Shirley Gonzales, business owner and mother of three, said she can put her experience in municipal government and affordable housing to use on Durango City Council.
Gonzales said she appreciates Durango’s progressive policies. She served two four-year terms on City Council in San Antonio, during which she helped alter the city charter to allow tax revenues to be allocated to affordable housing projects, and she helped pass a $150 million housing bond.
About this series:
This is the second of a five-part series profiling the five candidates running for Durango City Council. Ballots will be mailed to eligible electors March 10, and the city’s municipal election will be held April 1. Voters can register or update their addresses until March 24 and still receive a ballot by mail. Voting in person is also possible through election day. Candidate profiles in this series include:
- Sunday: Chris Elias
- Today: Shirley Gonzales
- Friday: Kip Koso
- Sunday: Jessica Buell
- March 12: Olivier Bosmans
“That’s where I can be most useful in Durango and bring my experience to addressing the unhoused, permanent, supportive housing, workforce housing and all the way through including homeownership,” she said.
Durango is behind the curve on affordable and workforce housing, she said. Other communities have addressed the need for affordable housing for decades, and though Durango has made efforts in that realm, those efforts feel “scattered.”
The city attempted to address housing needs with its Housing Innovation Division, and now it is making another attempt with a new Prosperity Office. She said that is a start, but there are other housing models the city could implement.
Durango School District 9-R’s $150 million bond for building upgrades, which included affordable housing options for teachers, was a great, “commendable” idea, she said. She wants the city and La Plata County to champion such measures.
Similarly, Gonzales said the city can take Downtown’s Next Step further. She served on a 12-member task force examining the proposal and noticed a “clear generational divide” between members and their priorities.
“We need to design a city for young people, for people that are not wanting to drive so much, for people that really want to experience ... this incredible quality of life,” she said.
Designing infrastructure to best serve people starts with the most vulnerable people, she said. That includes children, pedestrians, cyclists and people with disabilities.
“Young people want greater walkability, they want greater affordability and they want a progressive government,” she said.
Who is Shirley Gonzales?
Shirley Gonzales, 52, owns Pedal the Peaks on Main Avenue. She and her husband have three children, ages 7, 9 and 11, who attend Park Elementary School in Durango.
She said she is an avid cyclist and she doesn’t drive vehicles much because her vision is impaired. She understands the need for safe environments for cyclists and other people who prefer alternatives to driving.
She loves municipal government, is a talented collaborator and is especially passionate about transportation, housing and small-business development, she said.
Her family owned and operated a small business for 62 years in San Antonio, where she served two four-year terms on that city’s City Council.
In Durango, she serves on two boards: the Economic Development Alliance of La Plata County and the National Bicycle Dealers Association, she said.
She said providing those things will keep young people in Durango.
Keeping middle delivery lanes on Main Avenue is necessary in Downtown’s Next Step, she said. Downtown businesses rely on deliveries, and removing them would cause serious issues.
But improving walkability downtown is also important for businesses, because more walkability means more business, she said.
Gonzales considers Downtown’s Next Step as proposed as “basic” rather than “visionary,” she said, but she generally supports the project. Infrastructure beneath Main Avenue must be updated, so it’s better to make improvements to Main Avenue while the street is dug up for necessary repairs.
She said the city must tackle homelessness head-on with honesty and realism.
“I hear people say, ‘Well, I don’t want those people in my neighborhood.’ They’re already in your neighborhood,” she said.
Some people with chronic issues will always need assistance, and organizations exist to meet those people’s needs, she said. Addressing homelessness is not solely the city’s responsibility, but the city must acknowledge some residents need help.
The city, she said, can address capital needs and partner with other organizations that can provide permanent support such as social services. And actions don’t need to be sweeping – they can be taken in small steps focused on a few people at a time, she added.
On the city’s dispute with the county over jailing municipal inmates, she said it is the county’s responsibility to house jail inmates. But the city can look at alternatives to jail sentences.
“I would like for the city to focus on the things that I believe are higher priority, like housing, like infrastructure, transportation, you know – our library,” she said.
Gonzales said she fully supports a proposed half-cent sales tax reauthorization because if the city values historic buildings and culture, it needs to invest in those historic facilities.
She said she is reluctant to support a minimum-wage increase requested by a group of residents because of the possible impact to small businesses.
cburney@durangoherald.com
