The Vision for Garland

1. We must unite the districts and work together for the good of Garland.
2. We must have representatives that respect the citizens' will.
3. We must follow the City Charter, our local constitution.
4. We must conduct city business to the highest ethical standards.
5. We must be fiscally responsible.
6. We must develop and restore healthy neighborhoods and thriving businesses.
7. We must understand the vitality of any district is limited by the vitality of the city.
8. We must make informed and educated decisions.
9. We must embrace our diversity.
10. We must have officials with vision and planning skills for Garland’s future.
11. We must believe in Garland and invest in its future.

Unite the Districts
We must foster an attitude and policy on the council that we work for the good of all of Garland. We currently have several on the council that have tried to create their own Chicago-style wards, trying to dictate everything that goes on in their districts, demanding to pre-approve new businesses and other development. Such attitudes stifle new development and ideas but also open the door to corruption.

Respect the Citizen’s Will
We must never forget as elected representatives that we are public servants, that our authority flows from the people, and that we must be polite to our constituents and civil. We must respect the wishes of the citizens as expressed in elections and through testimony. We cannot decide the "citizens didn’t know what they were doing", as has been expressed by several on the current council that fought to block these 2006 elections.

Follow the Law
We must follow the City Charter and state laws. Several current council members have violated the City Charter multiple times for their own purposes. The most egregious, of course, was trying to cancel elections this year and give themselves an extra year in office. In one case, a councilman sought to ignore the provisions that limited terms to six years and declared that he would also ignore the requirement to resign to run for mayor. Some now running to replace these same council members spoke at public hearings saying we didn't need elections this year and that these people had a right to serve three years because they "thought" they were elected to three years.

Act Ethically
Ethical conduct is sometimes hard to define. It can vary by region and culture. However, Garland has adopted an Ethics Ordinance that sets a baseline for ethical conduct on the city council. The current ordinance was launched from concerns expressed by the Garland Homeowners Coalition when it was observed that a couple council members were appointing their spouses to boards and commissions, depriving other citizens from serving and potentially tainting the recommendations from those bodies. One council member also had a record of appointing his wife and mother to such bodies. The current ordinance went through several phases and was almost killed several times but Mayor Day saved it by presenting it for a vote when those opposed to it were running for re-election and could not politically fight it. One that had been vehemently against it then falsely claimed he had sponsored it.

Be Fiscally Responsible
Even though Garland has one of the highest ad valorem tax rates in the Metroplex, our lagging tax base does not produce enough revenue to cover our costs for:

• Police and fire protection
• Infrastructure improvements and
• Other services we appreciate such as libraries and parks.

We are not a rich city. While we are making recent advancements in retail sales tax collection, we must be fiscally conservative and responsible. A water reserve fund once fully funded was depleted for unrelated expenses to a point that we are now having to refund it through our monthly water bills. There have been so many attempts by some council members to rob the Rate Mitigation Fund and its interest that both are now protected under the charter. We cannot hire personnel and buy assets that generate long term obligations and then fund them from short term or one-time sources.

Develop Healthy Neighborhoods and Thriving Businesses
Many neighborhoods in Garland were built in the rush from Dallas to the suburbs for cheaper homes. Over time the average new house size has risen and these older homes do not have a strong market. National studies show that these neighborhoods will:

• Lose homeowners to other areas
• That reinvestment in the area will lag
• That crime will rise and
• That the tax base will not support the cost of necessary services.

After losing the advantages of development along IH-635 to Mesquite and development on IH-30 to Rowlett and Rockwall, Garland’s focus on a mall for SH-190 and the 190 Development Standards has paid off. We have since replicated those standards along IH-635 and IH-30. We have recently focused on declining shopping areas and reviving Downtown. All these efforts and more are important to Garland’s future but cannot succeed if policies are not created that facilitate such revitalization and make government a partner instead of a roadblock.

However, more crucial is revitalization of our neighborhoods. Reinvestment in our neighborhoods is dependent on a multitude of factors:

• A sense of community
• Basic infrastructure
• Favorable reinvestment policies
• Some local control to protect their neighborhood and
• A community and council dedicated to helping.

There are too many examples of bad policies and best intentions that have hurt such revitalization efforts. It is critical to look at what has worked, avoid what has not, and to sanity check any decisions with those affected. Even a well-meaning council, but uninformed and uneducated to the problems, can be more detrimental than doing nothing.

