b'A city needs to fight with both fistsa boxer with one punch failsto do the thingszoning, utilities, and on and onevery way the City affects lives.that grow the local economy, this is not partisan, said Cisneros. Fist one is infra- The condition these days referred to as the deep state is what plagues governments structure, a pro-business tax structure with incentives, a good police forcetheseeverywhere and at all levels. The career people know that the elected people are there are what make a city attractive to investors. Fist two is creating opportunities for im- temporarily, and that the new elected people are particularly susceptible to the disease provements to education and housing, which leads to people working and not livingof ignorance and fear of government operationsand thus will rely on insiders on social welfare. within City staff who will get things done, or not, for Coun-With massive new investment coming to downtown on theThe people voted not for the person, butcil members. This tail wagging the dog dynamic creates Riverwalk and with the Alamodome in the works, alongfor an agenda, and you are paid to followan environment in which corruption and self-dealing thrive.came SeaWorld, and then Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Latheir agenda. the job was to make it easierThe mayor has to set the agenda and win over the Council Cantera in the northwest corner of town. Before long, the Hyatt Hill Country Resort was announced, and by the earlyto invest in San Antonio and converting thatand most of all, let the people who work for the City know 1990s, just a few years after Henry Cisneros left office, Saninto higher wages. I had no patience for athat the game has changed. Before long, the hold-outs stand Antonio had taken off as one of the fastest-growing tourist$100,000-a-year City employee calling theout, said Cisneros in depicting how he created a new cul-destinations in the U.S. Today, tourism accounts for 12% ofshots for the people who put them there. ture at City Hall. Describing a private conversation with a the citys economy with 200,000 employed. City executive, Cisneros said, Look, Im the mayor and Im The old guard in any established city is resistant to change, by definition, until thathardly paid. You are paid by the taxpayers, and we are here change is guaranteed inevitableand as the young, educated, and energetic new lead- to secure their agenda. The people voted not for the person, but for an agenda, and er burst into the Mayors Office at San Antonio City Hall, many career bureaucratsyou are paid to follow their agenda.were products of, and often offspring of, the old guard who ran the show. The rubberThe job was to make it easier to invest in San Antonio and converting that into high-meets the road in City government when residents, business owners, and prospectiveer wages. I had no patience for a $100,000-a-year City employee calling the shots for investors deal with City departmentspolice, development services and permitting,the people who put them there and paid them, Cisneros insisted.46THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINE TheCoastalBend.com'