Educator and community activist Melissa Renteria Cigarroa opens her campaign for City Council District 3 with a meet and greet on Saturday, Sept. 17, at noon at Ringo’s BBQ, which is located at 5102 Hwy. 359.
As president of the Río Grande International Study Center, a non-profit environmental foundation, Cigarroa’s energy, passion, and leadership have focused on advocacy for the stewardship of the Rio Grande, Laredo’s only source of drinking water.
Through her work in the No Border Wall Coalition, she stood against Federal seizure of both private land and City lands. Her work in the Clean Air Laredo Coalition has drawn attention to the public health issue created by emissions of Ethylene Oxide, a toxic chemical.
“Speaking up for the river, the most valuable of our natural resources, and speaking up for those in the path of Ethylene Oxide have driven me to run for this public office. I have never chosen to put profit over people. I sincerely wish to contribute to Laredo’s progress as a community and better the lives for the families and people who choose to call Laredo their home,” Cigarroa said.
She is a founding member of the No Border Wall Coalition and the Clean Air Laredo Coalition. She continues to serve on the board of the Rio Grande International Study Center.
Her past endeavors include being a breastfeeding educator, a Laredo Children’s Museum board member and later, director of the Imaginarium of South Texas, a volunteer for Casa Misericordia, and a teacher trainer with the Texas Regional Collaborative.
She and her husband Carlos have raised their five children in Laredo.
Her lifelong interest in education was further developed during her tenure as the Director of the Imaginarium of South Texas and as a teacher-trainer of informal science learning strategies in the Texas Regional Collaborative at TAMIU, which was created to improve STEM education in elementary and middle schools.
Cigarroa earned a Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction in 2015 from TAMIU and established a small informal science education group, Informal Science Learning Associates of Laredo, dedicated to providing educational enrichment activities for elementary students.
The spending of the taxpayers money, Cigarroa said, is an issue that requires review and oversight. “When I think about contracts into which the City enters for services or for something as costly as water infrastructure replacement, I want the contractor to be thoroughly vetted as to performance and timely delivery. There needs to be a metric in place that tells us that the work is being done efficiently and effectively.“
She said she wants Laredo to be a City that invests in itself to become more welcoming for businesses and families that want to locate here. “And to be a City of opportunities that our children will choose to return to,” she added.
Cigarroa said that decisions made by City Council members have an impact on individual lives, neighborhoods, traffic, the local economy, quality of life, recreation, clean water, enough water, clean air. “We who wish to serve as Council members owe it to our constituency to make informed decisions about the issues that come before us,” she said.
“I am not a politician. I believe serving on City Council is a tremendous honor and a serious responsibility. I humbly ask the residents of District 3 to allow me that privilege.” she said.
To read more about Melissa R. Cigarroa’s candidacy, visit www.Cigarroa4District3.com and visit the page Melissa R. Cigarroa for City Council District 3 on Facebook.
Isn’t the water table in your district being damaged irreparably by fracking? It’s hard to imagine in the 21st century the refusal of the industry to research and use nontoxic substances for extracting oil and/or gas.