European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 20, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily a Magazine him Wyli t it i photo mayor Hanry q. Cian Iret Al the Danting  mapping Plait in downtown san Antonio. San Antonio s emergence by Peter Applebome new York times rom the air As he hours san Antonio in a helicopter. Henry g. Cisneros envisions a new cily unloading below him. Whether he s fouling Shamu the whale newly ensconced in what is scheduled 1o be the world s largest aquatic amusement Park or talking up a �200 million addition to the Texas City s famous River walk or new biomedical facilities. Cisneros is never shy about promoting this City. Every once in a while in America particular cities reach a critical mass of development and accomplishment Hal they burs on Olha National scene As worthy of Nole said Cisneros the mayor Here since 1961 i think the late 80s and Eatty 90s Are joing to to Ihrl kind of Lime in san  Cysneros had dubbed this the year o emergence in san Anton Tho largest City in the nation where hispanic people make up the majority it the population. In appropriately Imperial fashion he has personally designed a Blue municipal Flag to Mark Tho occasion. Indeed in is hard to separate anything in san Antonio trom Cisneros 40 years old. Who has combined matinee idol looks political Sawy and a passion or Public policy issues to forge an Alliance of working class mexican americans and conservative business leaders. Since his election to the mayor s Post at the ago of 33. He has been viewed by Many As the most promising hispanic politician in the country and perhaps the most intriguing politician in Texas. If this year s extravaganzas Are a measure of the nation s ninth largest cily they serve a similar function 01 its Harvard trained mayor. To Many there they Ere a Romin Dei that Cisneros. While dominating his cily to a remarkable degree remains something of an Enigma Whoso political direction and ultimate imprint on Iho cily seem unlikely to become Clear anytime soon. No one doubt that Cisneros has Given san Antonio which now has 914,000 residents an unprecedented degree of visibility and momentum. The National league of cities recently cited son Antonio As one of the nation s top three cities in loitering economic development. He changed san Antonio from a sleepy Backwater run by neanderthals to an aggressive exciting City said Willie Velasquez president of the Southwest voter registration education project. Thai s Hia  but whether Long Lerm results will match the change in spirit and when Tver Cisneros will Ever meet the High expectations others have of him remain to be seen. River cent a dazzling $200 million shopping Plaza sunday. March 20,1996 and expansion of san Antonio s downtown River walk is the Pride of the cily. With its strolling Manachi musicians River Bridleways and Glass waled Horseshoe shaped design it comes across As an unlikely wedding of hispanic South Texas Venice and upscale Suburbia. Put together with Public and private funds ii typifies Cisneros a aggressive approach to Urban development and tourism. The cily now draws 10 million visitors a year and tourism has become a billion Dollar business. Other Dowton Nants this year include a redevelopment of the City s downtown Hom Slair Plaza and 250-acre aquatic Park called sea world of Texas. With other projects they Are expected to add 8,000 jobs in a cily emerging from a business downturn sol of by the stale s economic recession. And they follow a series of Public works planning and economic development projects Over the past decade that Cisneros Hopes will transform a City that has Long had More Charm than economic dynamism. Still the successes Are layered on top of Ona of Flo nation s poorest cities struggling to keep up with problems of illiteracy poverty and unemployment. The cloy a per capita income in 1985 was Kim against a National average of t10.797. Its unemployment rate in december was 7.4 percent which exceeded the state s rate of 6.b percent. The rough economic landscape serves Bolh to spotlight his achievements and provide areas of criticism locally. Some observers think Cisneros is Loo enamoured with major projects and critics say he is better Al visionary planning than nuts and bolts doing. Often i Ltd is the fiesta Plaza project which was hailed a Lew years Back As a key to the revitalization of the City s mexican american Westside Tho project proved to be a dismal Mure and May be turned into a Library. The question to face is How do you make the Best use of scarce resources said Ernesto Coracs one of the organizers of Tho citizens organized Tor Public service a powerful Community organization known by the acronym cops some of the mayor s proposals Don t make optimal use of those resources Over All Henry has been a very Good mayor but. Like Jacob a sometimes needs an Angel to wrestle Wilh him. You can lose your soul it you Don t have someone to keep you  Elf mfg does not discount the criticism but argues that the economic development and infrastructure projects were needed to create a base Tor attacking the City s broader social problems. My sense was always Hal what was needed was to put in place the building blocks to create a new level of Opportunity and momentum he said. I think now is the time to begin talking in terms of employing Iho wealth we have helped create to Deal with our underlying  but there is much doubt whether he will be in olt Tco Long enough to move in that direction. A was widely viewed As a Likely candidate for Texas governor in 1fl90, in a race Many believed was his Lor the asking until he announced last year to would not run. He said the health of his infant son who was born last year with a congenital hear defect made it the wrong time for him to run statewide. Cisneros was re elected last year to his fourth iwo year term As mayor. There is much speculation in will be his last. Despite talk of a possible Post in a democratic administration should the party regain the White House he said he expects either to take a Job in private Industry in san Antonio or to serve another term financial considerations May be a actor. The mayor s Post pays Only $50 a meeting and Cisneros income has come mostly from lectures and leaching. There comes a Point at which what you Call contribution and service becomes being abused and taken for granted he said. I m not tired of the Job. I can do this for the lest of my life. But there does come a question whether it can be done this  there is already talk that other hispanic politicians like a local stale repress native Dan Morales May grab the spotlight if Cisneros Waits too Long to make his move. Still few believe Cisneros is Likely to get out of Public service for Long. He s a political animal said the Rev. Rosendo Urrabazo one of the co chairmen of cops it s what turns him on and gets him going in the morning. I m sure hell do it for As Long As he  the stars and stripes Page 13