin citizens are just dumber. Nobody should be naïve to the presence of drugs in New Braunfels. They are there. They are being sold. They are being purchased. They are being consumed. And they are being quieter about it. Not to say that’s better, but it is a factor in why Seguin is known for these specific illegal activities and NB is not.

 There’s no question about the gang activity. We need more police as well, and we need them to be legit. Let’s also not be naïve about certain law enforcement that has been placed on the “clean up Seguin streets” team and shouldn’t have been. We need straight arrows. Not boomerangs.

So what else could the difference between Seguin and NB be? I’ve heard some say it’s the condition of the roads. I agree. There are some terrible roads in Seguin. But have you driven in New Braunfels lately on Common St? San Antonio? Castell? And of course there’s the Walnut Ave. project that started when I was in high school (more than a decade ago) and is still chuggin’ right along at warp slow speed. And these are streets located in downtown, where the squeaky wheels are still not necessarily getting the grease.

Well then…I’m confused. If it’s not the crime rate, it’s not strictly the manufacture, transportation and consumption of illegal drugs, and it's not the street conditions...what else is there?

Is it the population as a whole that's the difference? Looks like it.

And what do you do when you are left with a majority of people who has not tapped into their potential? You educate them on how to do so. You lead by example. And you help provide the opportunities.

This means education. And education leads to enlightenment. Enlightenment to inspiration. Inspiration to ambition. Ambition to action. Action to production. Production to accomplishment. Accomplishment to pride. Pride to motivation. Motivation to learn more. Motivation to earn more. Motivation to churn more. And the cycle starts over.

The more you learn, the fewer your limits are. We have an entire generation of children coming up who we can help steer in the right direction with the right tools so they can learn to provide themselves with the opportunities they need and perpetuate them. Give a man a fish, and he is fed for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he is fed for a lifetime.

Bad decisions are typically made when someone is either uninformed or bored. Both of which we can remedy. So let’s vote YES and get our children learning and moving so we have the chance at a well-rounded community willing and wanting to educate themselves, think outside the box, and be an inspired, productive, positive force that will continue to move Seguin in the right direction for many decades to come.

Granted this is just my humble opinion, but I know how far I've come in life because someone was willing to teach me, lead me, and believe in me. And I'm not done growing yet because of it.