I have unfinished business to do for the county. The $3.2 billion US 380 freeway project still needs my attention through the environmental clearance and funding processes. Other freeway corridors need to be identified and secured. The county has started a major building program that needs my experience and expertise. Finally, the county is facing challenges with recruiting and retaining entry-level and mid-level employees, and I am working to increase county pay for its employees.

[The biggest challenges are] planning and addressing the continued massive growth of the county, including expanding transportation infrastructure; getting the cities (Dallas Area Rapid Transit and non-DART) and the transit providers to work together to design and implement an integrated transit system across the county; increasing funding and support for mental health services; and retaining and attracting good employees by increasing the entry-level and mid-level employee pay scales for our employees. Each of these needs my experience, expertise and leadership.

Please see the answer to Question 2.

I believe that finding better, cost-effective solutions to limit escalating costs of providing indigent defense and ad litem services to our indigent residents is another pressing issue for the county. These expenditures exceed $6.5 million in annual costs. We may need to explore some kind of contract service or public defender program to limit these rising costs and better service this population. We should continue to invest in the use of electronic records and systems to better serve our residents and limit expansion of county payroll. Payroll costs represent 70% of our budget each year. We must continue to find more efficient, cost-effective systems to address our needs, serve our residents and keep our costs down.

I am running to bring honesty, transparency and, most importantly, decency to the commissioners court. We need more balance and diversity of thought in Collin County government where, for decades, every elected position has been under the control of one party. Collin County has all the hallmarks of a major metropolis. So, we need a brave leader with the vision to anticipate and address the problems that will come with a rapidly growing population.

My primary concern is how we address crisis-level manpower shortages in our schools, in our hospitals and in law enforcement. Teachers and first responders have been leaving their occupations in record numbers due both to the aftereffects of the pandemic and an increasingly hostile political climate. My hope is that I can help usher in a new form of politics that focuses on professionalism and a needs-based approach to problem solving.

First, we must fully staff the Sheriff’s Office to ensure a safe environment at our jail and restore an orderly workflow in our courts. Secondly, the solution to proper emergency management starts with my election. Lastly, infrastructure will continue to be a major issue as current projects age and future projects become necessary. Our focus should be on dramatically improving access to transit as well as developing economic ecosystems around areas with the most traffic.

The most efficient way to deal with bloated infrastructure is to build out economies in the densest neighborhoods and expand broadband access for the entire county. I would establish a public safety advisory board to modernize community-based policing and address the growing rift between residents and our justice system. Individually, I would introduce a pilot program whereby a team of medical specialists is dispatched when 911 calls involving potential mental health emergencies come through.