Laredo Mayor Dr. Victor Trevino met with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to discuss issues and…
Laredo Mayor Dr. Victor Trevino made one of his first visits to the state capitol on Friday to meet with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and discuss various issues and policies he believes will benefit the Laredo area during a bipartisan visit from various state mayors.
Trevino’s visit comes just weeks after a $224 million contract was awarded for a private border wall in the Laredo area in which the mayor condemned. But the mayor said the meeting with the state’s top executive chief was a successful one.
Trevino said many areas of common ground were found and a lot of support was provided by the state government for initiatives that could better local infrastructure and public health.
“The meeting was very informative and productive, as a broad range of topics from public health to infrastructure and economic development were discussed among the Big City Mayor delegation,” Trevino said. “I was very impressed with the collaboration and unity that our bipartisan delegation showed during our meeting with Governor Abbott, and I felt that the governor was very receptive toward our mutual platforms covering public health, property tax relief, economic development, workforce and education.”
Amid some differences the mayor has with the political viewpoints of the governor, he did state that there are many areas where both administrations can work together. In fact, he said that when it comes to property taxes, he sees a lot of potential collaboration between both.
“The State of Texas has a large surplus, and Gov. Abbott is behind bringing property taxes down, which I fully support,” Trevino said. “The governor is also looking to invest in mental health hospitals and services in schools and medically underserved areas.”
According to the mayor, discussing mental health with Abbott was an important topic for him as Laredo has been a medically underserved area for decades. He also said that mental health is at the nexus of several challenges in the community that present other problems such as homelessness, suicide, depression and school violence.
Trevino does state that his experience in public health for more than three decades helps him better understand how health issues can be dealt with from a political perspective.
“Besides being elected city-wide on improving our public health, the fact that I have been a local physician for over 36 years working at the health department — where I helped create some of the free clinics — I believe I have a unique perspective into the medically under service that exists in our community,” Trevino said.
During the meeting with the governor, the mayor said that he spoke clearly what goals he has in mind to bring to the Laredo area.
“My goal is to bring more infrastructure resources since we bear such a large commercial load and importance,” he said. “Another goal is to bring a mental health facility and services that address the emotional, psychological and social well-being of our community.”
After the meeting with the governor was over, Trevino said he felt certain that his administration and the state can work together to make the goals they set out for possible. He said this was clear as when they discussed infrastructure projects that plan to relieve traffic throughout Laredo.