George Altgelt for City Council District 7 Announcement Speech January 6, 2014 Let me begin by saying thanks to all you whove traveled, from far and wide, to brave the cold today. We all made this journey for a reason. Its humbling, but in my heart I know you didnt come here just for me, you came here because you believe in what this City has the potential to become. In the face of corruption, you believe there can be honesty. In the face of stifled economic development and traffic congestion, you believe in a District 7 that is on the move where opportunity and a level playing field is business as usual. In the face of so many challenges – you all are here because you know that together we can change things for the better. Thats the journey were on today. But let me tell you how I came to be here. As most of you know, I was raised out on a ranch in San Ygnacio and spent my summers as a child at my grandparents’ home in Belmont right here in district 7. I graduated from Zapata HS, attended LCC, and then through scholarships and part-time work graduated from TAMIU. I married my college sweetheart and then attended St. Mary’s law school in San Antonio. I took and passed the bar exam the same summer that I graduated and then moved back home to Laredo, to take a job as a prosecutor for the Webb County DA’s office, motivated then as I am now, by a single, simple, powerful idea -- that I, like you, might play a small part in building a better Laredo. I, like you and our founding fathers, recognize the traditional role of service and sacrifice that holding elected office is. This is an endeavor that takes us away from what matters most, our families, our obligations, and our businesses. This is not a career opportunity, this is the hard work of rebuilding District Seven and a City so that Commerce is efficiently flowing, opportunities abound, and quality of life is standard in every home, not just in the nicer parts of town. Since my return home to Laredo, through my law practice and as a simple citizen, I have been a community activist, giving a voice to those who have been silenced and by bringing the City to justice on numerous occasions all the while having to answer not only to God, my own conscious, but with more and more frequency to my loving wife. And her question is usually always the same, “why…. Why do we have to do this…” “Porque te metistes en esto?” the answer is the same- “This is a calling…” There is a famous quote by the Irish Statesman, Edmund Burke, a staunch supporter of the American Revolution, wherein he states, “all that is necessary for the forces of evil to take over the world are for enough good men to do nothing.” Today we are the good men and women who are doing something about it, we are not going to acquiesce our sovereignty as citizens, we are going to answer the call to put our city government back to work for us – “We the People”, and not some unknown special interest. So in the face of opposition, criticism, sacrifice and retaliation, we will answer the call for honest government and honest leadership, we will answer the call for improved infrastructure to keep the biggest inland port in America moving and that is also responsible for getting us to and from our homes, jobs and schools, we will answer the call for more park spaces, green spaces soccer and baseball fields and improve our quality of life, and most importantly we will answer the call inside our hearts that tells us it is time to pick ourselves up, dust our selves off, and make the City of Laredo accountable to us so that it is the home our families deserve! That’s is why I’m running, that is why you are here, and with the God’s grace that is what we as a community will make a reality! Thank you for joining us! Get out there and spread this message of hope and lets get our people to the polls! God Bless George Altgelt
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 03:46:39 +0000
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