What the Candidates Have to Say
The Dallas Morning News' voter's guide is out and offers the many candidates running for Richardson City Council the chance to speak to voters directly. The questions are weighted towards regional issues -- rail, water, illegal immigration -- but there are open-ended questions that allow the candidates to speak to issues unique to Richardson. Noteworthy remarks...
- Place 1
- Bob Townsend is running unopposed and does not appear in the voter's guide. Bill Denton has filed as a write-in candidate and will not appear on the ballot and does not appear in the voter's guide.
- Place 2
- Mark Solomon: His resume is long. He is committed to regional efforts on rail, air quality, highway construction, and water planning. He is committed to maintaining leisure and cultural activities in Richardson. He recognizes that immigration is a national issue that cannot be solved by any one city.
- Jimmy Schnurr: When asked if he favors regional rail, he doesn't give a straight answer. He says pending local option election legislation "may likely create unique and burdensome complications" for Richardson. Schnurr disappoints in his answer. Richardson sits squarely in the corridor between Dallas and the suburbs to the north. Regional rail is critical to Richardson's future development.
- Thomas Volmer: His resume is thin. He fails to note Richardson's aging population when asked about demographic changes in Richardson. Asked about water planning, he offers sprinkler restrictions as an answer. He identifies lack of open communication and government transparency as issues that divide Richardson.
- Jennifer Justice: Her resume is thin. She favors regional rail and local option elections to fund it. She identifies Richardson's aging population as a demographic issue, but oddly, talks about providing assisted living facilities and omits attracting young families to Richardson. She recognizes that illegal immigration is a federal matter. When asked about quality of life, she focuses on the environment and not leisure or cultural affairs. She identifies lack of open communication and government transparency as issues that divide Richardson.
- Place 3
- John Murphy: His resume is impressive. He favors regional rail and local option elections to fund it. He recognizes the need to address the needs of an aging population while attracting younger citizens in Transit Oriented Development areas. Because of actions already taken by the council, he does not see a need to cut services or raise taxes to balance the upcoming budget. When asked what changes in local laws Richardson should adopt to address illegal immigration, he says simply, "None."
- Chris Davis: Her resume is good. She identifies as her reason for running the fact that the incumbent has served for 18 years. She says she has "fresh ideas." She favors rail only when it pays for itself, considers additional taxes for North Texas rail to be "onerous" and opposes local option elections for voters to decide for themselves. It sounds like pre-DART ideas to this voter.
- Sheryl Miller: Her resume is thin, featuring some volunteer work and membership in two book clubs. She lists Ebby Halliday as her top contributor. She cites the incumbent's service of "almost two decades" as a reason to elect her. She opposes local option elections to fund regional rail and suggests private enterprise build and operate rail lines as a solution. She identifies "kids on the free luch [sic] program" as a demographic change Richardson faces, without offering any measures to address the issue. She'll address any budget shortfall by cutting "exorbitant salaries, luxury auto allowances" and "pork" in the budget.
- Place 4
- Gary Slagel: His resume is impressive. He favors regional rail and increased funding through local option elections. He identifies creating a tier-one research university at UT-Dallas as a opportunity for other regional cooperation. He identifies personnel costs, at 70% of the city budget, as the source for spending cuts, if the current economic downturn demands it. He identifies rec center construction and trail development as ways to improve the quality of life. He supports the E-Verify program to ensure the city and its contractors hire only workers eligible to work in the US. He identifies lack of open communication and government transparency as issues that divide Richardson, saying that city leaders must do better at communicating why and when confidentiality is critical and in the best interests of citizens.
- Diane Wardrup: Her resume is impressive. She wants to make UT-Dallas a tier one research university. She criticizes Gary Slagel for using city supported facilities to operate his personal business without paying proper compensation to the city. She accuses Slagel (and Bache-Wiig) of not supporting open and honest government, financial transparency, or a code of ethics for city council. When asked about regional rail, she says she "agrees with the concept" but doesn't give this voter a sense that she is behind it in fact. She states that illegal immigration must be addressed by changes to federal and state law, not local law. She does not believe there is a single issue that divides Richardson.
- Thomas Bache-Wiig: His resume is thin. He cites the incumbent's 22 years on the council as a reason for change. His answers are clearly the most verbose of any candidate, so if he draws any distinction between his program for Richardson and the incumbent's, I missed it in the verbiage. He favors regional rail and local option elections to fund it. When asked about demographic changes, he goes back to 1873, then 1925, then 1950 and on and on. Again, if there's something relevant to the current election, I missed it in the verbiage. In a budget shortfall, he won't cut services or raise taxes. He'll attract new business ... if they can stay awake through his sales pitch.
- Place 5
- Pris Hayes: Her resume is good. She supports regional rail, but does not believe that one approach, such as Transit Oriented Development with rail, can handle all the needs of Richardson. She unenthusiastically supports local option elections to increase funding. She claims Richardson has only minimal budget shortfall at present. She favors addressing some of the negative consequences of illegal immigration by enforcing advanced property code standards and towing uninsured vehicles. She feels that women are underrepresented in city and regional government.
- Bob Macy: His resume is good. He supports regional rail and local option elections to fund it. When asked about opportunities for regional cooperation, he says he favors a universal smoking ban. He supports refurbishing delapidated housing through a broader housing improvement tax incentive. He would use more tax abatement to recruit new business. In case of a budget shortfall, he would consultants, overtime, and unprofitable festivals. He does not propose any changes to local laws to deal with illegal immigration. He sees no serious divisions in Richardson.
- Place 6
- Steve Mitchell is running unopposed and does not appear in the voter's guide.
- Place 7
- Dennis Stewart: His resume is good. When asked what key differences are with his opponent, he says his opponent moved to Richardson and into an apartment a little over a year ago. He says his opponent didn't use his full name on the documents filed for this election. He favors a property tax exemption for senior citizen homeowners. He favors regional rail but opposes local option elections to increase funding. He denies that there have been any significant changes recently to Richardson's demographics. He favors the city's neighborhood revitalization program and broadening its home improvement incentives. He prioritizes increased funding for infrastructure repair - streets, alleys, public buildings. He believes immigration laws are the responsibility of the federal government. He says there are no signicant issues that divide the city.
- Amir Omar: His resume is good. He admits to once having paid a fine and doing community service for accidentally writing a bad check while running a small business in college. He favors regional rail and its expansion. Regarding greater regional cooperation, he identifies traffic light coordination as an opportunity. He cites increased racial and ethnic diversity as a demographic change Richardson is experiencing. He does not mention an aging population. He does not foresee a need to increase taxes or cut services. He would like to gain its "fair share" of spending by people who work in, but do not live in, Richardson. He does propose any changes to local laws regarding illegal immigration. He identifies a "fairly new rift" in Richardson, but does not specify the issues creating the rift. He says he is not affiliated with either side of the purported right.
I'll give my opinions on all this and my mid-campaign recommendations tomorrow.
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