An Interview with Mayor Joe Adame

By Liz Lackey

Mayor Joe Adame has a huge heart for his hometown Corpus Christi. As mayor, he wants to do whatever he can to aid Corpus Christi in pushing forward to a bolder future. “Our community needs to be a place that all Texans can be proud of, because as Texans we are proud people”, offers Adame.

When Adame heard about the BoldFuture community visioning process he felt that it would be ideal for the Coastal Bend. He shares the belief that Corpus Christi as a whole has been held back from flourishing due to the lack of growth and missed opportunities.
The BoldFuture for the Coastal Bend initiative is an eighteen to twenty-four month process that encompasses four phases. The first phase entails observing where the community stands, through collecting and analyzing data about the community answering the question Where are we now?; this also involves identifying leaders as well as interested parties which designs the visioning process. The second phase gathered the community’s input answering where do we want to be? - creating a collective community vision; phase three is developing the plan for how to achieve that vision - How are we going to get there? and the final phase is an ongoing, assessment of progress toward the shared vision - How are we doing?
Unlike other community visioning processes that are lead and managed by city officials, BoldFuture for the Coastal Bend has provided opportunities for lots of public involvement from all areas of the community.

“All of us have a stake in the future of our city and region. We share dreams and concerns, and we need to let others hear our voices”, shares Adame. He encourages the community to get excited about BoldFuture and become involved. We cannot do this alone it’s a community effort. With this call for involvement, he especially calls out to the young people of the Coastal Bend. Adame explains how the young people of Corpus Christ have been some of his largest supporters and among those that encouraged him to seek public office believing he could lead the city into a positive future. He wants to be able to provide the best for them and all Corpus Christians. He feels that young people are one of the most valuable pieces to the puzzle, “They are the life line of the future”. He hopes to be able to help create a city where the graduates of Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Del Mar College are able find jobs and are proud to make the Coastal Bend their home.

Mayor Adame is optimistic about the BoldFutre initiative and the opportunity it offers. As a city, we have come a long way but still have a ways to go. One of the first steps to laying a foundation for change is building awareness and preparedness for change. Adame feels that as a community the Coastal Bend has acknowledged that change is in order.