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This is a transcript of Chronicle columnist Mike Snyders interview with Pasadena Mayor Jeff Wagner,

conducted in Wagners office on Sept. 25, 2017. It has been edited and slightly condensed for clarity.

Q. Youve been in office about three months now, after serving one two-year term on the City Council
What are your main impressions, what have been the biggest challenges and opportunities, and what
are the issues youre most focused on?

A. We came into office as the mayor was going out. The transition was very easy, he had an open door,
so we just stepped in here and visited with everybody that we wanted to visit with, and once we got
sworn in, our feet were on the ground and we just kept running.

Q. Did you anticipate running for mayor when you first ran for council (in 2015)?

A. Absolutely not, no.

Q. When did that idea first come up, and what led you to think that this might be a job that you wanted
and could do well?

A. I knew that the old administration was leaving, and being on council, I could see where I thought we
just needed a whole fresh attitude. Some of the people at that time that were talking about running for
mayor, I didnt think that was an attitude we needed. So I was thinking and leaning towards running
probably a year after I was in office.

Q. When you say a fresh attitude, can you explain what you mean by that?

A. Absolutely. When I was running, I walked this whole city, and not one time did anyone ever mention
the things that really were in the paper about racism, the north vs. south, I never heard that. My wife
and I spent a lot of time hitting doors. Their big complaint was their sidewalks and their streets. Never
once did anyone ever approach us about any of the things that were actually in the paper and
everybody talked about. We never heard that.

Q. OK. And the concerns about the condition of the streets and the sidewalks, you heard that all over
the city? It wasnt any greater on the north side than the south side?

A. (Chuckles) Thats everybodys complaint. Absolutely true.

Q. It sounds like the people were most concerned about nuts and bolts city services.

A. Thats it.

Q. And your goal was simply to deliver those as well as you could.

A. Right. And some of the neighborhoods really felt that they had been ignored for years. And I stressed
that if I become your mayor, Pasadena is Pasadena to me. There is no neighborhood; its Pasadena.
Whatever problems comes in front of us, were going to fix, no matter which neighborhood it is. My
whole big thing was leadership for all what I meant was, were all in it together, and if you dont bring
problems to me, theres no way were going to fix them, and I stressed that all through the campaign,
that were together, its all together.

Q. Unity?
A. Yes.

Q. So you would say thats an important theme of your administration.

A. It is its the number one. Because thats what was lacking I dont know if it was really lacking, but it
sure was out there.

Q. The perception was out there that it was a divided city?

A. Absolutely.

Q. And sometimes perception becomes reality, I suppose.

A. Its sad but true.

Q. I want to ask you about the voting rights suit. I understand you cant talk about legal negotiations. But
from a policy standpoint, whats at issue here is the system of electing the City Council. In terms of what
works best for the citizens, is it your opinion that the all-district system, the 8-0 system, or the 6-2
system is preferable, strictly from a policy standpoint?

A. I believe both systems work. We still have eight council members, so if its at-large, if its districts, we
still have eight. Were not getting rid of a position, as long as there are eight people there and eight
people want to do the best for the city, either way is going to work. I mean I have no opinion one way or
another.

Q. You made a decision early in your administration to bring bus service back to Pasadena. What led you
to that decision?

A. On the campaign trail, that was something that was mentioned a lot. From seniors to young people
who said, Id like to go to college but its a long bike ride. So I said, lets look at it. So we got the county
in. We looked at the old maps, and I said, No wonder it failed. It was a horrible route.

Q. What was wrong with it?

A. It was just like a little circle that missed the most important parts of the city. So I said this. If we can
hit both of the Harris County annex courthouses, San Jacinto College, throughout the little medical
district we have and the hospitals and doctors offices, shopping the corner of the Beltway and
Fairmont if we can keep people flowing that way, all through our city, its got to work. And Im willing
to take the chance that that it will work, because that does flow constantly and gets people who dont
have a car, or maybe dont want to take a car, to be able to go shop, go see a doctor.

Q. So where does that process stand?

A. Were still in negotiations with the county, and working together, well make it right. We had a public
hearing on it last Thursday and there was like 250 people there. Theres an interest here in Pasadena for
this bus system.

Q. So are we talking weeks, months, before the buses start running?

A. Oh, its going to be months for sure, because the contracts havent been written. And lets be honest,
Harvey. We had to focus on Harvey.
Q. Have you done an assessment of the number of properties in Pasadena that were flooded?

A. Were right at about 5,000 homes, out of about 39,000.

Q. Were there any deaths in Pasadena?

A. We had one. It was a city employee. He was bringing his family to the hotel, the Hampton Inn, at
Beltway and Crenshaw, and he went to check on his house one more time. And he got as far as, not less
than half a mile, when he had to get out of his car and the currents took him away.

Q. And FEMA has opened a disaster recovery center in Pasadena.

A. Yes, at the convention center. It opened Thursday morning.

Q. Was there a negotiation involved to make that happen?

A. I believe Harris County and the federal government realized we had our business straight, and they
knew when FEMA came out and talked to myself and my administration, they were really impressed
about how everything was in place, and they said, we can do business with people like you. So I think
that helped.

Q. During the pre-council meeting last week, one of the citys bond advisers made some complimentary
remarks about the way the city was handling its finances, and he specifically noted the long-term capital
improvement plan. I had heard that under the previous administration there was no long-term capital
improvement plan. Is that a new feature of your planning, and how did that come about?

A. Im sure the old administration may have, but we dont know, we just know that we need one. And
were working on it as were speaking. Were going to do our very best to have a bond election in May.
We really need remember I said streets? And thinking of that, talking about streets, we and the county
are doing a partnership on Pasadena Boulevard. Well, Richey Street is just as bad if not worse than
Pasadena Boulevard. I had a meeting with our commissioner, Jack Morman, and we negotiated another
partnership. I asked the county if we could pick the engineers and pick all the rights-of way ourselves.
And doing so, well get our job done before the county does.

Q. So the county will pay half the costs, but the city will do the planning and let the contracts?

A. Yes.

Q. What is the cost?

A. $12 million.

Q. Pasadena is not a small town, but in my reporting it has struck me that the city government had a sort
of a small-town culture. Everything seemed very informal. Sometimes when cities grow and you have
the same leadership in place throughout a lot of that time, perhaps you have attitudes that started
when it was a small town that still prevail when youre in a different era. Do you see it as part of your
mission as mayor to make sure the city is functioning like the city it is, as opposed to the small town it
used to be?

A. I dont mind the small town attitude; I like that. We can keep that, but we cant keep that attitude in
the way that we run the city, because were a very important city not just in this county, but in the
world. Look at the economy. Look at the Port of Houston, and its right here in our back yard. So we
need a new conversation here in Pasadena, and that is, we are a big city and we can run it like a big city.
But you can come here and well still be friendly to you.

Q. The best of both worlds?

A. Exactly.

Q. During the trial of this lawsuit, there was a lot of national attention on the issue of minority voting
rights. And the judge was very hard on the city, as you know. She made some extremely critical
comments. Are you concerned that that damaged the citys reputation, and if so, what do you think
needs to be done to repair it?

A. We did take a hit, yes. How are we going to fix it? Again, a new conversation in Pasadena. That
administration is gone, this is a whole new administration. Im very concerned with that reputation and I
feel my administration can heal that, working with the communities and them seeing a difference in
how my administration is working with the community. Its going to heal a lot faster than people realize.

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