After 23 years of serving his country and many years of serving his hometown community, Roy Morales is running to’ become Houston’s next mayor.
Morales, a lieutenant colonel and 2002 retiree of the U.S. Air Force, is currently serving Houston on the Harris County Department of Education board of trustees, where he chairs the Audit Committee and the Federal Community Initiatives Committee.
Morales also was responsible for implementation of the $70 million Houston Emergency Center.
‘I understand police, fire fighters, and EMT policy, as well as homeland security,’ Morales said. ‘I am the only candidate that is certified for public safety radio communications.’
Morales said that he would help protect Houston families, schools and businesses from increasing crime.
‘We have a murder rate higher than that of New York City, so we are not doing a good job of deterring crime,’ Morales said.
Morales’ homeland security experience includes developing military objectives that were sent to the White House in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. However, Morales’ campaign also addresses smaller-scale issues.
‘We have to be able to do the simple things that are important to people,’ Morales said.
These simple things include city workers picking up trash on their designated days, providing Houston citizens with clean, drinkable water and fixing potholes in the streets.
‘I can’t tell you how many times I drive down the street and run into a pothole,’ Morales said.
Morales’ family is no stranger to economic potholes. His grandparents persevered through the Great Depression of the 1930s, and Morales’ parents endured struggles to make ends meet during his childhood.
Although the current recession is not nearly as bad as the Depression, survival’ is a common theme in many American households today.
‘We were a hard-working family just trying to make it as most families,’ Morales said.
Morales is adamant about the necessity of quality education and the positive effects it has on students’ lives.
‘Throughout my entire life, I have taken advantage of every chance to go further in education,’ Morales said.
Morales graduated with summa cum laude honors in psychology, computer science and space operations from the Air Force Institute of Technology. Morales believes the household community is vital for change in the city.
‘It’s not the government that always has the answer; the parents and grandparents have to be involved,’ Morales said. ‘We have to make sure that our children stay in the schoolroom and not in the streets with the criminals.’
Morales would enhance after-school programs as mayor to keep young people in school and out of possible trouble. He also believes that education is vital to success.
‘(Education) gave me the opportunity to become a better person,’ Morales said.
