Jose Gerardo Rosiles, City Council Candidate District 6

NAME: Gerardo Rosiles OFFICE YOU SEEK: City Representative, District 6 AGE: 41 CURRENT OCCUPATION: Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering EDUCATION: Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology M.S.E.E. Georgia Institute of Technology M.S.E.E. UTEP B.S.E.E. UTEP

FAMILY: Married with two daughters (seven and two years old).

1. NUMBER-ONE CAMPAIGN FOCUS:

First, the tax base of El Paso is not large enough to support the development of the City. Homeowners and business are being overtaxed. Second, there are no jobs that will attract high qualified professionals to the area or keep our UTEP graduates in El Paso. We are trapped on a vicious cycle where low salaries keep our tax base weak, making it difficult to improve the quality of life and wealth creation.

The typical proposition to solve these two issues is that we need to attract companies that will provide high paying jobs. I believe I am the only candidate who has a clear vision on how to do this. El Paso needs to diversify the industries that support its economy. From my perspective, the creation of new jobs in Engineering and Science is a catalyst for economic growth. El Paso is close to a tipping point where it can become a new technology hub in the United States. We have several organizations relentlessly pursuing these opportunities (UTEP, BNSL, RCIC, etc.) Furthermore, I believe Fort Bliss represents the last link to reach the point at which a strong high tech industry can be established. My objective is to collaborate with current stake holders to negotiate an R&D program with Fort Bliss which will attract government contractors and support Small R&D firms through SBIR and STTR programs.

2. WHAT SETS YOU APART FROM YOUR OPPONENTS?

As a professor of Engineering at UTEP, with experience at a start up, at Motorola, and a Sabbatical at a Navy laboratory, I have had firsthand experience on the role of innovation in the creation of wealth. I understand the process and the effort needed to create high tech jobs in El Paso. I am convinced that City Council needs my experience to promote the City into a new era of economic development.

3. RELEVANT EXPERIENCE THAT QUALIFIES YOU FOR THE POSITION YOU SEEK: My background in research and Engineering reflects my natural ability for problem solving. I have a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and a combined 12 years of experience in industry, academia and government. My education has provided me with strong analytical skills which I will use to find the best solutions to our problems.

In industry I have been in charge of complex projects including the negotiation of intellectual property licensing deals. I have lead a research group at UTEP which will produce two Ph.D.?s , seven Masters of Science, and the supervision of more than 40 undergraduate students by May 2011. This effort reflects my ability to lead, to work with teams, and to collaborate with people at all levels.

4. IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO REVOKE ONE ORDINANCE IN EL PASO IMMEDIATELY UPON TAKING OFFICE, WHICH ONE WOULD IT BE? I am more interested on removing fees from businesses. I would revoke the $50K surety bond being imposed on builders at this moment.

5. DESCRIBE A MOMENT THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE: There are many, I have been blessed with a beautiful life full of opportunities.

6. IN WHAT WAYS IS EL PASO ON THE RIGHT TRACK, AND IN WHAT WAYS DOES IT NEED TO CHANGE COURSE? We have are doing well in safety and higher education. Safety is one of the main selling points to attract jobs and companies to El Paso. We need to protect the things that we are doing right.

City Council seems to be distant from constituents. We need representatives who are accessible to the people regularly through district meetings and social networking tools. We don?t have a real plan to enter a period of economic growth that in turn will increase our tax base and reduce tax rates (e.g., property taxes).

7. IF ELECTED, HOW WILL YOU BALANCE THE NEEDS OF FAMILY, YOUR CAREER AND YOUR OFFICE? During the last seven years at UTEP I have learned how to find this balance. As an engineer I like being organized, and to continuously optimize the use of my time.

8. WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? I grew up in Juarez and El Paso. My family moved to El Paso in 1990 to the Del Valle area (District 6).

9. WHEN AND WHY DID YOU COME TO EL PASO? Most of my family was already located in the Lower Valley area, so it was a no brainer on where to go when we got our permanent resident status.

10. DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE, TWITTER OR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT? Yes: www.gerardorosiles.com. The website has a facebook feed.

11. OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION FOR VOTERS:

e-mail: info@gerardorosiles.com campaign phone: 373-6671