For Your Consideration: Bobby O'Neal

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Editor’s note: This is part four of a four-part series of articles written on four of the five candidates vying for a seat in Gonzales City Council. Councilman District 3 Lorenzo Hernandez declined to participate. The order of publication was picked at random. All stories will be linked together online.

Gonzales City Council candidate Bobby O'Neal graduated from Gonzales High School in 1967 and went directly to higher education where he earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree from Southwest Texas State University, now Texas State University.

O'Neal is a proud family man.

"My wife, Nancy, and I will celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary on July 31," he said. "We have four grown children and 10 grandchildren."

O'Neal retired from GVEC as manager of the Engineering Department in 2012, with 43 years of service.

In 1994 he was elected to serve as councilman for District 4 in the City of Gonzales.

"In 1996 I began serving as mayor and continued in that position for 16 years," O’Neal said. "Between 1994 and 2012, I served the citizens of Gonzales very faithfully. We maintained a sufficient amount of money in our reserves to take care of any major emergency expenses, and now the city has minimal reserves due to what I believe is unwise spending."

O'Neal said he does not think there is a quick, easy solution to the strengthening the city’s finances. However, he does believe a unified council working with the city staff can work towards this goal.

"The financial shortfalls of the city didn’t happen overnight, and they won’t be solved overnight, but the healing process has to begin somewhere. The first thing I would do is suspend all or part of the council member’s benefits," O'Neal said. “Gonzales is one of very few cities in Texas where the council members are furnished health insurance at no cost. Our taxpayers should not have to pay for this benefit. Also, the monthly stipend needs to be eliminated or drastically reduced. I would also urge the council and staff to apply for any grant money that might be available to cities in Texas.”

O'Neal currently serves as chairman of deacons of Eastside Baptist Church of Gonzales, where he also leads the song services. He said he could not sit back in retirement and let things continue the way things are going in the city he loves.

"I love this city and want to see it prosper. I believe my 18 years of experience with the city council and my management experience at GVEC is of great value to the residents of our city," O'Neal said. "Although I live in District 3, I will listen to concerns of any Gonzales residents if they wish to contact me. If the citizens of District 3 elect me as their councilman, I will serve them to the best of my ability, fairly and honestly."

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For Dan Blakemore's story, click here.

For Clarence Opiela's story, click here.

For Hector Porras' story, click here.

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