Rick Smith, president of Advanced Home Theater Systems, Inc. in Plano, is running for Plano City Council Place 8, which is currently held by David Downs. City Council elections for Places 2, 4, 6 and 8 will be held May 6. Candidates can not file for office until Jan. 18. Before the election, find out why Smith says he is running for City Council, Place 8. Why are you running for City Council?  Plano is indeed a city of excellence, however many believe that our current City Council has not represented the wishes of the people who elected them to serve. I want to change this by promoting transparency and being responsive to the taxpayers of Plano. As their representative on City Council, I will serve my neighbors by listening to their input as we make decisions that affect our quality of life in Plano. Why are you qualified for this position? I have been a resident of Plano for three decades. During this time I was vice president and later senior vice president with a national healthcare services company. In 1995, I started a successful business, AHTS, Inc., which has received two national awards for its work. I currently serve as its president. But to truly understand the community in which you live you also need to serve it. For my part, I have been a volunteer with several community service organizations including Citizens Assisting Plano Police and the Community Emergency Response Team. I also serve as a board member for my neighborhood homeowners association and Plano AARP Chapter 2304. With over 40 years [of] business experience and civic knowledge gained from my volunteer service, I offer a blend of both strategic skills and community-oriented common sense. What are your platforms? First and foremost, [I want to be] be responsive to the people of Plano. I will have unwavering support for our police, fire and first responders, and attempt to ease their workload by working with other council members to limit the runaway growth of massive apartment complexes. Next, I want to ensure that moving forward, our city budget more closely reflects actual expenditures versus projections. This is important to me since I want to lower Plano’s property tax rate. I also want to be certain that we finally move forward with delivery of improvements to our Senior Recreation Center that was promised nearly 10 years ago. For more information, contact Smith at [email protected].