Christopher Polanco

I was born In indianapolis, IN and raised just outside to the south in Greenwood by my single mother with my older sister, younger brother, and younger sister. It was a somewhat affluent, unincorporated community. We lived in one of the working class, less affluent pockets of the area. My father wasn't around, so Mom relied heavily on child support; which wasn't always paid consistently; and food stamps (the original kind). Luckily, Mom had some help from friends and family that allowed her to get a GED and find a job once all of us kids were school age. She never made a lot of money and still needed those child support checks, but she made it work. Mom busted her ass and sacrificed a lot for us kids. She is my absolute, number one hero. I'm a bit of a mamma's boy if you can't tell. My work experience began in high school when I joined the cadet division of my local fire department at the age of 14. at 16 I received my firefighter certifications from the state of Indiana, then an EMT Basic certification at 18. Since moving to Texas in 2007, I've worked at the HEB warehouse, teleNetwork, Time Warner Cable (before it was Spectrum), Grande communications, Epic Piping, Walmart, Sam's Club, Stripes, and a few others. So my experience has been all over the place in working class jobs. Like everyone else in San Marcos, I've been working the grind to support my family which includes my long time partner, Raven, and our 17 year old (18 soon...) daughter, Sapphire. I've struggled with my health; having been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2008 or 2009. Instead of taking care of myself and going to doctors, I decided going to work for that paycheck to keep my family housed and fed was more important. I saved my sick days for when one of my girls or myself were sick. In the end, it caught up with me when I lost my vision in2020. No one tells you what to do after going blind. I was suddenly in this spot where I couldn't do almost anything I was able to do before. Not on my own anyway. For the next three years I was dependent on my partner and others for a lot of things. I was able to teach myself some. I learned about and figured out how to use accessibility options on my phone and tablet for example. I learned how to use my other senses to some extent. We eventually stumbled on vocational rehab services offered by the Texas Workforce Commission. They got my into the Criss Cole rehabilitation Center in Austin. It's a training school for blind adults that teaches us adaptive skills to live independently, gave us assistive technologies to fill in the gaps, and taught us skills needed to re-enter the workforce. I lived in this facility for 10 months. I made a lot of meaningful friends there. I overcame a bit of some of trauma while there with the help of staff and fellow students. I went in a very closed off guy. Icouldn't let anyone get close to me, and I wouldn't let myself get close to others. I came out able to connect to others again. While vocational rehab is ostensibly meant to prepare blind individuals for employment, I decided I did not want to go right back to a daily grind that only, just barely, promised survival. I wanted to get involved in issues I care about. My politics have always been left leaning, but this experience, among other things, made those politics veer way off to the left. Being blind actually afforded me a few new privileges. I want to take advantage and see what part I could play in fighting to improve the lives of the poor and working class. The people I came out of. Of course, this included a special place for people with disabilities now. I learned about the Austin Resource Center for Independent Living (ARCIL) while at Criss Cole from a member of the staff who also serves on ARCIL's board. ARCIL is a private, nonprofit organization called a center for independent living (CIL). A CIL is a community based organization that offers services to people with disabilities such as individual and systems advocacy, teaching independent living skills, transition services for youth coming out of high school, helping those that wish to live in the community to move out of institutional homes, and peer support. They are primarily funded by federal dollars through the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. I reached out, and was given the opportunity to gain experience in the disability advocacy field. It didn't last long (the funding for my position ran out), but it was the most fulfilling job I've had since the fire department. My favorite part was the peer support. I loved talking to my consumers about what was going on in their own lives. I helped teach the independent living skills class they have for disabled youth transitioning out of San Marcos High School. I really miss those kids. While working at ARCIL, I also began taking courses at Texas State University. I had tried community college back in Indiana, but never finished. I was young and still deciding what I wanted to do with my life. Now, at 40, I know what I want to do. I'm majoring in communication studies with a focus on persuasion, advocacy, and public speaking as well as political science. I'm minoring in Spanish. After finishing undergrad, I plan on going back for a Masters in legal studies before continuing on to law school where I plan to get into civil rights law. I might not be able to change the world on my own, but I can at least give a headache to some people who need one. After ARCIL, i joined the local branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. The PSL is a revolutionary, Marxist/Leninist party focused on spreading working class consciousness and solidarity both domestically and internationally. You can often find members at demonstrations on the Square in downtown San Marcos, but they also have at least one event per month where they talk to members of the community about the issues effecting the working class and solutions to solve them. They have members in branches all over the U. S.,; including Austin and San Antonio. Electoral politics are not a priority for the party, but they did run Claudia de la Cruz, an Afro-Latina and founder of the People's Forum in New York, for president in 2024. Through this organization I met more amazing people who are committed to and working hard for a better society and future for everyone. They care about each other, their families, and the community they live in. If you want to know more about the PSL and what they're about, check out this link: https://pslweb.org/program/ I had to step away from the PSL in order to run for public office, but it was my compadres from the branch and others from the local Palestine Solidarity group that gave me the idea to run. I was there for the cease fire resolution back in May. I was in the audience as around 120 members of our community gave public comments in favor of the resolution. Only about 20 people spoke against it. The resolution still lost in a vote of 5 to 2. a lot of people that night were talking about the need for more progressive voices on the council. I had been interested in trying to run for something for a long time, so I figured... Ehh... Why not? My compadres have been nothing but supportive. So here I am. One of your candidates for San marcos City Council - Place 2. I like to describe myself as an idiot doofus off the street. I'm just a regular guy. I've done some college, but the highest education I have completed is high school. I worked from the age of 14 to 35 before losing my vision. I'm still working. I worked hard. I'd say I have nothing to show for it, but the time I traded for a paycheck to survive is time I could have spent watching my daughter grow. If I have anything to show for all that work, it's her. But life shouldn't be just about survival. Some people have said I should keep my socialism quiet in this race. Instead, I'm shouting it from the rooftops. I want a world where people go to work because it's what they want to do; not just to survive. They are supporting their families doing something that truely interests them. They can do that while also spending time with their family and pursuing other interests and hobbies at the same time. Life shouldn't be a rat race. At the end of the day, I'm about the people. The regular, working people of San Marcos. Their needs are at the top of my priorities. You will never see me sit on the dais at council meetings listening to eight hours of public comments with people expressing their wishes one way only for me to vote against them. I won't try to tell you I received way more emails you will never see that disagree with you. The dais won't even be the only place you see me. Elect me and I will come out to the community to listen to you. Stop me on the street when you see me. Ask me questions. Tell me your story. Rant about something you need to get off your chest. I'm here for it. I will also be honest and tell you that you can't wait for city council to save you. The solution to our problems is people. We hold the chips. We have a collective power that could be unstoppable if we choose to use it. To that end, I will also be out there to organize with you around the issues you care about that effect us all. By your powers (of voting) combined; I am... Your next City Council member! That's just a little... Captain Planet... For you... Don't ever let me do that again... Fuck ICE! Free Palestine!

I think the city can do more to engage with people with disabilities. The local ARCIL office would be a good partner in this.

Local business owner