Local · Trusted · Free
The Morning Impact — your neighborhood's most important stories, delivered every morning.
Editor's note: This story has been updated as of 8:30 p.m. April 6. A candidate mistakenly added to this Q&A has been removed.
Two candidates are running for Position 6 on Nassau Bay City Council. Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.
An asterisk denotes an incumbent.
Why are you running for this position?
I am running for re-election as there are critical items that need to be addressed, including: providing transparency of city activities; bringing our community together; and developing a comprehensive, long-term vision to improve our parks and recreation spaces.
What is the most important issue facing Nassau Bay, and how would you address it?
We need transparency of all of our city meetings, and I am serving on the committee to identify appropriate technologies to livestream our meetings to provide access to everyone who may be interested.
What makes you the best candidate for this position?
My experience on council for the last four years has provided valuable insight into how the city operates and where we need to make further improvements. My 20-plus years of human resources experience has been valuable in dealing with internal investigations and leadership development.
Why are you running for this position?
I have seen Nassau Bay become more and more urbanized. We are quickly losing our charm and character as a suburb. My opponent’s ‘block’ wants to bring in more apartments, and [my opponent] talked about Nassau Bay becoming a part of Houston. I do not want to lose our city charter. My opponent was a strong supporter of the unpopular COVID[-19] restrictions. My opponent wants to spend more money on the very unpopular statue across from the Hilton, but then voted against additional playground equipment. There were many issues with code enforcement, and the former city manager. I wrote to City Council, and while the mayor and [council members Phil] Johnson, [Don] Matter, [Bryce] Klug and [Sandra] Mossman replied with attempts to help or resolve issues, I never heard from my opponent. So I decided we need someone who is more in touch with residents and will stop additional fast food and gas stations, or urbanization of our jewel in the Bay.
What is the most important issue facing Nassau Bay, and how would you address it?
While flooding [and] infrastructure are always top problems, we do have projects underway to address those issues and would continue to champion these efforts. Top complaints I hear are: encroaching urbanization, loss of neighborhood charm, removed landscaping not replaced and lost retail (quaint shops and art venues, which happened under my opponent's tenure). I'm opposed to more apartments, gas stations or fast food in front of Nassau Bay. The modern lamps and statue across from the Hilton are extremely unpopular. I pledge to address all these issues and attract retail/art installations that celebrate NASA history and maintain a theme of an upscale, nautical, suburb founded for NASA and the astronauts. Preserve our jewel on the Bay.
What makes you the best candidate for this position?
My father came to work for NASA in 1969 and ran the travel office. He gave the Astronauts the ''First Tickets to the Moon.'' I’m sentimental about preserving Nassau Bay as an upscale nautical community created for NASA employees. As a retired business owner [and] former CEO/COO, I bring 30 years of executive management experience at corporations, including Universal Studios. I have managed budgets in excess of $70 million, supervised over 70 department heads and 3,000-plus employees. I was a past member of [the] Space Center Rotary and Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce. Currently, I am Harris County Presiding Judge for Precinct 307; [part of the] Queens Court [Homeowners Association], [a] Garden Club Member and [Harris County Republican Party] Precinct Chair for Nassau Bay/Swan Lagoon/Bal Harbour. I have the time and vision to preserve our jewel on the Bay.
