Chuck Kelley is running for the Colleyville City Council Place 5 seat.
He will run against Wayne Maynard in the election May 5.
Community Impact Newspaper sent Kelley a series of questions about his candidacy. His written responses, edited for publication style, are below.
Q: What is your current occupation?
A: solutions engineer for NetApp Inc.
Q: Why did you decide to run for this office?
A: As a 19-year resident of Colleyville, I am very excited about the direction that the city is heading. I have volunteered for many years for various organizations at a local, state and national level and now wish to focus on Colleyville. I worked on the political campaigns for many of the sitting City Council members and for the amendments to the city charter and now sit on the planning & zoning commission. I have seen how important it is to have citizen engagement. There has been a lot of work by the council to get the city back on track, and I hope to do my part to keep Colleyville heading in the right direction.
Q: What experience—professionally or politically—do you have that would prepare you for this position?
A: I have a 30-plus year background in technology for companies across many industries, which has taught me how to analyze complex requirements and to look at them from many directions for the best solution. I have been in both enterprise architecture and strategy/planning for multiple industry-leading companies, which has allowed me to set direction. I was asked to step up to fill an open position on the planning & zoning commission starting in December 2016. I believe my background and planning & zoning commission experience make me a good candidate for Colleyville City Council Place 5.
Q: If elected, what would be your top priorities?
A: Fiscal responsibility: conservative financial management of the city budget—“pay as you go"; transparency: continue to drive transparency in all aspects of city management to help ensure citizens have the opportunity to know what’s happening; economic development—work with city staff to identify and retain high-quality businesses that make Colleyville unique, “highest, best use"; residential development—dedicated to high-quality, low-density residential development standards; comprehensive plan—supporting Destination Colleyville (a comprehensive plan), updating Colleyville Land Development Code and encouraging citizen input, keeping Colleyville with its unique character we have all come to love.
Q: What else do you want constituents to know about you and your background?
A: In my 19 years living in Colleyville, getting married and raising our daughter here, I have come to appreciate what a wonderful city we all live in. We have an opportunity to maintain our uniqueness and still develop as a destination for shopping, dining and entertainment while focusing on lower-density, high-quality residential development. We need to continue to work toward these goals that the City Council has set and encourage citizen input and participation.
