New councilman learned English at 12
Gomez believed to be city's first Hispanic council member
By Michele Linck Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, January 26, 2007
SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- South Sioux City's new City Councilman, Oscar Gomez, is a numbers kind of guy. After six years working for the Siouxland Credit Union he accepted a position at Security National Bank, where he has worked for a year as the Hispanic banking services manager.
Gomez, 30, of South Sioux City, was recently named by Mayor Bob Giese to fill the seat Giese left vacant after being elected mayor in November. Gomez was sworn in on Jan 9. His term will end in December 2008.
So far, Gomez has two council meetings and one city finance committee meeting under his belt. When he was first approached by Giese, Gomez said, he wasn't even sure what the City Council did. He knew only that his uncle, Tony Gomez, had run for it once. (Tony Gomez moved outside the city limits at that time, becoming ineligible for the council.)
"Talking to Bob, when he approached me, the first thing I said is, am I the right guy?" Gomez remembered during an interview Friday at City Hall. "Responsibilities crossed my mind. There's a lot of responsibility when it comes to deciding what the city's going to do, or not do. Was I ready for it?
"After him explaining what was involved and what my responsibilities are, I thought it's just like everything. A new job, you're not going to know everything, but you start learning and people are going to teach you. What I see from this group is, they're great as far as helping."
And, he's already learning. "It's a lot of reading detail, to be sure you know before you come here," he said, sitting at his council desk in City Hall. "You want to be as prepared as you can. It's confusing at the same time. I don't know anything that's been going on for years before. When they start talking about things in the past, it's kind of hard to get on track."
At the same time, he said it's interesting.
"For example, if they're fixing a street, how they approach it, who's gonna do it. Those are the things you never think about (as a resident.) You think, `What's taking forever on that street?' You never see all the stuff behind it, as far as every contract, and every law and rule you have to follow."
Giese knew Gomez long before appointing him to the council. Gomez was 14 when he started working at the Hy-Vee Food Store in South Sioux City where Giese is the longtime produce manager. Gomez continued working there through high school and college, so Giese watched Gomez develop over the years.
Today, Giese sees Gomez as the right person to fill the remaining half of his own term on the City Council.
"Our Hispanic population continues to grow and we need a voice from this vital segment of our city," Giese said. "Oscar's youthful smile and caring nature will no doubt make South Sioux city a stronger community."
Numbers: a universal language
Gomez was born in Sioux City, the third of four children born to Jesus and Maria Gomez. His parents were living in South Sioux City then, with his older sister and brother, Adriana and Antonio.
Oscar was still an infant when the Gomezes moved back to their hometown of Matanzas, in central Mexico.
Twelve years later, with a fourth child, Irene, added to the family, they returned to Dakota County.
It was a tough time for Oscar. Although U.S. born, he spoke no English.
"It's unreal where you start, just basically saying a couple words in English -- (and go) to this," the soft-spoken banker recalled. "It was hard, but ESL classes helped me out."
It was math class he liked the most. "It's the one thing that doesn't change," he said, grinning. "It's the same numbers for everybody, right?"
In college at Briar Cliff University, Gomez put numbers to work, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration. "I started with engineering. I got into that and didn't like it, so I started getting involved with business as far as numbers -- math more than anything."
Even with his college degree and love of math, Gomez hadn't considered a career in banking. "It's something I came across, an opportunity I just took," he said. "My sister was buying a house and heard they were hiring people. I put in my application."
Along with math, the other constant in Gomez' life is his love of soccer.
By age 15, he was also playing on the Chivas, a team of the Liga Latina adult soccer league, which is based at South Sioux City's Jeffrey C. Dible Soccer Complex.
He has played for the Chivas ever since, except for his four years as a scholarship player for Briar Cliff, a career which earned him a spot in BCU's Athletic Hall of Fame for his record high 53 goals and 126 points.
"He was just really easy going," Judy Guarneri, his coach BCU coach, remembered recently. "But don't mess with him on the soccer field. He relied on his skills and wit. He just had a lot of skill at offense with the ball, a lot of ball control, a good shot. The others would always pass to him.
"He was just a neat young man," Guarneri said, adding she thinks it's "fabulous" he was appointed to the City Council.
No negatives, so far
Gomez said reaction in the Hispanic community has been good. "It's been positive from the aspect they see somebody involved in things, especially City Council," he said. "If there's been anything negative, I haven't heard it.
"It's more, congratulations, you've done good for yourself by getting here."
Gomez realizes that once he is more involved in the issues before the council, he may make some unpopular decisions. So far, the only constituent concern that's been brought to him is Liga Latina's recently expired contract for using the city's soccer fields. Teammates want to know if they can lease the fields directly through the city now, rather than, from the Iowa Soccer Association.
