James Thompson is finishing his third term as the mayor of Sugar Land, but he began his career in public service more than 30 years ago. Before being elected in 2008, Thompson served on City Council for nine years—two terms as a district council member and two terms in an at-large capacity. Thompson said he plans to run for his final term as mayor in the May 2014 election.

Thompson and his wife, Gay, first moved to Sugar Land in 1978 to start their life together in First Colony. At the time, the community was only beginning to develop.

A few years after moving to the area, a neighbor asked Thompson if he would be interested in serving his community by running for the board of directors with Municipal Utility District 12—one of the first MUDs in the nearby unincorporated area. Thompson won the election and began what would become a long-term career of community service.

What makes Sugar Land a distinctive place to work and live?

There has been a lot of discussion about [Fort Bend County's] diversity. Sugar Land truly is the mosaic of what the future of this country is going to look like. We have a highly educated populous. We are very business orientated, and another thing would be our quality of life. To talk about entertainment, we have the Skeeters, we are moving forward with the Performing Arts Center and we have plenty of public space. I think our residents probably get the best value for the dollar. There is a real sense of community pride.

What are some of the challenges facing Sugar Land?

We recently opened our new surface water treatment plant. I can unequivocally say that we have all the water we need right now, but we will continue to focus on efforts to preserve this valuable resource. I think we need to work on our water sources. We have been very diligent about water conservation, but we must continue to focus on this area. Water conservation is our most powerful tool to maintain static water rates and prolong or possibly eliminate costly infrastructure expansions. The expansion of the cultural arts and tourism will be another challenge, [and] one subject that always comes up is traffic and mobility. You want to grow on one hand, but you want to keep the lifestyle the same.

What are your top priorities?

Ensuring a safe, reliable water supply for the future will be among our top priorities The charge of a municipality is No. 1 safety. We take our financial responsibility very seriously to help grow our business environment. One thing we have been very aggressive about under my administration is our infrastructure—street repair, sidewalk repair, drainage issues. A priority I have had in recent years is promoting the arts. We are creating an art commission to look at the arts in a broader spectrum.

What do you enjoy most about the mayor position?

It has given me an opportunity to meet different people throughout my tenure. The benefit is in the relationships you develop dealing with heads of corporations and both state and national leaders. It gives you a broader perspective on how all the pieces fit together.