This story was originally published in El Perico’s October print issue.
When the late commissioner Mike Boyle passed away on September 13th, the county board launched their call the following day to seek a candidate for office. On Oct. 22, the Committee to Appoint Douglas County Commissioner for District 1 chose Roger García as the next District 1 Douglas County Commissioner, making him the first Latino commissioner to take office.
The procedure was made in accordance to the Nebraska legislature’s statute 32-574 (of law LB575, § 13) which states that vacant political positions must be filled within 45 days of becoming vacant. Roger García did not hesitate to run again, this time alongside the fourteen other candidates, after losing 3 votes against Boyle himself in the May 2020 race.
Before he was chosen on Oct. 22, García interviewed on Oct. 22 to share his hopes and concrete plans with the role. García is one of few Latinos that is involved in local political leadership community in Omaha. The six-page application he submitted with his nomination gives faith to his leadership to come.
“I am proud that both Mike and I were friends before the campaign, during the campaign, and after the campaign… We kept meeting to discuss and address community issues after the campaign.
In a conversation with El Perico at his office in the National Center for Families Learning, located in Blackstone Mansion, 114 S. 39th St., he assured that he isn’t interested in boasting of having a political position, but he hopes that things change for the betterment of the community.
“I have 16 years living in Omaha and I’ve worked in many nonprofits. So I’ve gotten involved in certain political positions.”
Among the positions that stand out are being a two-time board member of Metropolitan Community College (MMC), executive director of the Iowa Latino Center, and part of the complaint evaluation board of the City of Omaha (Citizen’s Review Complaint Board). In addition, he has volunteered in several organizations that help Latinos, women, and immigrants in board positions.
García is bilingual (Spanish-English) which has led him to have closer relationships with the Hispanic communities and feels that this gives him an advantage to understanding the needs of the people. Now chosen to complete Boyle’s term — which lasts until 2024 — he will be able to bring great ideas for the benefit of the community.
With his main interest and passion in serving the community, he highlighted three main challenges: to improve the Juvenile Justice Service, to support incarcerated adults to seek vocations and raise their education for better reintegration into society, and help minorities with serious health problems such as diabetes.
He is also concerned that a possible increase in the tax levies will affect the pockets of families and their spending.
For his first challenge, he detailed that he wishes to promote more programs meant to prevent at-risk youth from committing crimes… During his position as a family counselor in Boys Town, he noted that he had to work more in education with adolescents.
“We see that young people that get in trouble, that have gotten involved in drugs or fights and then don’t go to school. And these young people have to enter the system for juvenile penitentiary services,” García said. “Those commissioned focus themselves more in creating a detention center and wasting millions of dollars to construct a new center and detain young people, but don’t give them a program or service efficient enough to better their situation. Maybe these young people need a mentor and to get involved in something more positive to get better.”
As a second concern he said that once individuals who are incarcerated reinter society, they need to re-learn skills, finish their studies and think as entrepreneurs, and he says there must be resources to support them.
García recalled that a United Nations study revealed that educational programs in prisons contribute greatly reducing rates of return to prison and crimes committed by previously incarcerated populations.
“We should create programs that elevate the self-esteem of these individuals and create confidence in the companies in which hire them. They made a mistake, yes, but companies have got to give them opportunity. We know companies that are willing to accept them and we must work with them through training with the Alliance of the Automotive Training Center among others.”
García noted that his experience in Metropolitan Community College, or MCC, helped him understand the needs of the population.
“There is so much that is done on the board of commissioners,” he said. “There are many services and people don’t know they exist. I already have experience with this type of position, as I was at MCC with 11 people who made group decisions and all took me into account.”
The third point he cares about is health care within minority communities. When he led the Center, who worked in conjunction with the county’s health departments and centers, he noted with alarm the need to re-educate the population about food.
“We see children aged 4 and 5 with obesity and that is worrying,” he said. “We, as Hispanics, are struggling to drink drinks with lots of sugar. People don’t know the damage that it does.”
García has licenses in psychology and Latin American studies and two master’s degrees: one in public administration and the other in Ministry. Now he is finishing his doctorate in Ministry. He maintains humility in his heart and is a man who is dedicated to his family and the community.
It’s worth mentioning the 14 other candidates for the position were: Dawn Blankenship, Benjamin Cass, Roger García, Sara Howard, Ron Hug, Daniel Martin, Mark Martínez, Aubrey Palermo, Ben Salazar, Kimara Snipes, Angel Starks, Jim Thompson, Katrina Tomsen, Patrick Venditte.