The Issues

This information will appear in my half-page ad in this week's edition of the Joshua Star newspaper. With this I will have definitely published a lot more information than any other Joshua City Council candidate. I'm not holding anything back from the voters. What you see (or read) is what you get. I'm not a politician I'm an American. Vote for me because you like what I stand for or don't vote for me because you disagree with what I stand for, but don't vote for someone because you just remembered seeing their name on a sign somewhere. You should demand information like this from anyone asking for your vote.

CITY DRAINAGE ISSUES
There’s been a lot of talk about fixing three city drainage issues including Mountain Valley. The cost of the three projects is estimated at over $6.5 million. Since the entire city budget each year is less than $2.5 million those projects would most likely mean enormous debt or an increase in property taxes. Those projects will need to be looked at again much more closely before the taxpayer’s money is committed to spending that large.

PAID FIRE DEPARTMENT
Another area of increased spending is switching our current volunteer fire department to a paid one. The timing of that spending still needs to be studied and debated before jumping into a huge increase in the budget of the department. Joshua has an outstanding volunteer department made up of amazing public servants who love what they do and care for those they help every day. Careful consideration needs to be given to this issue before one consultant’s recommendation is taken at face value without considering those who provide the service now.

RESTAURANT ALCOHOL SALES
Success of the Joshua Station retail development may depend on being able to attract and retain some quality restaurants. Most national chain restaurants want to be able to sell alcoholic drinks. Our state legislators have made the issue of alcohol sales much easier for municipalities to customize an ordinance to the wants of the voters. Alcohol sales can be as specific or broad as the people wish in the ordinance. Public forums and polls should be held on this to ensure the majority of residents are heard.

GARAGE SALES
One of the few issues in the last year that the current city council has not voted unanimously on is garage sale signs. I support residents being able to put out more garage sale signs. I would accomplish this by requiring a deposit for signs. People would be more likely to pick up their signs and return them if they were going to get their money back and if they did not, then that revenue would help fund our code enforcement officer picking them up.

CITY PARK
I’m very excited about Joshua getting its first city park. The planning and design of the park is still ongoing. I would like to see much more citizen involvement in deciding the features that will be included in the park with public meetings and some informal online polls on the city website to shape the park into what our residents will enjoy and use regularly.

TERM LIMITS
It’s a tough sell to get politicians to buy into term limits because they don’t want to give up their power. Some will tell you that they need to be around longer to get things done, but if they were on a tighter schedule more things would get done anyway. I believe government would run better with a turnover of representatives. I believe it is the duty of a representative to engage the public and inspire and encourage participation in the business of the government. In that approach other qualified candidates will emerge to carry on the projects, ideas and values of their predecessors. If elected I will support adding term limits to our city government. I will self-impose a two-term limit on myself should I be fortunate enough to win your support. You’ve got it in writing.

A.J.