Why won't Diaz run?

By Brad Rollins
Staff Reporter

San Marcos September 01, 2006 11:56 am

— The city council member who ended his re-election bid the morning after the close of filings said a dispute over his residency is at the heart of his decision not to run again.
John Diaz initially said he wouldn’t run, filed for re-election the next week and then withdrew Wednesday morning. Less than an hour later, former city council member Bill Taylor also removed his name from the ballot leaving only businesswoman Pam Couch in the running for the Place 5 seat.
Both Taylor and Diaz said they support Couch, who owns a downtown boutique and is active in the Chamber of Commerce.
“My decision to withdraw is based partly on business needs and partly because I believe another business person has stepped forward that will represent us in a manner that I can be proud of as a citizen,” Diaz said in a written statement.
Diaz was elected in May 2003, after losing his first bid a year earlier to Taylor. A longtime resident of the Willow Creek Estates subdivision that was annexed over many residents’ protests, Diaz said he wanted to demonstrate that “there were citizens in the Southwest area that were glad to be part of the city of San Marcos.”
But when the city council voted to de-annex the contested neighborhoods, Diaz found himself living outside the city on whose council he served. After the de-annexation, he claimed his mother’s house as his residence.
In an interview Aug. 4, Diaz said he was bowing out to avoid a fight over his residence. But in his statement this week, he downplayed the residency issue.
“I was born in San Marcos, raised in San Marcos ... I was always a part of San Marcos whether I live in my family home on Cheatham Street or when I lived in the house on Suttles Avenue. A line does not determine where your heart is,” Diaz said.
In an interview later, Diaz said he waited to withdraw because, “I was waiting to see what Bill Taylor was going to do.” Taylor said he believed Diaz had decided not to run and was surprised when he filed later.
Taylor said he withdrew because he is recovering from surgery and would be out of town during much of campaign season.
Couch did not return phone calls for comment.

bradrollins@yahoo.com