Pasadena welcomes a change at the top
New mayor and council members are sworn in
Jeff Wagner was sworn in as Pasadena’s new mayor Saturday alongside several other City Council members, marking the start of a new administration facing concerns from residents regarding diversity, transparency and voting rights two months ahead of the implementation of a controversial state immigration law.
Wagner, who beat community college trustee John Moon Jr. in a runoff earlier last month, succeeds former Mayor Johnny Isbell, whose administration became embroiled in controversy regarding a 2013 redistricting plan found in federal court to violate Latino voting rights. The city is appealing the January ruling, which called the scheme a deliberate attempt to undermine Latino political influence in a place where the majority of residents identify as such.
Though Wagner is regarded as an Isbell ally, a group of about a dozen Latino residents and activists with advocacy group FIEL Houston called the changeover, which ushered in several new council members, a fresh start. They gathered before the ceremony to encourage more Latino involvement in public meetings and demand greater transparency from the council.
“Beginning today, as soon as they take office, we will be watching them, and we will be holding them accountable,” said Cesar Espinosa, the group’s executive director.
The shift comes amid concern within Hispanic communities across Texas regarding Senate Bill 4, the so-called sanctuary cities ban that takes effect Sept. 1. The legislation
allows law enforcement officials to inquire about a person’s immigration status during detainment and threatens sanctions for officers who fail to comply with federal requests to hold undocumented immigrants arrested on other criminal charges.
Several local governments including Houston, Dallas and San Antonio have agreed to challenge the measure in court. Wagner, a former Houston police officer, has previously indicated that Pasadena will not join the lawsuit. Focus on infrastructure
Jessica Rangel, a resident and activist, stressed that the law could have an outsized impact on a city such as Pasadena, where nearly two-thirds of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. That’s up from less than a third in 1990.
“We have to have more representation of the Latino community,” Rangel said.
Wagner, in his campaign and public appearances, stressed a desire to unify Pasadena residents amid criticism that the majority-white council doesn’t reflect the city’s growing diversity. Voters this spring elected several familiar faces that have long shaped the city’s politics.
Latinos, however, now hold three of the council’s eight member seats. Two were reelected, and a third, Felipe Villarreal, won in a runoff earlier this month.
Villarreal, who was sworn in Saturday, said he initially plans to focus on infrastructure problems in his district. Pasadena residents have complained about a lack of street repairs and maintenance, particularly in majority-Latino communities on the city’s north side. ‘We are not there’
As for broader concerns regarding diversity and representation, Villarreal said he expects the entire council to address those issues once meetings get underway.
Outside of the council, Wagner opted for greater diversity last week by appointing former Houston City Councilman James Rodriguez as his chief of staff and naming the city’s first Hispanic police chief, Lt. Al Espinoza. Cesar Espinosa, encouraged by Wagner’s choice, said he hopes to work with Rodriguez to improve the council’s system for posting information about public meetings. City staff doesn’t post detailed agendas or schedules online, and the council has been criticized in the past for curbing public access to information and conducting much of its business before the official meetings.
Longtime resident Maria Duran implored other Latinos to attend the administration’s first council meeting on Wednesday. She called it the first step in pushing for change.
“I’ve attended many, many meetings, and we are not there,” she said. “We need to start showing up.”