CBS7′s Midland Mayoral Race Profiles: Jerry Morales
CBS7′s series of profiles on Midland mayoral candidates
ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) - Businessman and restaurant owner Jerry Morales served six years on the Midland City Council and served six years as mayor. Now, he’s running for mayor again.
“Like a lot of folks, I saw that there was some leadership, communication and transparency issues that were not being reflected the last couple of years,” Morales said. “I’m very proud of what our council did over the years in sprinkling a lot of projects all over the community and we were very strong in relaying our messages on a regular basis. There was a lot of leadership, a lot of experience and communication that, when talking to your circle of influence, they said we need that back. With that being said and a lot of prayers, we put our name in the hat.”
Morales likens his time in city government to running his restaurants, and says citizens should get their money’s worth.
“People say ‘I’m spending hard earned money with you, Jerry, buying food and I want a return.’ Well that’s the same attitude I took to city government. When we got to city hall we said we’re going to get people the service they deserve and the return on their investment,” Morales said.
Among what he considers his greatest accomplishments thus far are creating the Tom Craddick outer loop, buying the Clearwater Ranch for water and reviving downtown Midland.
“Our city is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. When you’re sitting on one of the most productive oil shell in the world, you better be ready,” Morales said.
This time around, Morales says it’s all about communication.
“As taxpayers, we want to make sure that any project that we’re working on or anything that we’re moving forward with, we’re all going to know upfront what the project is going to consist of, how much it’s going to cost and what when is the finish date,” Morales said. “Today more than ever, transparency is the key word.”
In his own words, here’s why Morales wants your vote.
“When you vote for Jerry Morales you’re voting for experience. You’re voting for leadership. There will be clear transparency, as we said, and unifying our community. All the other areas that come with the mayorship will fall into place, but you definitely have to have a visionary in place that’s going to be vocal and represent our community because I love Midland, Texas.”
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