Q&A: Get to know the candidates vying for Harris County ESD 11 commissioner

What inspired you to run for this office, and what qualifications do you possess?

For the past 18 years, the previous department has manipulated and supported their own candidates for their own financial gain. The current commissioners also need to be held accountable for their actions, as there has been serious oversight with financial accountability to the residents on the current state of ESD 11. I am able to bring real-world experience when it comes to being financially responsible and providing emergency medicine knowledge to the ESD 11 board of commissioners.

What would be your top priorities if elected?

I want to help mold the future of ESD 11 and repair the current problems within ESD 11’s communication and dispatch system. We currently use Sonim cellular devices that fire departments, and EMS field staff have reported that they cannot communicate efficiently. As EMS responders, we need a radio system to enhance interoperability and facilitate communications with fire departments. Our current use of the Logis CAD dispatch system hasn’t been used in Harris County, and it lacks the necessary information needed in an emergency situation, such as preplans for apartments and businesses. Fire departments have worked hundreds of hours to prepare and upkeep these preplans that are essential to emergency responders.

What are the biggest challenges now facing residents in ESD 11, and how do you plan to address them?

I will shed light to the residents on the current systems being utilized by the first responders as there was no input from the community. There is a serious disconnect between the current commissioners and the residents of the ESD 11 community. I hope to bridge this gap as an ESD 11 commissioner.

With ESD 11 Mobile Healthcare still in its first year of operation, what measures will you take to help ensure residents within the district receive optimal emergency services?

I’ll halt the current $50 million development and utilize that to increase from 10 ambulances to 30 ambulances running 24 hours. We’ll partner with the fire departments to decrease response times, bring back blood products, and partner with Life Flight so our paramedics receive the highest level of training. Our current dispatch system is ineffective and provides a communication gap with our fire departments. The communication system will change, to prevent gaps and delays that can cost lives.

What are the largest effects of the COVID-19 pandemic you have seen in ESD 11, and what role do you believe local government entities should play in addressing the pandemic?

During the pandemic, the largest effect from the current ESD 11 commissioners was the defunding of EMS. I lead the initiative to obtain [controlled air-purifying respirators] to be utilized in the field for added respiratory protection. The commissioners spent thousands of dollars in litigations, instead of providing additional personal protective equipment, testing and/or vaccinations to the first responders, such as the Montgomery County Hospital District and Houston Fire Department. We need commissioners that are more concerned with the residents and employees than their own personal gains.

What inspired you to run for this office, and what qualifications do you possess?

Cypress Creek EMS took more than 30 minutes to get to a very close friend’s 3-year-old that was not breathing. This was inexcusable. After doing research and finding out this was a long-standing, ongoing issue in many parts of ESD 11 and also finding out the huge amount of apparent fraud and theft of taxpayer money by CCEMS, it was time for me to do what I could to end the corruption and terrible EMS response in ESD 11. It has taken me the greater part of 15 years to affect change in ESD 11, most of it coming in the last two years.

What would be your top priorities if elected?

Continue growing the amazing new ESD 11 Mobile Health Care service that we, the current ESD 11 board, put in place just over a year ago. Continue to be overly transparent with the spending of taxpayer money and show that the decision to create the ESD 11 Mobile Health Care ambulance service was the best decision for the community. Continue to make sure ESD 11 is providing the best medics, support staff, facilities, technology, equipment, vehicles, etc. for the taxpayers and visitors in ESD 11. Continue to evaluate the EMS needs of the area, so we can stay ahead of our rapidly growing district.

What are the biggest challenges now facing residents in ESD 11, and how do you plan to address them?

The biggest challenges facing residents of ESD 11 is not letting the ESD 11 board be taken over by bad actors, thieves, and cronies of the former, now bankrupt, CCEMS. There were many people and companies receiving very questionable contracts worth millions of dollars that would like to see things go back to the way things were. I will not allow that to happen when re-elected.

What inspired you to run for this office, and what qualifications do you possess?

I have lived my entire life in Spring. I have a passion for public safety and have continued to watch the growth and change in our emergency services over the last decade. I felt this was a great opportunity to help continue the growth of ESD 11. I was an emergency edical technician in college. I have a bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State [University] anmd have experience running several small companies.

What would be your top priorities if elected?

To help facilitate the continued growth of ESD 11 with quality service while maintaining one of the lowest ESD tax rates in the area. Continuing a forward path already in motion to increase the number of ambulances on the road, response times and high levels of prehospital care for our community. Maintaining a responsible budget and working with the executive staff to ensure proper resources are being received from the board while being a good steward of taxpayer dollars.

What are the biggest challenges now facing residents in ESD 11, and how do you plan to address them?

Change. Many people don’t realize the change that has taken place over the last year with the local EMS provider. Misinformation, rumors and politics have been distracting from what is being accomplished. I plan to listen, educate and make the best decisions for the community.

What inspired you to run for this office, and what qualifications do you possess?

I’m running as a taxpayer watchdog. I had no idea what happened with the situation of Cypress Creek EMS being removed as the EMS provider for my area. I thought CCEMS lost the contract and it was awarded to another existing ambulance service. I called 911 on Nov. 6, 2021, when my 78-year-old mother collapsed at her hair salon and was unconscious. ESD 11 responded to the call. I was shocked and horrified with the ESD 11 911 operator and the EMTs that arrived on scene. I relayed my experience and concern to the emergency room staff at Methodist Willowbrook where my mother was taken. They told me that ESD 11 already had the reputation of being incompetent. I did my homework following this experience and discovered that the ESD 11 Board is running itself at taxpayers’ expense without oversight from anyone.

What would be your top priorities if elected?

Make the public aware of how the ESD 11 board operates and make sure this board becomes accountable to the taxpayers.They currently give themselves an open checkbook of taxpayer dollars. Stop the spending of millions of taxpayer dollars without putting it to vote by the taxpayers. Stop the awarding of ESD 11 contracts to board members’ families (blatant conflicts of interest).

What are the biggest challenges now facing residents in ESD 11, and how do you plan to address them?

Calling 911 and ESD 11 responding is like playing Russian roulette. We don’t know if we are going to get proper emergency care. Currently, I’d rather drive my loved one to the hospital instead of calling 911 and ESD 11 responding.

What inspired you to run for this office, and what qualifications do you possess?

The last couple of years have shown the current commissioners do not have the public's best interest at heart. The clinical care has declined significantly, and our citizens do not have access to medical resources they previously did. Not only have the commissioners spent your tax dollars on this upstart service, but they continue to spend millions in legal fees to go after the previous provider. I continue to be amazed at how the commissioners treat the public. My experience in EMS leadership, operations and clinical care allows me to ask the right questions and provide transparency to the public.

What would be your top priorities if elected?

Provide transparency regarding the millions of dollars spent irresponsibly to create a new EMS system that has not gained the community anything at all. I will ask intelligent questions of the current EMS administration regarding their daily operations and clinical care provided to the citizens.

What are the biggest challenges now facing residents in ESD 11, and how do you plan to address them?

ESD 11 residents have lost access to quality clinical care they previously had. They no longer will receive blood administration if they are critically injured, they do not have access to Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center, the nation's top level-1 trauma center, and our citizens are in millions of dollars of debt. There is a significant amount of misinformation being put out by the current commissioners that no one has the ability to correct or provide accurate data on. I provide EMS experience that is needed on this board to make sure the best care is being provided at a reasonable cost.