We’re lucky to have Shirley Gonzales stepping up to guide Durango. She brings deep commitment and a wealth of experience from her eight years as city councilor in San Antonio, TX.
There, she effectively dealt with problems including large unhoused populations, rampant crime and domestic abuse, and other sequelae of poverty that gentrifying Durango is starting to experience.
In San Antonio, she helped fund a $150M bond measure for major affordable housing projects, among others. Her approach to housing is pragmatic yet very principled – everyone deserves a home.
She prefers to use public funding to actually build homes – which support families truly escaping poverty, when combined with social service support – instead of Band-Aid fixes like costly shelters.
When I heard how Shirley Gonzales doesn’t stop at traditional hurdles to fund a worthy project – even going to Washington, DC if needed – I began to understand the kind of committed, innovative public servant that she truly is.
Shirley originated a novel pilot project for victims of domestic abuse by first consulting with social work experts. After finding the funding, she reached out to San Antonio nonprofits to find a project host who could train and oversee volunteer mentors.
The project was so successful – addressing the suffering that had motivated Shirley’s commitment and action – that a city university later adopted the project for the long-term. That’s the kind of inventive brilliance that Durango needs as climate and political change further impact our city. Thank you for voting for Shirley.
Kirby MacLaurin
Durango
