.png)
Pflugerville on Fire
Our first episode drops August 31! This podcast mini-series will inform you about the initiative to defund the Pflugerville Fire Department. Listen on all major podcasting platforms. Subscribe to get the latest episodes. We have some great guests lined up!
Pflugerville on Fire
Mayor Gonzales: A Life of Public Service
What if the future of your city was in your hands? Mayor Victor Gonzales of Pflugerville joins us for a compelling discussion on the city's rapid development, offering an inside look at the innovative strategies shaping its growth. From contracting with ESD2 for essential ambulance and ALS services to reflecting on his nearly two decades of public service, Mayor Gonzales shares personal stories that paint a vivid picture of Pflugerville's transformation from a small town with a volunteer fire department to a bustling community. His commitment to transparency and leadership shines through as he shares his vision for maintaining the safety and well-being of residents amidst these changes.
Join us as we uncover the rich tapestry of community engagement and local politics in Pflugerville, from the 1960s to today. We journey through pivotal moments like the formation of the North Rural Community Advisory Group and a controversial racetrack proposal that spurred significant political change. Mayor Gonzales offers personal insights into the challenges of securing adequate emergency services and the debate between private companies and ESD-2's well-trained paramedics, including his daughter. This episode provides a nuanced look at the complexities of local governance and the necessity of robust emergency response systems, leaving listeners with a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing Pflugerville.
So I consider the ESD as a Pflugerville Fire Department always have. We had the opportunity on council this last time to actually contract with the ESD2 for the ambulance service and ALS service, which I supported and had two other council members supported as well, because we think and we believe that our Pflugerville Fire Department, as well as the Pflugerville Ambulance Service, is the best qualified, the best trained and most responsive to the community needs that we have. Again, the city doesn't have a real plan at this point. I think they've chewed on a couple of ideas and I would hate to think at the end of the day, that a group of citizens that are supporting Prop A, the yes vote, would diminish the public services for the rest of the citizens in Pflugerville and putting them at risk Welcome back to Pflugerville and putting them at risk.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to Pflugerville on Fire.
Speaker 1:I'm your host, chris Wolfe, on the show. This week. We've got the mayor of Pflugerville, mr Victor Gonzalez, coming on to talk to all of us. Mayor Gonzalez has been on the city council for nearly 20 years now, and his last term as mayor has been over a pretty tumultuous time for the city. City of Fleerville faces a lot of challenges, especially with its essential infrastructure and all that is related to rapid growth. Things that we don't even think about, like the water and the roads, all have to do with planning for a city that half its population hasn't even moved in yet. As I dig deeper into local politics, I see that taking a firm stance and coming out on the record is definitely the exception and not the norm, and I applaud Mayor Gonzalez for coming on the show, for his courage and his leadership and being on the record. In this episode, mayor Gonzalez is going to get into what he feels like the future for the city of Pflugerville is and what his legacy will be moving forward. Enjoy the show, mayor Gonzalez. Welcome to Pflugerville on Fire.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here today, oh well, it's an honor to have you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for jumping on the show. I think you've heard me say that leadership is about service, and really part of that service means going in front of your constituents and letting them know hey, this is what's happening. This is how I feel about it, so I really appreciate you taking time exhibiting that leadership and coming on the show.
Speaker 2:So thank you for giving me the opportunity, chris, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Well, let's jump in here. You've been a Pflugerville resident for a long time. Can you tell us briefly what it was like growing up in Pflugerville and what got you into politics, and then, ultimately, what made you decide to run for mayor?
Speaker 2:Right, right. Well, chris, I always tell my story about growing up in Pflugerville. When I was growing up and could read the population sign and said 272 people, that's about a nine square block and fortunately back then we did have a volunteer fire department. This is the interesting part because I tell this story and I don't think anybody believes me is that we had a volunteer fire department and if we ever had a fire or an emergency, somebody from the tavern because that's where they got the call, there was a tavern next door would get an emergency call and they'd go over and flip the siren, switch and all the farmers would come running into town. So that was the volunteer fire department. It's amazing, it's changed quite a bit. So, yeah, growing up in Pflugerville was really kind of an exciting time for me and still is today A little different, but it's still exciting and a lot of changes that have happened over the years actually very dramatic changes. But you know, when I was growing up in Pflugerville, my concern was always with the community up in Pflugerville, my concern was always with the community.
