There is a newly elected town council in San Pedro and according to Mayor Daniel “Danny” Guerrero there will be a “different” way of running the affairs of the council. Mayor Guerrero made this bold statement as Mayor on Wednesday March 14th after meeting individually with several journalists on the island. Not only will there be a different approach to the management of the Town’s affairs but Mayor Guerrero explained that his council will be an “opened door” council. Guerrero’s new management style is something that many would say was lacking under the latter part of the past town council under the leadership of former mayor Elsa Paz.
According to Mayor Guerrero the first order of business will be to restructure the staff at the administrative level of the council. “We promised the people open administration and that’s what we are moving forward with so there will be restructuring,” said Mayor Guerrero. The first major project the council will be engaged in upon assuming full duties on Monday March 19th will be to address the issue over the saturation of cemetery space. According to Mayor Guerrero, the new cemetery space will be identified by the end of March since it is an urgent matter that needs addressing at the earliest.
Another item high on Mayor Guerrero’s list of priorities is to start addressing the issue of a master plan for the island. According to Guerrero, he already began forming a committee that is in the process of reviewing the master plan as an urgent matter. The new mayor further indicated a third issue that they will be tackling, being the property tax collection system. “We are creating a new data base of the property tax, which is very important to the council at this time,” said Mayor Guerrero.
Guerrero says that in the few weeks ahead, he will be visiting with members of the various Government Departments such as the San Pedro Police, Fire Department, the Otto Rodriguez Poly-clinic as well as the various schools and NGOs. The visit will be in an effort to foster relationships between the council and various organizations in an attempt to restore public confidence in the council.
On the issue of openness and transparency, Mayor Guerrero explained that he will give a monthly televised report to the public disclosing the monthly affairs and financials of the council. The report will be televised before members of the press who will have the opportunity to ask questions regarding the report. The Mayor added that he will also continue to appear on various radio and television shows to further inform the islanders as the council proceeds with the management of its affairs. “I want to manage the affairs of the council differently and open to the public,” explained the Mayor. He added that “the main thing I want is for people to unite, forget about the political colors and come together. Let’s do it for San Pedro!” said Mayor Guerrero.
The new council will be sworn in on Friday, March 16th at 7:30PM at the Central Park. At the swearing in, all members of the council will be given a portfolio with equal amount of responsibilities. That promise was made by Mayor Guerrero during his campaign, to work with along with any elected council, regardless of political affiliation. While the Mayor did not disclose the individual portfolios, he did confirm that Councilor Severo Guerrero Jr. will be the Deputy Mayor.