Tell Us About You
1. How long have you lived in College Station, and what neighborhood do you call home? What drew you here, or kept you here?
I first came to College Station to attend Texas A&M, Class of 2005, and this community has been an important part of my life ever since. Today, Rachel and I are raising our four children here in Pebble Creek.
What keeps us here is what keeps so many families here: good people, strong neighborhoods, great schools, and a community that still feels like a community. College Station has grown tremendously, but I want to protect the qualities that made families want to put down roots here in the first place.
2. What in your professional, volunteer, or public service background has best prepared you to serve in city office?
My background gives me experience from several different sides of city government. I have more than 20 years of public safety experience as an EMT, police officer, and reserve deputy, and I currently serve as a Reserve Sergeant with the Brazos County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office. I have also served on College Station’s Zoning Board of Adjustments.
Professionally, I have worked in energy and investments, including real estate and private and public equities, where you have to understand budgets, property rights, risk, negotiation, and the long-term consequences of decisions. That combination has taught me to ask basic questions: Do we need it? Can we afford it? What are the unintended consequences? And have we listened to the people affected?
Neighborhoods And Quality Of Life
1. What makes a neighborhood healthy, and what is one thing the city could do to strengthen established neighborhoods?
A healthy neighborhood is safe, well-maintained, connected, and stable. People should know their neighbors, feel comfortable raising a family there, and believe their investment in their home is being respected.
One thing the city can do better is make neighborhood impact a real part of decision-making, not an afterthought. Before major zoning, development, traffic, or infrastructure decisions are made, affected neighborhoods should receive clear information early enough to actually participate. Strong neighborhoods require a strong voice at City Hall.
2. How should the city balance new housing growth and student housing needs with protecting the character of existing neighborhoods?
We need more housing, including housing for students and young families, but we do not have to sacrifice established neighborhoods to get it.
The city should encourage additional housing where the infrastructure can support it, reduce unnecessary regulations that make housing more expensive, and provide flexibility for responsible development. At the same time, we should protect established neighborhoods from one-size-fits-all policies that dramatically change their character overnight.
Growth and neighborhood protection are not mutually exclusive. Good planning should accomplish both.
3. Residents in some neighborhoods consistently report issues with noise, parking and trash. These issues are reported, but there have been few successes in resolving the issues long-term. What changes would you support to increase the effectiveness of Code Enforcement?
Residents should not have to make the same complaint five times before a recurring problem gets addressed.
College Station currently divides some neighborhood issues among Code Enforcement, Police, and other departments. For example, the city directs loud-party complaints to CSPD while Code Enforcement handles many trash and property issues.
I want a better-coordinated system that tracks repeat problem properties, gives residents one clear way to report an issue, and lets departments see the full history of complaints. We should also measure response times and outcomes. Education should come first when appropriate, but chronic violations need meaningful and consistent enforcement.
A Growing And Fiscally Responsible City
1. With TeraFab now under Phase 1 construction, what does the city need to accomplish during your term to be better prepared?
We need to start preparing now, not react later.
College Station needs to be ready for pressure on housing, roads, utilities, public safety, and other infrastructure. We should also be aggressively positioning College Station for suppliers, professional services, technology companies, and other businesses that will follow that investment.
My focus would be making sure growth pays for growth and that existing taxpayers are not left holding the bill.
2. When considering a Chapter 380 economic development agreement, what criteria would you use to determine its value to the community? Please give an example of a deal, here or elsewhere, that meets or fails your test.
Chapter 380 agreements should produce a measurable return for taxpayers, not simply transfer public money to a private business. State law allows cities to use these agreements for economic development, and College Station already considers tools such as performance-based grants on a case-by-case basis.
My test would be straightforward: How many permanent jobs does it create? What do they pay? How much new investment and tax revenue does the project generate? What new costs does the city take on? Would the project happen without the incentive?
Any agreement should be performance-based, transparent, and include clawbacks if commitments are not met. A deal that pays only after verified investment and job creation can make sense. An upfront subsidy with vague promises and no accountability would fail my test.
Trust And Transparency
1. Many residents feel major decisions are largely settled before the public has a real chance to weigh in. What specific practices would you support to build trust between City Hall and residents?
Public input only matters if it comes before the decision is effectively made.
For major projects, rezonings, development agreements, and significant spending decisions, I support earlier notification, plain-language summaries, public workshops, and town hall meetings when appropriate. There should be enough time between presentation and final action for residents to understand what is being proposed.
I also want council members engaging directly with neighborhoods before major votes. People may not always get the outcome they want, but they should never feel like the outcome was predetermined before they walked into City Hall.
2. What does fiscal transparency mean to you, and how would residents be able to tell whether the city is achieving it?
Fiscal transparency means residents should not need an accounting degree or an open-records request to understand where their money is going.
For major projects and contracts, residents should be able to easily see the original budget, current cost, change orders, funding source, debt obligations, and whether the project is on schedule.
The city already publishes financial and economic-development transparency information. I want to make that information easier to understand and easier to track. The goal should be simple: a taxpayer should be able to look online and quickly understand what City Hall is spending, why it is spending it, and whether taxpayers are getting what they were promised.
Governance And Leadership
1. Describe a time you changed your mind after hearing from people who disagreed with you.
I can’t think of one specific time that would be worthy of detail here. But I can say that over the years, as a well-trained husband who has learned his wife is usually correct, a father, a law enforcement officer, and a business leader, I have learned that being closed-minded about decisions, not willing to talk with people you disagree with, and being unwilling to change your own mind can be detrimental to all parties.
2. What would success look like to you at the end of your term?
Success would mean College Station is still a place families can afford to call home, a city where residents feel they can trust council and feel that council members and city staff are good stewards of the citizens’ money, and that council worked with an open mind to listen to all different viewpoints about major issues before making decisions.
At the end of my term, I hope they see me as someone who worked to keep taxes and fees under control, focused spending on core responsibilities, improved roads and infrastructure, supported police and firefighters, and managed growth without sacrificing established neighborhoods.
There can be disagreement on individual issues, but residents should know how decisions were made, where their money went, and that their voice mattered.
Closing
1. What's one thing you'd like voters to know about you that hasn't come up in the campaign?
One thing I haven’t had enough time to talk about on the campaign trail is how fortunate we are to live in a city that is a great place to attend college, raise a family, or enjoy your retirement years. I enjoy how family-centric our community is and the unique amenities a city this size offers. Rachel and I chose to move here for those amenities, which let us support our children and their activities in a clean, safe environment.
To me, this is what local government should be all about. Provide clean, safe neighborhoods for folks to live in; support businesses and the local economy without burdening them with unnecessary regulation and fees; and help encourage attainable housing.
We live in a great city and have an opportunity to make it even better. That is the perspective I want to bring to City Council.