Trump heads to Corpus Christi on affordable economy tour

By Emily Rodriguez
The Center Square

President Donald Trump will give remarks at the port of Corpus Christi on Friday, days before the Texas primary.

With Trump conducting a series of trips around the country focused on a more affordable economy before the midterm elections, many Corpus Christi residents shared mostly positive comments regarding affordability in the city.

The majority told The Center Square that gas prices and groceries decreased while housing prices increased. John Longoria, a construction contractor, told The Center Square the housing affordability issues were not a failure of Trump’s policies.

“That part of the economy has nothing to do with the president. He’s trying to make houses affordable,” Longoria said. “It’s just hard to afford homes no matter what, but he is doing a good job with the economy, I would say, like, best he can for what he was left with.”

Despite housing prices costing more, multiple real estate workers said that lower interest rates have allowed buyers to return to the housing market.

“For us, it means that people can actually purchase right now. So I’ve noticed that it’s helped out,” Gomez, owner of Gomez Properties, said. “You actually compare metrics to two years ago, and now all the metrics are better.”

One thing that Corpus Christi locals hope their city leaders will highlight during Trump’s visit is the water crisis, which has been an ongoing issue for years.

“In less than one year we all run out of water unless drastic measures are taken now,” Adam Stern, a local musician and real estate agent with Cravey Real Estate Services, Inc., posted on social media. “We are looking at the decimation of our town. This council is out of control, and many have lost confidence in them for good reason.”

With aging infrastructure causing repeated water contamination and low reservoirs forcing the city into stage 3 drought restrictions, some Corpus Christi residents are panicking.

“The reservoir’s combined capacity is 9.3%. Without a reliable water source, it’s going to cost everyone more money to live and do business here,” Warren Taylor, a concerned retired citizen, said.

On Tuesday, negotiations of a design build contract for the Inner Harbor Seawater Desalination Treatment Plant project was passed by the city council after repeated denial.

“There was five that voted for it, three voted against it, and one abstained. And whereas before we had previously had five voted against it,” Melinda De Los Santos, a concerned citizen involved with the water committee, said. “There was a lot of pressure on our city council. They were getting calls from the Governor, the governor’s office, about pushing through with this detail plan.”

Authorization for negotiation is just the first step, leaving many Corpus Christi residents hopeful that Trump’s visit will assist in resolving the crisis.

“I hope that whatever plan that gets put in place under his advisement and his leadership, working with our local government here,” Liza De Los Santos, a real estate agent and small business owner, said, “I just hope that it’s good stewardship of our water resource.”

Regarding the upcoming primaries, most Corpus Christi locals who spoke to The Center Square said they did not have a personal loyalty to one political party or another and voted based on the values a party addresses. With current political values, 7 of 10 Corpus Christi locals told The Center Square they intend to vote Republican in the upcoming election.

“The things that I’m more worried about is are we going to elect the same people that, you know, that preach a really good message but don’t really have no initiative to change?” Andrew Perez, a Corpus Christi refinery worker, said. “It’s all who, you know, we vote in.”