Speaker 2:I don't think a lot of people know that early on, probably in the late 60s, right after I graduated high school, I was involved with creating the North Rural Community Advisory Group and it was a non-profit and actually there was one that was created in East Travis County, north Travis County, west and South Travis County through a human opportunities corporation, a social service organization that back then was President Johnson's War on Poverty approach. And so as a charter member of that group which, by the way, today is now the North Travis County North Rural Community Center over on Pflugger Farm. So we had an early beginning focusing on community access, involvement, public health, and it was a struggle to get through the maze in Pfluggerville and try to garner the resources for a growing community. Back then, although small it was still growing. So back then that was my first involvement and as a matter of fact, this last weekend I went to a class reunion and sat with not one of my classmates. He was in the class before or after me.
Speaker 2:His name is David Samuelson. As a matter of fact, his father was a commissioner in this area, david Samuelson, I think he was commissioner for about eight years. So actually he was part of that initial growth of Pflugerville. I think he was also involved with getting the Manville water system established for this part of the county, which was very important. So back then, yeah, I was very community centric, started the first recreation center in Pflugerville Actually, not the first, it was a summer program, summer youth program and so again, at a very early age I was involved with the community and getting people involved and getting youth involved, and so I was again very involved in trying to develop services for Pflugerville, involved in trying to develop services for Pflugerville. And the reason and again another short note that people don't know is I actually ran for city council back in the early 70s. Really, Wow.
Speaker 2:And who beat you out for that, do you remember? Well, this is the funny part, is that? So my name was the only name on the ballot. Oh, wow, and you didn't win. And you would have thought yeah, you know well, he's going to win. No, actually I got beat out by three other candidates. Actually, there were three slots open and they were all write-in votes.
Speaker 1:You're kidding me.
Speaker 2:That's wild so anyway, I got a whole total sum of nine votes. And that was my early experience. Same kind of campaigning even back then, with pushcards and mailers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, signs the campaign hadn't changed a whole lot, but anyway it was an experience for me and then kind of took a low profile for a while. I was still involved with politics on the local level and the district level and regional level, but again trying to work my way through making a living and life and career and all that and family. So it wasn't until probably 2004, 2005, back in Pflugerville. I had been living here in Pflugerville and there was an initiative that was raising a little bit of the eyebrows of the community back then. It was a racetrack, horse racetrack. Oh yeah, I've heard about that. If some people will remember, a lot of people don't but that was an initiative that the community was pushing back on and it was actually part of a project that actually one of the developers back then who, by the way, happens to be one of the developers that's supporting the Vote yes campaign- Wow.
Speaker 2:Prop 8, wow. So there was a referendum put on the ballot by the city council and it was defeated wholeheartedly. I think we had a huge turnout Back in 2005,. You still didn't have a lot of people coming out to vote. I think we had over 3,000 people voting, and then the next thing that happened was that the city council was voted out of office. So that presented an opportunity for me to run for office, because I hadn't really thought about it until then, and so somebody at a group of folks encouraged me and I said, okay, well, let's give it a shot. And so here I am today. Good for you.
Speaker 1:That's incredible. And so you actually did all your terms on city council and then ran for mayor after that. Correct.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we have term limits. I termed out as a city council member. I was mayor pro tem the last five years of that city council reign and then decided to run for mayor Good for you. So I could run for mayor and won. So now I had an opportunity to serve another three three-year terms, and the first two I mean the second one again was a reelection, but the last term nobody showed up to run against me, so that was easy.
Speaker 1:You must be doing something right, then, or something's going on. Well, I think it's an inspiration, because people don't realize how much happens in local politics, and if you're just trying to raise kids and trying to get groceries and put dinner on the table, a lot of that can come and go and you have no idea what's happening. So so, mayor, you were opposed to the EMS overlay back when they tried to do it way, but you have supported the fire department or running the ambulance transport, so you've had some evolving perspectives. Where are you at today?
Speaker 2:Well, you know, as I said originally, you know I've always supported Pflugerville and been very community-oriented and while I know that the ESD-2 is a separate, if you will, kind of governmental entity funded by different sources other than you know, it's not a city-funded program, I think it's still. You know, when I see a fire truck it says Pflugerville Fire and so I consider the ESD as a Pflugerville Fire Department. Always have and you know there have always been some issues with the type of structure and representation on the boards. I mean there's.
Speaker 1:I don't want to say it's political, but in a way it is political.
Speaker 2:Sure, you begin to realize everything's political, whether you want it to be or not.
Speaker 2:And so when we lost the ambulance service, it becomes incumbent upon, I think, the city to provide some type of public service to our community, whether it's ambulance or law enforcement. And so we opted to go with private ambulance and have now on our second private ambulance company, and we had the opportunity on council this last time to actually contract with the ESD-2 for the ambulance service and ALS service, which I supported and had two other council members supported as well, because we think and we believe that our Pflugerville Fire Department, as well as the Pflugerville Ambulance Service, is the best qualified, the best trained and most responsive to the community needs that we have. Unfortunately, we didn't have the votes to swing the ambulance service and it went back to a private service, which was very unfortunate. Very unfortunate and I'm not sure what we're looking forward to the future. I'd like to get back to having the ESD provide the ambulance service and ALS service. I know you provide the first responders at this point and not sure how that's going to turn out with the election, but we'll see.
Speaker 1:Well, that's a big one. Hopefully I mean people that are listening to this show, I think, know that. You know, if Proposition A passes and the fire department loses 40 percent of its revenue, the idea would be that we wouldn't run on the low priority medical calls which the it passes and the sales tax revenue is abolished. What do you think is going to happen with that five cents sales tax and how much of that is going to go back to emergency response?
Speaker 2:Chris, that's a very good question and I've pondered that question over the last several months now, even thinking into the future, and I've asked this question internally, and I'm of the impression that we really don't when I say we, again, the city doesn't have a real plan at this point. I think they've chewed on a couple of ideas, but in terms of losing those services, the basic life support services and early responders, I think is is going to be a mistake, because if we don't have that in place, you're going to have delayed response time. You're going to have we'll still have the private ambulance service running on those calls. That doesn't necessarily mean that they will be on time any faster or quicker because, again, right now we've only got four units and they could be across town or they may be all in service, for that matter. So we feel like thinning back or scaling back any types of ambulance service or first responder service is going to be very drastic and puts a lot of citizens at risk.
Speaker 1:Well, I am encouraged to hear you say that, Mayor, because sometimes you know, we as citizens elect y'all and we all kind of hope, oh, they're going to do the right thing for us and it sounds like that's where your head is at. So we need you to keep doing it. And one thing I want to emphasize for our listeners is Mayor Gonzalez, if you don't know what the plan is, there isn't a plan. I mean, no one's going to know. You're the most qualified person to answer this question. So it's just, it's such a privilege to have you on the show and to get to ask you that, and I think I think making a plan is not a plan.
Speaker 2:Right. Well, at this point, I think, with the proposition of supporters in terms of how they're positioning, envisioning a better EMS and I posted this the other day I said well, it sounds like you don't think the current EMS service is all that great, so you're envisioning a better one. Unfortunately, some of those individuals voted for that less than better EMS and so, long term, I don't think we can get a better EMS on the private side, because I strongly believe that there is a lack of ongoing training for the medical professionals, whether they're the EMTs or the paramedics, because I know what goes into the paramedic training for the ESD-2. And it's not just you go do a training, you get your certificate and you're done. It's way much more than that and a very comprehensive and intensive program that the paramedics follow, which makes me feel pretty confident. If ESD2 is on a call for advanced life support, they know what they're doing, whereas the other team may not, may not, even may not even have the right equipment on their vehicles.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or it's not charged. It doesn't work Right. So Lacey and I decided when we started this podcast we wanted to be full disclosure. And so, Mr Mayor, how do you know so much about the paramedic training program and what goes into it?
Speaker 2:Well, I didn't think you were going to go there with that question, but that's fine.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, my daughter is a firefighter and now has gone through the paramedic training. By the way, it was pretty extensive and exhausting for her and so I know we've had chats with her and all the type of training that she goes through or the type of training that the paramedics go through, and even in service at hospitals, emergency rooms and in the labs with cadavers, it's pretty intense and involved. So the paramedic that comes out of that training knows what they're doing. And my daughter's done great as a matter of fact is probably at the top of her class, which I'm proud of. So she's doing great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're proud of her for sure. That class is not easy. I went through the very first program that they offered and it has not gotten any easier. I can tell you that, if anything, it's gotten harder. So I like to let people know, because I knew immediately you had an idea what you were talking about.
Speaker 1:I talked to a lot of folks on both sides and I feel like as a firefighter, as a paramedic, I can pick up pretty quick when people have an idea of what they're talking about and what they don't. So you're coming at it from both sides. You have an idea of what EMS is supposed to look like and what's happening on the city side, and that's just part of that legacy that you have with the Pflugerville politics. So now you're coming to the end of, you're about to be termed out. You can't run again as mayor. So how would you like people to remember your time I mean from your city council to your early work that you did to your terms as mayor, especially as it relates to ambulance service? How do you want people to look back and remember what you did?
Speaker 2:Well, chris, a lot of things have happened over my term as mayor. As a matter of fact, when I got elected I thought well, it'll be a piece of cake. Now It'll be a cakewalk. The rest of my term as mayor it has not. It's been all uphill with a number of issues and challenges we've had with growth, infrastructure you know, covid, the ice storms, I mean, it's one thing after another.
Speaker 2:Years ago, early on in council, you know, the big issue was water resources. Where are we going to get water? How are we going to pay for it? Well, we're still having those same issues and challenges and we're addressing those. And over the years that we lowered the property tax for a number of years and we thought that was good for our citizens, and it was.
