(Seguin) — When they head to the polls, voters in Seguin City Council District One will find themselves checking off the box in at least one uncontested race. Facing
no opponent during the Nov. 3 General Election, Joe Rea has essentially landed the position on the city council.
The Seguin Daily News is helping to introduce Rea, sharing more about his willingness to serve the constituents of District One.
Rea is retired from the Union Pacific Railroad. Throughout his years with the railroad, Rea says he’s moved up the ranks working various positions including dispatcher, brakeman, engineer and conductor. He says he is honored for his time on the railroad and for the opportunity to raise a family here in Seguin.
“I moved to Seguin in June of 1999. I worked for the railroad for 42 years. I have three children. All of them graduated from Seguin High School and all of them attended the University of Texas in Austin and I’m proud to say that they all graduated from UT Austin and I’m a single parent and I live in District 1 and I’ve been here 21 years,” said Rea.
Rea says as one of the newest council members, he will strive to make sure that his district gets “its fair share of infrastructure funds for improvements, street maintenance and repairs, pedestrian sidewalks, and safe traffic flow to and from schools.”
He says with the arrival of COVID-19, ” the city’s management of funds and resources require meticulous planning and review of priorities for the best utilization of public funds.”
Rea says he believes that with his experience, he acquires the skills and discipline necessary to serve as a city councilman.
“Aside from the infrastructure and with my experience on the railroad, one of the biggest complaints that I have gotten from the constituents not only in my district but other districts is that the trains that go through Seguin — we have 30-35 trains in a 24 hour period that go from San Antonio to Houston back and forth and the loud whistle of the train at all hours of the day and night, it’s really annoying and I would hope to implement a city ordinance to establish quiet zones for the city of Seguin for the trains that go through Seguin (so they) won’t blow the horn. This city ordinance is already implemented in San Marcos and New Braunfels and it works great. The people who live close to the railroad tracks and people that even live a little farther, they say they hear the train all the time so I would like to see if I can (implement) a city ordinance and establish quiet zones. People will be a lot happier and can sleep at night,” said Rea.
Rea says he looks forward to collaborating with city staff, administrators, and other council members to “brainstorm, create and share possible solutions to the problems faced by the city of Seguin.”
He says it will be even more important to work directly with the residents themselves.
“I’m new at this and I hope that I can communicate with my constituents and hear from them and see what their issues are. If they can bring it to my attention because like I said, I’m new at this but anything they can bring to my attention, I hope I can work with them and sort out so of these issues,” said Rea.
Voters in District 4 will also find only one choice for their city council representative. That’s because current Councilman Chris Rangel is also running unopposed during Tuesday’s Seguin City Council election.