Four candidates are running for the two open seats on Tomball City Council. While Council races in Magnolia are uncontested, there will be a new face joining them this year. Unopposed candidate Jo Ann Schermerhorn was appointed to Position 4 on March 5. Tomball councilmembers serve three-year terms; Magnolia councilmembers serve two-year terms.
Magnolia: Position 4
Jo Ann Schermerhorn, Retired, Former director of the planning committee.
Q. What do you think should be the top priority for Magnolia over the next two years?
A. Just the overall growth of the city—beautification of the community and neighborhoods as well as improvements to the services we offer.
Q. What contributions will you bring to the City Council?
A. At this point there isn't anything specific I want to address. Now that I have time on my hands, I thought I could be a part of City Council so I could contribute something to decisions that affect the city.
Q. Where do you hope to see the city two years from now?
A. I would like to see new businesses come in along with just general growth and improvement. There are so many things going on at this point. I look forward to being able to help contribute to the betterment of the city in any way that I can.
Tomball: Position 2
Mark Stoll, Regional Manager for Sika Sarnafil, a commercial roofing manufacturer; Served on planning commission and the economic development board
Q. What do you think should be the top priority for the City of Tomball over the next two years?
A. The city needs to continue replacing older utility infrastructure—water and sewer lines—in some of the older areas of Tomball with newer materials. We need to also continue implementing our Comprehensive and Downtown Specific Plan so that we have a focus on future growth.
Q. What contributions will you bring to the City Council?
A. My knowledge that I have acquired over the years on [the planning commission, economic development board and City Council] allows me to use my business skills and my common sense to work through issues and projects.
Q. Where do you hope to see the city three years from now?
A. I would like to see the City of Tomball continue to grow with more retail and light industrial jobs. I would also like to see the city continuing to implement our Capital Improvement Projects but also not increasing our tax rate's substantially.
Barbara Tague, Retired, Director, Downtown Tomball Merchants Association, served on the Tomball planning commission, founder of Tomball Republican Women
Q. What do you think should be the top priority for the City of Tomball over the next two years?
A. An increased and diversified tax base is critical for positive, sustained growth. A balance between business reinvestment and economic development with improvement of our city infrastructure is necessary to increase our tax base. The benefit is more jobs and sales and property tax income.
Q. What contributions will you bring to the City Council?
A. I have developed relationships with county, state and federal officials to advocate for our town. I won't have a learning curve because I am informed about issues that affect Tomball through my service on commissions and attending Council meetings since 2000.
Q. Where do you hope to see the city three years from now?
A. Tomball will have sustained residential growth balanced by business growth. Tomball will have vibrant [downtown] entertainment and shopping districts. Business and industry will have created more jobs, thus growing the tax base and allowing for a healthy city budget.
Tomball: Position 4
Derek Townsend Sr., U.S. Central Regional Manager for Control Technologies, Volunteer firefighter, active member of the First Baptist Church of Tomball
Q. What do you think should be the top priority for the City of Tomball over the next two years?
A. The city manager and staff will continue to improve the processes and procedures that we have seen over the past 18 months. We must focus on drainage and concentrate on making the main streets of Tomball more visibly attractive, "Hometown pride."
Q. What contributions will you bring to the City Council?
A.I will continue to contribute by evaluating issues through investigations, research and help make the best decisions for our community. My 30 years of experience in mobility, management and municipal operations establishes my foundation as a proven leader and a team player.
Q. Where do you hope to see the city three years from now?
A. As funding becomes available—no taxes without citizen approval—we should be working toward completing all drainage projects. I would like to see Council continue to work toward making our town more inviting to new citizens and businesses.
Jeffie Cappadonna, Serves on Tomball's tourism advisory committee, active in parent-teacher organizations and booster clubs
Q. What do you think should be the top priority for the City of Tomball over the next two years?
A. Growth. Will we be ready for it, or bury our heads in the sand? We must spend our limited resources preparing for expected growth, not trying to solve world issues. We must have a strong economic development team that is positive and upbeat to oversee the changes that are coming.
Q. What contributions will you bring to the City Council?
A. The role of a council member is not to dominate the discussion, not always be first to speak or force ideas on others, but to listen to the other council members' opinions and staff recommendations with an open mind, ask questions and make the decision that is best for Tomball.
Q. Where do you hope to see the city three years from now?
A. We must actively work to highlight Tomball and encourage people to live, work, and shop here. My commitment to the voters is that I will spend the next three years helping promote Tomball in a positive light. Everyone wants to live in a happy town, including me.
