Mayor to Petition President for Federal Funds

by Maureen Dietrich
28 Apr 15
mazmessenger.com

Mazatlán Mayor Carlos Felton said yesterday that every time the President visits Mazatlán, he takes advantage of the visit to petition for federal funds for important projects.

On his list for tomorrow when the President will be in Mazatlán to inaugurate the Libramiento Mazatlán is 570 million pesos to construct the Miravalles aqueduct, 150 million to update drainage pipes and 1,300 million to mitigate floods in the Infiernillo Estuary.

Hoteliers will also take advantage of Peña Nieto’s visit, said Carlos Berdegué Sacristán, who told reporters his association will remind the President of his promise to help with funds to improve infrastructure in the port.

(from Noroeste)

First Year Without a Crisis, says Mayor

 by Maureen Dietrich

10 Dec 14 

mazmessenger.com

 

Mazatlán’s biggest problem at the moment is the lack of hotel rooms, the Mayor stated.

For Mayor Carlos Eduardo Felton González his first year in office went by without a major crisis.

The Mayor was speaking to reporters yesterday in an interview and preview of his first state of the municipality speech to be delivered on Monday, December 15 at the new Multiple Use Center in the Marina zone.

Despite incidences such as the capture of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in the city last February, or 17,000 complaints of over charges on 2013 property taxes, or a series of murders in the city during his second semester, the Mayor assured media that Mazatlán´s biggest problem at the moment is the lack of hotel rooms to satisfy increased tourism demands not only in high season but during weekends as well. Since the opening of the Mazatlán-Durango highway, he said, tourism in the city has almost doubled.

Felton attributed the crisis-free first 365 days of his administration to breaking the “centralization” mode (of administration) and instead giving autonomy and responsibility to different sections of the administration. The Mayor enters the picture only when a decision is to be made, he stated.

At the moment there are 70 executive projects ready to be developed. The only thing missing is to assign financial resources to execute them.

Thirty million pesos are being spent on upgrading and remodeling the Malecón, Plazuela Machado and the salt water pool, the Carpa Olivera.

Five thousand palm trees have been donated by Isla de la Piedra commissaries, said Felton, and he has instructed public works to install them throughout the municipality for the enjoyment of local residents as well as tourists.

With respect to security in the municipality, crimes have declined, he pointed out.

Indications are good, Mazatlán is doing well. Not only do the statistics indicate the city is doing well, said the Mayor, but employment has risen and in terms of competitiveness the municipality has risen from 41^st place in 2012 to 14^th in 2013.

(from Noroeste)

Mayor Felton’s 2015 Wish List

by Murry Page

30 Oct 14 

mazmessenger.com

 

Mazatlán’s mayor, Carlos Felton González, told reporters yesterday that next year he plans on making Isla de la Piedra (Stone Island) into a colonial town.

The mayor said, “We want the Isla de la Piedra to become kind of a colonial town so there is not a noticeable demarcation between the town and the sustainable Amaitlán project currently under construction.” He added that he wanted people to go to Stone Island not just for the beaches, but to visit the town, as well.

He pointed out the project would include rehabilitating the roads, building a wastewater treatment plant and remodeling and painting the facades of the town’s structures.

He said the Stone Island project is one of 20 he has planned for 2015.

Also included in his 2015 plans is the reconstruction of the palapas damaged and destroyed during Hurricane Norbert.

The mayor also told reporters he is looking for investors that would be interested in installing a cable car to Mazatlán’s lighthouse, El Faro.

(from El Debate)

Mayor Wants a Central Park and Cable Car for Mazatlán

 by Maureen Dietrich

10 Jul 14  

mazmessenger.com

 

The project would include erecting a cable car line from the El Faro tourist lookout.

A central park and cable car on El Faro are two projects Mayor Carlos Felton discussed with the federal Secretary of Tourism with the view to obtaining federal resources to execute the projects.

Following a visit with the authority in Mexico City earlier this week, the Mayor stated during the meeting they talked about plans for a central park on Bosque de la Ciudad land and the construction of a cable car from the El Faro tourist lookout.

The Mayor said his administration wants to transform Mazatlán, they want to make a central park in Bosque de la Ciudad where there will be a museum, a bigger aquarium and where there will be space for people to enjoy the open air.

They are also proposing to regenerate El Faro with a cable car, though the Mayor did not give any further specifics.

