After living in McAllen for years, a lot of people have never stepped into a City Commission meeting. The reason for that is not because residents don’t care to show up. The reality is people are working. Most people are still on the clock when these meetings start. So being involved ends up depending on whether you can leave work early, and not everyone can do that. If people are asking for meetings to be more accessible, that’s valid. Public officials are meant to serve the people they represent, and that includes making participation possible. This isn’t about adding anything extra. It’s about adjusting the time so more people can actually be there. A shift from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM or later. A small change, but one that makes a real difference in who gets to show up. Because being part of what’s happening in your own city shouldn’t come down to whether you can step away from work. And right now, for a lot of people, it does. This is why this petition was created. So the Mayor and Commissioners of McAllen can see the reality of the people asking for meetings to start at 5:30 PM or later. Not as a complaint, but as a request to be able to show up and be part of the conversation.