New mayor outlines his agenda and plan of action

As the new mayor of Nogales, Sonora, Jose Angel Hernandez Barajas, 37, said he will take the wheel and steer in the same direction as his predecessor, Marco Antonio Martinez Dabdoub and beyond.

Martinez Dabdoub made Nogales history in 2006 as the first candidate of the National Action Party (PAN) to win the municipal presidency.

In a recent interview with the Nogales International, Hernandez Barajas, who takes office on Sept. 16, said beyond continuing projects started under Martinez Dabdoub he hopes to have a municipal government building well under way by the end of his three-year tenure.

The aging city hall on Calle Obregon no longer meets the needs of a modern government, he said.

Orwellian as it may seem, another key component of Hernandez Barajas’ multi-tiered efforts to improve Nogales is to mount perhaps hundreds of cameras throughout the city in key locations to discourage criminals and be able to respond quickly when they do strike.

Hernandez Barajas’ victory over the favored former two-time Mayor Abraham Zaied Dabdoub was tight. The Palestinian-born Zaied is a longtime member of Mexico’s former ruling party, which has regained power over the last couple of years. In his arsenal, he had the benefit of a strong political machine, influence over local media and network of community leaders.

“But the efforts of my collaborators, experience acquired during the past administration as minister of social development and my proposed projects all combined so that citizens viewed me as the best option,” Hernandez Barajas said.

“Of course we will continue with the projects outlined by my predecessor culminating in the ‘Artistan Triangle’ (and including) the continued beautification of the first city quadrant, the remodeling of public parks, and the ‘green fence’ along the U.S.-Mexico border.”

The latter will combine architecture and art to highlight border culture. “It will be the pride of our community and will be visited by people from throughout the world.”

To assist public safety, an issue that has been at the forefront of local, state and national headlines, Hernandez Barajaz envisions the creation of a police academy to train recruits in two areas; as industrial police, and tourism police in which officers will be bilingual and each will wear different uniforms to distinguish them.”

“As I mentioned in my campaign, I plan to install more video cameras throughout the city to be monitored by municipal elements �- so that we can see in real time whether a crime is being committed, giving us the ability to respond faster. In talks with local merchants, particularly along the first blocks of the city, we discussed the importance of collaborating for the installation of cameras to put the brakes on crime where it occurs.”

Hernandez Barajas, who owns a security business that has installed cameras in local businesses and has witnessed their benefit first-hand, said the mere presence of the cameras will serve as a deterrent to crime.

Public safety is key to the tourism industry, which he intends to bolster through a tourism commission comprising members of his council who will work with the private sector “to generate projects and ideas to attract visitors to our city.”

Focal areas

The eight focal areas in the PAN strategy for Nogales are water and sewer; security; housing; public utilities; urban development; economic development; transparency; and “ultimately improve our quality of life.”

In the area of education, his government has committed to constructing 15 new public schools, supporting the creation of a nursing and vocational program, doubling the number of scholarships previously granted; establishing a security detail for public schools; building a facility for retired teachers; working with the federal government to obtain scholarships for post-secondary students to study abroad; and implement a school improvements program called “My School Improves.”

New hospital

In the area of health, Hernandez Barajas said his government will initiate the construction of a new Social Security hospital, a health-care facility for state and local government workers, an indigent health-care facility; make dental health clinics more available; assist drug-addiction centers; and focus on a campaign against “date rape.”

For women, he said, his plans are to build a shelter, provide increased child-care facilities, and establish micro-credit opportunities.

Job creation is critical to helping youth in the city, Hernandez Barajas said, as well as discount cards from local businesses, educational opportunities and youth centers in all sectors of the city.

One hundred various sports parks will be completed under his administration, he said. As well, he plans to offer sports clinics and provide buses for local athletes requiring transportation. He would also like to see a new municipal gymnasium and obtain a franchise of the North Sonora Baseball League for Nogales.

The municipal budget will triple funding for the commission on culture that will work with the private sector to attract artists, performers and support the Festival for International Dance.”

Among the projects that helped Martinez Dabdoub stay in touch with his constituents was a Saturday neighborhood clean-up effort, working with neighborhood associations and residents. His successor plans to continue that project, along with Paint Nogales, that has the lofty goal of painting 5,000 homes in one year. Three “ecology parks” are also planned, Hernandez Barajas said.