Speaker 2:And actually citizens today still believe we're overtaxed in Pflugerville. But when you think about the growth, the infrastructure, commercial development, retail development, it's massive and you have to have the resources for that. Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to build our own fire department and that's been a topic over the years and my position is why fix something that's not broke? And ultimately I think Pflugerville may have its own fire department, but it won't be a fire department that we have to rebuild. I think we have a great fire department in place now. The ambulance services that are being provided are bar none, and so we have a good public health, public safety program in place, and I would hope that with this election, that we can continue providing those same services, if not, and I hope, better EMS services in Pflugerville through the ESD. Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Well, Mayor Gonzalez, thank you so much for coming on. I want to give you an opportunity. If you have a message for a Pflugerville resident out there, what would you tell them?
Speaker 2:before the vote for Prop A Well, I would say look at the ballot issue very carefully. The way ballots are written, they're always confusing. When you think about voting no, it seems like a negative. In this case it's a positive, and when you think about voting yes, it seems easy. And I think there are going to be a lot of voters that will go to the polls who won't have any idea about the ballot measure or may not even vote for the ballot measure because you don't have to. But I think, for those citizens that are in Pflugerville and are responsible and take their voting very seriously, that you know, look at both sides. Certainly, look at both sides, but I think and I would hate to think at the end of the day, that a group of citizens that are supporting Prop A, the yes vote, would diminish the public services for the rest of the citizens in Pflugerville and putting them at risk. Because what's going to happen is, if Prop A yes wins, we're going to have a lot of citizens calling me and the city and say, okay, what are you going to do for me now?
Speaker 2:Well, the sales tax, and let me clarify that it's not like it's a property tax, it's a sales tax that is collected from individuals that live in the city. You go to Costco. You have a lot of people that come from out of town all over to spend their money in our city and we get a portion of that. The ESD gets a portion, the Economic Development Commission gets a portion, the city gets a portion. This is money that comes into our city. That is money that we can take advantage of. It's not like we're taxing anybody on purpose. We're not. People are spending money and they're paying the tax. So to remove that revenue and minimize the services in Pflugerville will be a real tragedy.
Speaker 1:Mayor, I want to piggyback on because I haven't really talked about this on the show, but you'd be the perfect person to talk about this a little bit. A lot of times we think our sales tax, I'm going to save that half cent, you know, and my groceries bill is going to go down by a couple of bucks, and. But I think what people don't realize is for every half cent we give, there's commercial industry here in the city of Pflugerville that that's really contributing way more to our citizens than just what the citizens are putting in, right, right. I don't know if there's an easier way to explain that, but you know it's hard to tell people like. You know, by taking away the sales tax, we're missing out on so much more than just what we put into it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think that's just additional revenue, that while, let's say, we take away that half cent, well, you go to the store, you're going to save a half cent, but would that half cent save the life somewhere else down the road? And I think that's what we fail to think about. It's like what you save today is not as significant as lives that are going to be saved tomorrow by retaining that half cent for the ESD2.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so, mayor Gonzalez, when your time in office is up after the next election cycle, what are you going to do? You're going to go on the back porch and play some golf, or have you thought about what your future looks like?
Speaker 2:Well, you know I told you I started back in the late 60s and 70s. As far as being a very community-centric individual, I still have a term on the Economic Development Corporation board that doesn't expire next year, so I'll continue with that, I think, for another year, and then definitely not leave. I'm not moving from the city of Pflugerville at all. That's where we're retiring. My wife's already retired and I look forward to, if nothing else, becoming one of those political activists that are supporting good things for Pflugerville. That's wonderful.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you so much for your leadership and for everything you've done for the city over the decades, and, in a much smaller way, thank you so much for coming on this show and explaining to citizens your perspective, chris, thank you very much. All right, thank you. So that's our show. I hope you enjoyed that interview with Mayor Victor Gonzalez Lacey and I's goal when we came out with the Pflugerville On Fire podcast was exactly what happened today. We wanted to talk to the decision makers, the people that were in the room when it happened, and getting the mayor of Pflugerville to come on and talk about his perspective and how he sees the issue is exactly in line with that, and I hope all of you listeners enjoyed listening to that. While we're talking about you, our listeners. Thank you so much for joining us on this journey.
Speaker 1:We're not done yet. We got more episodes coming our way. That said, it's one thing to listen to the show and be knowledgeable about it, but now we need you to come out and vote. Early voting is kicking off, third week in October. We've got the election happening on November 5th. Man, take this information that you've gotten. Please spread it with your friends and neighbors and then go out there and make your voice heard this election. We'll be hoping all of you come out, support us and support your community. Thanks for taking this journey with us.
