SAN MARCOS CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES
Josh Paselk believes his combination of business knowhow and positive attitude is what the San Marcos City Council needs in the face of the rapid growth in this area. A local business owner for the past 12 years, he is currently serving on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission as well as a San Marcos Area Chamber of Com- merce Board of Director.
JOSH PASELK
Also a licensed real estate agent, he attributes much of his business success to people skills he first developed more than a decade ago in the restaurant business.
He first worked at Bennigan’s in his hometown of El Paso, but transferred to the Austin location in the early 2000s, taking on a number of different roles in the course of working his way up to general manager, with a stint as kitchen manager at the San Marcos location.
While working in the restaurant business in Austin, he explored the music scene as a drummer in the blues rock trio Blue Ruin Trio, who gigged with Austin blues guitarists Gary Clark Jr. and Eric Tessmer, and played bars on Sixth Street as well as at South Congress staples Continental Club and Saxon Pub.
As a restaurant worker and as a musician, Paselk worked to please customers with a smile and an outgoing attitude.
“This has been something that’s been on my heart for a long time, but minimally, I would do something with a smile, just by being kind to everybody that I come across and deal with, spending the time to listen, so when you have to come to make these tough decisions together, you’re not at odds.”
Many of the decisions that concern Paselk are those related to managing growth in San Marcos. In his view, the city council has not been proactive enough in managing what he believes is inevitable growth. San Marcos citizens have been historically reluctant to change, but careful planning can help the city maintain its charm while changing with the times, according to Paselk.
“The solution is keeping an eye on the river and the history of the town, and at the same time working with developers, getting ahead of the game so we have the ability to negotiate favorable agreements.”
As a business owner and member of local business organizations, his focus as a city council member would be developing more reliable revenue sources for the city, including revenue from sales tax and property tax.
“You have to have a balanced budget. My number one priority is really just to make sure that we’re fiscally sound, because if you don’t have money, you can’t afford to run these programs across the board, right?”
Paslek expresses frustration that initiatives he has worked on as a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, such as the Vision SMTX Comprehensive Plan, have not had a more prominent role in determining city council policy decisions.
“Why aren’t we following the plan? If we don’t start choosing what it is that we want, it’s our last ditch effort to get in front of it,” Paselk said.
“Because big business can help drive small business, and vice versa. … We need somebody that’s able to communicate across the board and help people navigate some of these tough decisions that are inevitably going to come up.”