The new city councilman is checking into that.
Gomez, 30, of South Sioux City, was recently named by Mayor Bob Giese to fill the seat Giese left vacant after being elected mayor in November. Gomez was sworn in on Jan 9. His term will end in December 2008.
So far, Gomez has two council meetings and one city finance committee meeting under his belt. When he was first approached by Giese, Gomez said, he wasn't even sure what the City Council did. He knew only that his uncle, Tony Gomez, had run for it once. (Tony Gomez moved outside the city limits at that time, becoming ineligible for the council.)
"Talking to Bob, when he approached me, the first thing I said is, am I the right guy?" Gomez remembered during an interview Friday at City Hall. "Responsibilities crossed my mind. There's a lot of responsibility when it comes to deciding what the city's going to do, or not do. Was I ready for it?
"After him explaining what was involved and what my responsibilities are, I thought it's just like everything. A new job, you're not going to know everything, but you start learning and people are going to teach you. What I see from this group is, they're great as far as helping."
And, he's already learning. "It's a lot of reading detail, to be sure you know before you come here," he said, sitting at his council desk in City Hall. "You want to be as prepared as you can. It's confusing at the same time. I don't know anything that's been going on for years before. When they start talking about things in the past, it's kind of hard to get on track."
At the same time, he said it's interesting.
"For example, if they're fixing a street, how they approach it, who's gonna do it. Those are the things you never think about (as a resident.) You think, `What's taking forever on that street?' You never see all the stuff behind it, as far as every contract, and every law and rule you have to follow."
Giese knew Gomez long before appointing him to the council. Gomez was 14 when he started working at the Hy-Vee Food Store in South Sioux City where Giese is the longtime produce manager. Gomez continued working there through high school and college, so Giese watched Gomez develop over the years.
Today, Giese sees Gomez as the right person to fill the remaining half of his own term on the City Council.
"Our Hispanic population continues to grow and we need a voice from this vital segment of our city," Giese said. "Oscar's youthful smile and caring nature will no doubt make South Sioux city a stronger community."
Numbers: a universal language
Gomez was born in Sioux City, the third of four children born to Jesus and Maria Gomez. His parents were living in South Sioux City then, with his older sister and brother, Adriana and Antonio.
Oscar was still an infant when the Gomezes moved back to their hometown of Matanzas, in central Mexico.
Twelve years later, with a fourth child, Irene, added to the family, they returned to Dakota County.
It was a tough time for Oscar. Although U.S. born, he spoke no English.
"It's unreal where you start, just basically saying a couple words in English -- (and go) to this," the soft-spoken banker recalled. "It was hard, but ESL classes helped me out."
It was math class he liked the most. "It's the one thing that doesn't change," he said, grinning. "It's the same numbers for everybody, right?"
In college at Briar Cliff University, Gomez put numbers to work, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration. "I started with engineering. I got into that and didn't like it, so I started getting involved with business as far as numbers -- math more than anything."
Even with his college degree and love of math, Gomez hadn't considered a career in banking. "It's something I came across, an opportunity I just took," he said. "My sister was buying a house and heard they were hiring people. I put in my application."
Along with math, the other constant in Gomez' life is his love of soccer.
By age 15, he was also playing on the Chivas, a team of the Liga Latina adult soccer league, which is based at South Sioux City's Jeffrey C. Dible Soccer Complex.
He has played for the Chivas ever since, except for his four years as a scholarship player for Briar Cliff, a career which earned him a spot in BCU's Athletic Hall of Fame for his record high 53 goals and 126 points.
"He was just really easy going," Judy Guarneri, his coach BCU coach, remembered recently. "But don't mess with him on the soccer field. He relied on his skills and wit. He just had a lot of skill at offense with the ball, a lot of ball control, a good shot. The others would always pass to him.
"He was just a neat young man," Guarneri said, adding she thinks it's "fabulous" he was appointed to the City Council.
No negatives, so far
Gomez said reaction in the Hispanic community has been good. "It's been positive from the aspect they see somebody involved in things, especially City Council," he said. "If there's been anything negative, I haven't heard it.
"It's more, congratulations, you've done good for yourself by getting here."
Gomez realizes that once he is more involved in the issues before the council, he may make some unpopular decisions. So far, the only constituent concern that's been brought to him is Liga Latina's recently expired contract for using the city's soccer fields. Teammates want to know if they can lease the fields directly through the city now, rather than, from the Iowa Soccer Association.
The new city councilman is checking into that.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 2 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
D. Mullins wrote on Jan 26, 2007 3:07 PM:
D. Mullins wrote on Jan 26, 2007 11:47 AM: