To inform readers about the candidates seeking their votes on the November ballot, the San Antonio Report asked all candidates to answer the following questions. We edited answers for clarity, not substance or grammar, and we did not fact-check responses. We restricted responses to 200 words for each question.
Read other candidates’ answers here.
Position sought:
Alamo Colleges, District 4
Incumbent?
No.
Link to campaign website:
N/A
Age:
70
What is your educational background? Where did you go to school growing up and what is the highest level of education you completed?
Graduated from Somerset High School, Somerset, Texas. Have a BS-Sociology, Regents College, University of New York. US Army, Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
If you have completed higher education, what degrees or certifications have you earned and from where? In what years did you complete these degrees or certifications?
1994 BS-Sociology, Regents College, University of New York. Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
What is your current occupation, employer, and job title?
Owner Manager, R A Casias Brangus, LLC
List any previous elected offices that you held and the term you held that office. List any elected offices you sought and the years you sought those offices.
State Republican Executive Committee, Republican Party of Texas, representing 17 Counties in Texas Senate District 19. Term ended July 2020.
Candidate for TX HD-118 in 2012.
Why do you feel you are the best candidate for the office you are seeking?
30 Years management experience. This is a management position. When I retired from United States Army, I held the rank of Colonel and served as Chief of Exercises and Training for United States Army South, Fort Sam Houston, Texas with responsibility in 32 countries in the Eastern Caribbean, Central and South America. I have served as a Strategic Planner in Bosnia and Deputy Operations Officer for a United Nations HQ in Haiti, working with 19 different countries from around the world. I have worked in 4 combat zones and fought in 2 of them in Vietnam and Haiti. Worked closely with US Ambassadors in Haiti, Surinam and Trinidad and Tobago. This vast experience at a high level of responsibility has prepared me with for this position.
What three issues do you feel are most important to your constituents?
- Stop wasting tax payer’s money.
- Refocus on education.
- Stop welfare programs where ACCD gives away and wastes tax payer funds.
If you are elected, what will be your top priorities once you take office?
Refocus on education, eliminate wasteful programs, hold management accountable for wasteful spending and bring Integrity to the Board and administrative offices. No more secret unlawful meetings!
For incumbents: What accomplishments are you most proud of during your time in office? Is there any vote or decision you would change now looking back?
N/A
For non-incumbents: Would you do anything differently from the current representative holding the office you’re seeking?
No secret meetings. Instill and maintain a high level of Integrity throughout ACCD. Hold Chancellor accountable for overall performance of ACCD. Hold college Presidents accountable for wasteful spending and performance of their respective college campuses. Review ACCD Strategic Plan, plan must be aggressive to become a positive force in improving local and regional economies. Better paying jobs result when you have high performance graduates with relevant skills and abilities from ACCD.
How do you assess your community college district or school district’s performance during the pandemic and the way it served students?
Does Covid-19 stop your brain from working? Stop making excuses for poor decision making, wasteful spending and poor performance. I do not buy into management being given a free pass for poor performance based on a Chinese virus.
How will you approach budgeting for your district given the economic uncertainties? What are your budget priorities you would want to keep intact?
Think of tax payers economic uncertainties before adding more spending to any budget. Their is a limit on what tax payers can afford. Cut wasteful spending from administration and colleges. Stop hiring until colleges and administration control budgets. Take a very close look at any plans for expansion of infrastructure. New virtual learning model may not require normal huge buildings to continue.
How do you plan to work to overcome academic gaps that may have developed or widened during the pandemic?
Maintain high standards for admission based on Merit. Maintain high standards for students already enrolled. Identify low performance students early and offer assistance. Students who failed in high school will likely fail in college. Covid-19 did not stop brains from working. Poor study habits affect performance. Expand use of technology to meet future growth models. Become an educational leader and have graduates prepared for expansion of Space programs within federal government and private sector Space initiatives. Global economy will be based on Space exploration!
