New today: Juan Miguel Arredondo believes there’s a spirit of solidarity in San Marcos that sets his Central #Texas college town apart, even as right-wing culture warriors seek to force a wedge between neighbors.
“When there’s a crisis, Superman isn’t coming,” Arredondo, 34, told the Texas Observer during a phone interview late last year. “We have to save ourselves, and so that’s what we do.”
A fifth-generation native of the region, Arredondo served on the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District from 2015 to 2023, and he was again elected to the board in 2024 after a year spent working as the chief of staff for state Representative Erin Zweiner, an outspoken progressive legislator and member of the LGBTQ Caucus. In addition, he’s president and CEO of the United Way of Hays and Caldwell Counties.
Beyond those achievements, he’s also the only openly gay member of the San Marcos school board. Arredondo came out publicly in 2017 during Pride month, about two years into his first term.
“I had one of my biggest supporters call me, compliment me on my bravery, and then immediately pivot to say, ‘It’s just so unfortunate that you’ll never get reelected,’” he recalled. “That was the first experience, right out of the gate, of folks’ perceptions of what it means to be queer or gay or #LGBTQ in Texas.”
From @TexasObserver magazine, and available online now ... https://www.texasobserver.org/defending-the-most-vulnerable-in-san-marcos/
#education #schools #CentralTexas #politics #USpol #news #LGBTQIA