He will fight for all of us!
Are you a Democrat or a Republican?
I don’t consider myself either. I have always considered myself an independent. I vote for the person, not in lockstep with one party or the other, but since I never imagined I would run for public office, I never cared much about that.
When I signed up to run for City Council, an office that has always been non-partisan, I perhaps somewhat naively thought my not identifying with a political party wouldn’t be an issue. I have come to understand that in today’s highly partisan environment, it probably just means I will be disliked by members of both parties. Still, it’s who I am and I’m comfortable with it for myself.
How will you unify this brand new district?
That will be a trick, but all of the neighborhoods in this district have certain things in common. They are generally working class neighborhoods. And they have been historically underserved if not outright ignored at City Hall. I plan to fight for every neighborhood and every resident of District 11 just like I have fought for my Eastside neighborhoods for the last 30 years.
One of the things I would like to accomplish is to bring the leaders of every neighborhood together and foster a sense of community in District 11. We are all stronger united together working for one another than we are apart working for ourselves.
You have claimed you are President of the Carter Riverside Neighborhood Association but also that you were the President of the Oakhurst Neighborhood Association. How is that possible?
I have had a few people confused about this. Before I moved to the Carter Riverside neighborhood I lived in Oakhurst. So I have lived in both at different times and was fortunate enough to be selected to represent each of their Neighborhood Associations. At different times.
What are you going to do about older residents being forced out of their longtime homes?
No person, particularly no senior citizen should ever be forced out of their home. One thing we can do, and the first thing I will push for on the Council, is raise the Senior property tax exemption. It’s been decades since Fort Worth raised the tax exemption for senior citizens and that is way too long. We can raise that and provide some immediate relief to our most vulnerable residents and I will fight to do just that.