Recognize that the Vitality of the Whole Limits the Vitality of the Parts
No district can stand alone and ignore its relationship to the other parts of Garland. Even though District 1 is fortunate to have good homes and new businesses, it cannot survive alone. It depends on Garland for:

• Schools and entertainment
• Police and fire protection
• Utilities
• Libraries, parks, and many other services.

Businesses do not look at just District 1 when considering locating here and taxes generated here do not stay here. It is critical to raise the tax base of the entire city by inviting investment and reinvestment to areas that have been allowed to decline. Reversing this trend benefits everyone, especially District 1 because more of our money will be available for safer roads, quicker response times by police and fire, nicer parks and public bike trails, and higher home values that protect our own investments.

Make Educated and Informed Decisions
It is critical that we start making well-reasoned and considerate decisions. Far too often, the reason for doing something or voting some way has been, "It's my opinion …." So much of the leadership we have received from the council has consisted of I-don’t-like statements. Decisions should be made on the evidence and testimony presented by applicants, the public, and the staff. Some decisions will require approving or disapproving something that the individual doesn’t agree with but the proper decision is to follow the law, the Charter, or policy. The pinnacle of this personal-likes type of decision making was the refusal to call the 2006 Elections. Statements like, "I think I am entitled to three years because I - did this or said that -" clearly shows the results of decisions made on whims rather than principles.

The recent effort to kill the televised debates scheduled through Eastfield College and to be televised on Garland Channel 15 further documents this type of whimsical decisions and disingenuous excuses. Part of the argument advanced by the same five that voted to cancel this election was that televising debates for the city elections would make our city station available to such organizations as the Ku Klux Klan. These five have no trouble spending taxpayer money to fight the Citizens in court but won’t challenge the KKK.

The decisions for selfish and personal motivations must stop!

Embrace Diversity
Diversity is one of Garland’s greatest assets. Its range of cultures is one such asset. Its range of development types, residential, commercial and retail, office, and industrial, are jewels that can be assembled to make Garland much stronger than typical suburban communities. Diversity in transportation and entertainment and house types and many other areas all combine to give Garland unique opportunities if we will focus on these differences as opportunities and embrace them.

See the Future and Plan for It
Directing our efforts toward making Garland stronger will yield the highest benefits for the quality of our lives.

• We can improve the retail strength in our community.
• We can preserve the industrial base that has sustained us for so many years.
• We can continue to demand high quality housing and work to revitalize neighborhood areas that are suffering decline.
• We can examine the development policies and roadblocks that have stopped SH-190 development of office space and jobs at the city limit.

We must learn to examine what has worked well in other communities and emulate it, and we must resist the cosmetic changes that waste valuable resources and deliver no results. Many communities have tried expensive streetscape alterations, fancy streetlights and decorative signs, fountains, and various other cosmetic changes with absolutely no affect. The common key for success is to establish unique places that people enjoy and want to visit, that have people watching potential.

Downtown Garland’s best chances of success hinge on more people living within walking distance, which stimulates retail and business development. Not making the mistakes that will later curtail such development is vitally important and all too easy to make. Again, we must make educated and informed decisions.

Invest in Our Future
It has been said many times that we are not a rich city and in monetary terms that is true. However, we are rich in people, skills, community spirit, and history. Much of the effort needed to build Garland into a place for the residents of Garland will come more from ideas and manpower.

It is important for Garland to be a place we are proud of, not a reflection of Plano or Frisco or Colleyville. People like places that are unique and interesting. We must resist the trend some advocate of making Garland a monotone community, where everything is brick or paint colors are regulated or signs are outlawed or streets are legislated to be racetracks through neighborhoods.

If we successfully help Garland become the place we are proud of, others will come to share that excitement and will invest to be a part of it.

For Garland, we need leaders with vision and skills to shape our future. We literally have no room left to repeat the development mistakes of yesterday. When a community runs out of room to keep building, it has reached its urban limit and must learn to focus within.

Garland is fast approaching such a crossroad and the path chosen now will determine if we have a bright, exciting future or we watch as our community slowly declines and our investments in our homes and businesses disappear.

I know the path I wish to follow, and your support in this election will show which path you wish to follow.