Candidates for Katy City Council met at a forum hosted by Cane Island in the community’s multipurpose room Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. The event was facilitated by State Rep. Mike Schofield, R-Katy, who asked five questions of each candidate in addition to allowing them to make opening and closing remarks. Schofield said he was glad audience members had come to the forum because of the effect local elections would have on their lives. “We all like to get excited about presidential elections but at the end of the day the level of government that actually impacts your life most frequently and most directly is local government,” he said. All of the candidates said they support the proposed $19.5 million bond package that the city is proposing for the May ballot. The bonds, if passed, will pay for a variety of drainage improvements throughout the city, as well as the expansion of the city’s sewer treatment facility to accommodate the city’s growth. At large position  Larry Gore and Chris Harris, candidates for the city’s at large city council position, began the event and answered questions related to drainage, the bonds, and maintaining the city’s legacy in the face of the growth the city is currently experiencing. They also were asked to tell the audience why they were running. Gore said that his prior experience on city council, working for other municipalities and running his own business made him well-qualified to hold the council position. Harris said that his experience on various committees with the city and school district gave him related experience and that coming to the council as someone with no previous city council experience would bring new ideas to the city’s governing body. “It’s refreshing to have someone new come into [city] council, that’s why we have term limits in the city,” Harris said. Gore said he was running because he felt that God had called him to serve, while Harris said he was running to preserve Katy’s small-town legacy for his children. Gore said that, while he was in favor of the bond package, he wanted to make sure the funds were spent responsibly. He pointed out the example of Katy ISD’s new Legacy Stadium exceeding its initial cost by millions of dollars as an example. “Yes, we do need this bond,” Gore said. “But we also need someone who will be there who will not rubber stamp anything but will make sure that kind of money is spent appropriately.” Ward A position  Incumbent Ray Boothe and retired IT consultant Janet Corte are both running for the seat representing Katy’s Ward A. The two contenders responded to questions regarding their qualifications, lowering property taxes, traffic and why they were running for office. Boothe said that he supported lowering the tax rate if it was done responsibly because that money belonged to the residents, and if the city had a large reserve there was no reason to tax residents. Corte said residents she has been speaking with during her campaign have been complaining about high taxes, but those complaints are related to taxes levied by Katy ISD, not city property taxes. She said she would be in favor of keeping the tax rate as it is and using the funds to address resident concerns. “Some people have said – we have cut the tax rate by 4 cents. I’d rather [the city] keep that 4 cents and let’s rework the trash contract; let’s fix that sewer line; let’s get a street light somewhere,” Corte said. Corte cited her success as a project manager in bringing people together to get a job done as the primary reason she is qualified for the position. Boothe discussed his experience on city council, experience serving on city boards and running an insurance agency with his wife as qualifications. To address increasing traffic congestion as the city grows, Boothe said widening roads and ensuring increased easy access to I-10 would help alleviate the issue. Corte said she had no plan for transportation but felt that the city needs to consider mass transit options to reduce the number of cars on the roads while still allowing people to move freely. In closing statements for their portion of the forum, Corte said that she had recently retired and was no longer raising children and would have the time to dedicate to the city to make sure she did a quality job as a council member. Boothe said he felt he could serve the city and move it to a better customer service position by promoting common sense and compassion. “I believe life is bigger than just going after your own thing and we all need to give back in some shape or form,” Boothe said. Ward B position Incumbent Durran Dowdle answered questions alongside his opponent for the Ward B seat, retired police officer Sam Pearson. The pair faced questions about their qualifications, the future of Katy, incentives to attract large companies and how they would approach drainage outside of the proposed bond package. Dowdle pointed out his four years on the city council, his experience in corporate management in the chemical manufacturing and construction industries and 11 years of service on various boards as qualifications. Pearson said he knew how to investigate problems to find truth and had experience on the Katy Planning and Zoning Commission and in other jobs analyzing city planning. Both Dowdle and Pearson said incentives were an important tool to draw large employers to Katy as long as the incentives were properly managed. Pearson expressed concerns regarding giving too much control over city affairs to incoming developers while Dowdle expressed confidence in City Manager Byron Hebert’s negotiating skills which helped bring organizations such as Bucc-ee’s and Amazon to Katy. “Incentives are always used to help. If negotiated properly where we’re not giving away too much, they’re fine,” Pearson said. Pearson said Katy needed to learn from cities like Stafford when it comes to the city’s future. Stafford’s growth had been managed well to bring in large companies that could take the tax burden off residents while still improving city services like fire and police. Dowdle agreed with Pearson and said that he felt the city was on the right track and it was important to build a commercial tax base for the city, which was something he had worked on during his time on the council. “We needed to get commercial property,” Dowdle said. “We need to have an aggressive campaign to go down I-10 and gather property so we can build that commercial base.”