With respect to the central park, the Mayor expects the investment to be around 2,700,000 pesos for the museum, aquarium, a botanical park, an aviary and an area for marine birds.

The park will be 100 percent ecologically sustainable with bridges to connect it to the Malecón, said Felton, adding the ambitious project will transform Mazatlán´s tourist image and will make a difference when tourists are deciding where to spend their vacation. 

(from Noroeste)

Former Mazatlán Mayor Appointed to State Education Portfolio

by Maureen Dietrich on 5 Feb 14  
mazmessenger.com

 

Former three term Mazatlán Mayor Alejandro Higuera was appointed by Sinaloa Governor Mario López Valdez to the position of Director General of the Colegio Nacional de Educación Profesional Técnica (Conalep). The appointment replaces Ildefonso Medina who held the position for three years.

Higuera, who will take up his post in Culiacán once he has been sworn in, told reporters he is happy with the appointment.

Conalep is presently undergoing a State audit where administrative irregularities are being examined.

(from Noroeste)

Mayor Clarifies Public Drinking Statement

by Maureen Dietrich on 21 Jan 14
mazmessenger.com

Mazatlán’s Mayor told police agents that complying with the law can be done with courtesy.

In a press conference held yesterday Mayor Carlos Felton advised that although in the first days of his administration his government announced the relaxation of public drinking laws, the laws were not negotiable, nor would he permit those drinking to enter the street.

The difference, he stipulated, is that police will not put public drinkers into police patrol cars nor expose them.

The Mayor told reporters his words had been misinterpreted when he visited public security police. He told the agents that complying with the law can be done with courtesy. He had received reports from parents complaining of abuse of human rights of their children who may have committed minor offences and were treated like delinquents.

The law is not negotiable, he reiterated, and it will be respected. What I did tell them was if a tourist or local is in a restaurant on the Malecón and wishes to go into the sun on the street to take a photo carrying a drink in his or her hand, he will not be put into a patrol car and treated like a delinquent. Rather, the Mayor said, he will be told courteously that drinking on the street is prohibited.

The Mayor repeated that he is interested in establishing a different “style” in his administration compared to his predecessor and to keep the port as a family destination.

(from Noroeste)

New Mayor Begins Cleaning House

by Maureen Dietrich on 15 Jan 14
mazmessenger.com

As well, said the Mayor, the municipality will begin a campaign against bribes to police for traffic offences.

Newly installed mayor Carlos Felton said in a press conference yesterday that this month he will finish “cleaning” out personnel in the office of the Official Mayor and Traffic Department following constant citizen complaints for supposed corruption.

Although he did not reveal the total number of employees who will be removed from their positions, the Mayor did say it should be the least possible because it will be at the cost of the municipality.

However, he continued, the 11 inspectors of the Official Mayor´s office (responsible for permits) and the Subdirector of Commerce will be replaced because they have discovered grave irregularities including double charging for permits.

Felton told media he will initiate “major surgery” in the office of the Official Mayor where they have received many complaints of unregistered double charging. The municipality needs new inspectors and a new subdirector of commerce, he stated.

The same will occur in the traffic department to try to change citizen´s perception of the municipal corporation, Felton said without specifying the number of personnel to be removed.

With respect to traffic complaints, the Mayor said social networks are very effective. Every day he receives at least one complaint on his Facebook page or Twitter account.

Felton pointed out at the press conference that his administration will advise citizens early when new regulations are proposed, such as obligatory use of seats belts and prohibition against driving while using a cell phone, and solicit their cooperation. As well, he stated, the municipality will begin a campaign against bribes to police for traffic offences.

(from Noroeste)

Neighborhood police booths to return

by Murry Page on 6 Jan 14
mazmessenger.com

 

Mazatlán’s new Mayor, Carlos Felton González, said that security would be a high priority and that his administration would work to establish an image of safety throughout the city.

He said in an effort to accomplish those goals, police booths in the Golden Zone, tourist areas, and neighborhoods that are currently abandoned would be reopened.

He added that the booths would be manned by a social worker in addition to a police officer.

(from El Debate)

Mayor Considers Moving Municipal Hall

by Maureen Dietrich on 3 Jan 14
mazmessenger.com

Mayor Felton found City Hall offices inadequate.

During his first walk-through of Mazatlán’s Municipal Hall yesterday, Mayor elect Carlos Felton whose three year term of office began January 1, 2014 said he found the offices in a poor state of repair with exposed and spliced electric cables presenting a fire hazard.

