I remember my senior year of college sitting in my business and society class that focused on the responsibility that a community has towards incoming business and industry. I remember my professor using Eagle Pass as an example of what not to do when a community is trying to attract businesses. I also remember finding it hard to sleep that night. If I can pinpoint the reason as to why I decided to get involved in our local political system , I would have to say it was that, coupled with the fact that I'm the father of four. As I read through the Eagle Pass Alumni's Guestbook, it brings back memories of how I use to think. The popular phrase uttered by my friends was "I can't wait to graduate and get as far away from Eagle Pass." I also remember a well respected Eagle Pass graduate who spoke to our high school students and advised them that in order to be as successful as he was, students had to be willing to leave Eagle Pass and make a living outside of Eagle Pass. Maybe, it is our nature to write about the negative things that are prevalent in our community, but by experience I can tell you that neither well composed comments nor scribbled down phrases that read bad about our hometown, will make a difference. We need our generation graduates to become educated and return to the place where we were born, grew up and in most cases where our parents still live, to come back and make a difference by getting directly involved. From a distance, we beg our life long politics to hand over the torch to our generation, but we seem to fail to recognize that in order for that to happen, there has to be somebody there to receive it. I decided to place my name on the ballot with a premise that if successful, my friends and classmates would follow. As the years go by, I see more of my friends return with families to try and make a living back in their hometown. I am still waiting for them to decide to get directly involved. I have been a Maverick County Commissioner for the past four years, I have tried to put my part to make this place a better place for our children to grow up in. I carry the responsibility not only towards my family but also the responsibility towards my teachers, coaches and especially my parents of being an elected official as a privilege. Although there are some negative things that I can write about, I choose to focus on what I need to do to make this place a better place to live in and will continue to hope that our generation will decide to help fix what is currently broken and if not fixable, get involved and replace it. 

Cesar Flores Jr. 
c3flores@hotmail.com
Eagle Pass, TX USA