Ron Nirenberg, the associate general manager for Trinity University's non-commercial jazz station, KRTU, has officially announced his candidacy for City Council District 8.
Nirenburg has been preparing for the race for nearly a year. The 35 year old stressed accountability and ethics as his vision for city hall with a crowd of 100 supporters at Orsinger Park on Saturday.
He said he believes in responsible and transparent government that would create public trust at a time when people are apathetic and don't see a reason to be involved.
"What concerns me is that a lot of citizens don't feel connected to their city government,” he said as his chief concern for what he’d like to work on if elected.
Nirenberg also said he doesn't identify with any political party and that partisan politics has gotten in the way of municipal issues.
“We need to fix people's potholes, we need to put police on the street and all that goes beyond D's and R's,” he said.
While he did favor the controversial Pre-K 4 SA program, Nirenberg also sees the need for saving money, telling supporters government needs to be accountable to the taxpayer.
He said investments in the future also need to be considered.
"Obviously, we're going to have to trim spending. There's waste everywhere that we can trim back and it's all about doing more with less. We know how to do that. But at the same time we have to make investments as our city grows," he said.
Former Mayors Phil Harberger and Howard Peak, as well as former District 8 Councilwoman Bonnie Conner, support Nirenberg as the next Councilman in the district. Reed Williams, who holds the seat now, is not seeking a third term.