He told reporters the building is old, offices deficient and few things function. His main interest is that his new cabinet see the situation and begin considering what they have already discussed, a new administrative building.

Mazatlán deserves a new (municipal hall), he continued, one that is close to popular colonias, more functional with sufficient space, more open so that the public sees a friendly place where functionaries are not hidden in corners.

The Mayor explained they have an historic opportunity to take advantage of the Ley Público Privada (Public Private Law) and to explore (the possibility) of a new Municipal Hall that gives better service.

The idea is the development will evolve within the next year and a half while they search for land, said Felton. They are looking for land belonging to the Municipality or land belonging to the Federal government which can be donated. Once the land is obtained, they will then look for investors.

 (from Noroeste)

Mayor Elect Carlos Felton Announces Cabinet

by Maureen Dietrich on 31 Dec 13
mazmessenger.com

Five previous municipal functionaries will continue working in the new administration.

At a press conference yesterday, Mazatlán Mayor Elect Carlos Eduardo Felton González announced his cabinet choices for his three year term which begins tomorrow, January 1, 2014. The cabinet will be composed of at least 10 women and 20 men, he said.

It is his intention, he told reporters, to appoint people who from his point of view have the vocation and interest to serve Mazatlán, people who do not just see the position offered them as a means to earn a salary.
The line-up of Cabinet members is as follows:

Functionaries Proposed by the Mayor: Municipal Secretary: María del Rosario Torres Noreiga, Official Mayor: Salvador Reynosa Garzón, Treasurer: Carlos Ernesto Tapia Parral, Juvenile Delinquent Tribunal (Tribunal de Barandilla): José Ramón Gómez Mendoza

Appointed by the Mayor: Mayor’s Secretary: Victoria García Quiroz, Events Secretary: Yadira Judith Recasens Uribe, Economic Development: Hilda Fumiko Inukai Sashida, Public Works: Sergio Wong Ramos, Public Services: Julio Guerra Echaegaray, Social Welfare: Germán Gaxiola Castañeda, Rural Zone Co-ordinator: Héctor Garcia Salazar, Controller: Francisco Javier Álvarez, Sports: Mónica Coppel Tirado, Urban Development Planning: Nadia Haydeé Vega Olivas, Information: Salvador Sánchez Enciso, Medical Services: Enrique Calderón Lizalde, Social Communication: Edgar López Torres, Social Development: Jacqueline Paulina Meixueiro Castillo, Attention to Citizens: Rosa María Echaegaray Blancarte, Jumapam: Rigoberto Félix Díaz, Women’s Office (Ismujer): Guadalupe del Carmen Estavillo Castro

Continuing from Previous Administration: Institute of Culture, Tourism and Art: Raúl Rico González, Secretary of Public Security: Pablo Andrés Hernández Lizárraga, Implan: Israel Victoria Lona, Department of Ecology: Ángel García Contreras, Aquarium: Jorge del Rincón Jarero

Mayor Elect Carlos Felton was sworn in this morning at 8am at the Angela Peralta Theater before a full house of functionaries and invited guests.

 (from Noroeste)

Outgoing Mayor Plays No Favourites

by Maureen Dietrich on 28 Dec 13
mazmessenger.com

Higuera assured media yesterday that he has not recommended anyone to form a part of incoming Mayor Carlos Felton’s team.

With just a few days left in his third term of office as Mayor of Mazatlán, Alejandro Higuera assured media yesterday that he has not recommended anyone to form a part of incoming Mayor Carlos Felton’s team.

Although it is common for former incumbents to put forward names of persons who have worked for them to incoming officials, Higuera said because he would not appreciate someone recommending personnel to him, he will not do it to others.

The outgoing Mayor did mention, however, that his Secretary of Public Security Pablo Andrés Hernández and the director of Culture, Tourism and Arts in Mazatlán, Raúl Rico, would remain in their positions under the administration of Carlos Felton.

With respect to a wrongful dismissal and back pay suit brought against the municipality by former Police Chief Victor Manuel Zataráin Cedano as reported yesterday, Mayor Higuera said the municipality owes the former employee two weeks salary and he has the cheque for him.

Higuera said the suit will not continue because the former police chief was not fired. Rather, he abandoned his position when an apprehension order was issued against him. The mayor continued saying he has not been in communication with Zataráin Cedano but it was good he had proven his innocence.

(from Noroeste)