While Boyer finished second in the crowded race with four candidates in May, he finished with roughly half as many votes as the leader, Layni Cade. Boyer accumulated 23% of the vote in May; Cade garnered about 46%.
With a few days left until election day, Boyer spoke with Community Impact Newspaper to elaborate on his priorities if elected. Early voting for the runoff election on Pearland City Council’s Position 5 seat will last through June 7. Election day is June 11.
Lowering tax burden
One of Boyer’s goals that he has campaigned on is decreasing the tax strain on Pearland residents, he said. Boyer said he wishes to decrease the burden by increasing Pearland’s homestead tax exemption from 2.5%, which provides relief to homeowners, he said.
“I think property taxes are equivalent to no true ownership of property,” Boyer told Community Impact Newspaper. “However, by the end of my term, I want people to feel they aren't being taxed out of their homes. The benefit of this exemption gives our homeowners a break.”
Boyer said he does not have a specific percentage in his head that is perfect for the tax exemption, but he said the past few years have been tough on everyone. If elected, his goal is to get the government to work for the people and cut their taxes, he said.
Human trafficking issues
Another issue Boyer said he wishes to prioritize if he is elected is establishing tough ordinances against human trafficking within Pearland’s limits. In April, Boyer said he wants to provide resources to the Pearland Police Department to combat it.
“Human and drug trafficking is terrible, and none of our residents should be victims of these horrendous crimes,” Boyer said.
Boyer said he wishes to push for policy that includes bringing a specialized victim-centered approach to train Pearland officers to get the victims to outcry, or report their abuse to a person; drug recognition experts; mental health officers; and patrol officers.
“These initiatives have been used in communities around us and have put these criminals in jail,” Boyer said. “Pearland will send a message that we are not the town for your crimes.”
Partnering with local governments
Boyer said if he is elected to Pearland City Council, he wishes to work with local governments, such as Brazoria County and Brazoria Drainage District No. 4, to improve infrastructure in the city.
Three roads, in particular, Boyer mentioned that need to be focused on are Veterans Drive, O'Day Road and Walnut Street.
“Veterans isn't striped or properly lit. Walnut and O'Day are like driving in a field with holes at 40 miles per hour,” Boyer said. “I want to work with them to help build our infrastructure up as we are taxpaying residents of these districts.”
Boyer also wants to focus on the Lower Kirby District, a 1,200-acre mixed-use development in West Pearland, and make sure it is ready to attract any potential big companies that could have interest in opening a facility in the city, he said.
“We just did a zone change from an industrial community to planned development, which forces our industrial community to shrink,” Boyer said. “Are we OK with turning a company like Tesla away? The job creation, tax revenue and diversifying our tax portfolio were not taken into perspective.”
To read about Boyer's challenger, Cade, in the runoff election, click here.
