What are the three main reasons you are running for this office? Do you see any potential conflicts of interest?

1. Put the Board in control of the Residents.  Change the status quo of the Township Board being controlled by proxies of Development Companies & Montgomery County. 
2. Advocate against clear cutting and for keeping with tree preservation standards of the original George Mitchell vision.
3. Give residents of Harris County (Creekside Park) an active voice in our Township government.  All seats are at-large, of course, and I will represent all Woodlands residents to the best of my ability; but it certainly won’t hurt to have a one Harris County resident on the Board and get that unique perspective.

Oh, and Peggy Hausman asked me to run and has endorsed me.  This was a significant impetus to my deciding to run.

The only conflict of interest I can think of is on the North Shore Park renovation.  I love rowing on Lake Woodlands and am a member of the Woodlands Rowing Club.  If it came down to a vote to spend public funds on a new boathouse that would benefit the club (and my hobby), I would need to recuse myself from that vote.

What are the three main attributes that make you the most qualified for this position?

1. Proven track record of advocating for residents and taking on entrenched interests.  Exhibit A is our successful petition against clear cutting.  This was not about environmentalism or anti-development, but about enforcing a business contract to give us what we paid for when we bought our homes.  Exhibit B is helping Gordy use that same petition playbook to rally opposition to shoot down the May road bond.
2. Business savvy.  I negotiate business deals for a living and I will bring this skill set and experience to bear in making sure residents never get a raw deal from their government.
3. Government experience.  I had the unique opportunity early in my career of interning with the George W. Bush administration in Washington DC.  While there is plenty of dysfunction in DC, it was valuable for me to learn how to get things done at the highest levels of government.  I also observed how to fight political battles in an appropriate and effective way. I know I have a lot to learn about local issues and governmental procedures, but I will race up this learning curve and get up to speed quickly. 

What three changes would you like to see implemented by the Township?

1. Stop the back-room deal making and favors with the Development Company.  It’s time for the Board to grow up (politically) and start acting like a true representative elected body. 
2. Make the meeting schedules more conducive to constituent participation.  9AM on the Thursday pretty much excludes all working folks who aren’t self-employed.  We should make the meetings more accessible to these core, tax-paying constituents.
3. Increase the quality of reforestation efforts in Creekside Park and other new development areas.  We can’t directly control the clear cutting the Development Company is doing (in violation of their own stated rules), but we can make the forest buffers that we the Township replant look better.

List all civic, political or union organizations or individuals to whom you have contributed time or money in the last five years.

Romney Ryan 2012 presentation campaign.  Doctors without Borders.  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Habitat for Humanity Tajikistan.

Are you now or have you ever done business with any township and/or county official?

Nope!  Wouldn’t that be a nice change?

Are any of your family members employed by or working under contract to either The Woodlands Township or Montgomery County?

Nope.

List all individuals/groups you have represented or lobbied for before any governmental entity during the past five years.

None.

Have you ever been arrested? Ever had any tax liens? If so, start & resolution dates?

Nope.

The township budget funds all reserves 100% yearly. Should any surplus be returned to the residents or retained in a rainy day fund?

I would prefer to see the Township have a healthy rainy day fund.

Should the township be funding non-profit organization events such as Interfaith luncheons, senior pick-up services, Education for tomorrow luncheons, etc...with tax dollars.

No.  I believe the potential for conflicts of interest are too high, especially when you have leaders of these organizations running for public office while soliciting donations from The Development Company at the same time.  These organizations can get plenty of funding from their galas and other efforts. 

Do you consider the water taxi service an amenity in The Woodlands? If so what level of funding should be paid by taxpayer dollars?

If it can’t make money as a tourist attraction then there’s no reason to have it.  I don’t think the argument that these water taxis are a viable form of public transportation doesn’t hold water.  They are a tourist attraction that loses money, and there’s no reason to waste taxpayer money on them. 

Should the economic development reserve fund serve as a general fund, to go to multiple projects such as ice-rinks, museums, buildings, street repairs etc. or should it be a project specific only account?

I think it should be a project-specific account.  Look, if the purpose is economic development, then every project it funds should have its own business plan and projected return on investment.  This is the level of accountability we need.  And we need business savvy people analyzing these projects.

What is the standard the "Township" should set on general obligation debt?

I believe it should treat general obligation debt like a financially conservative blue-chip corporation does.  Some debt is appropriate when it will be used for fixed assets with a clearly defined depreciable life and a debt service coverage ratio that is ultra conservative.

Is the current amount of "county" debt a good or bad thing and why?

I don’t know the details on Montgomery County debt levels, but I believe with their current rating of Aa1 the structure and amounts of debt are probably not out of control.

Woodlands founder George Mitchell was arguably the godfather of "sustainable" communities and funded international meetings here to that end. What does that mean to you?

I never met Mr. Mitchell, but I wish I could have.  As I speak with close associates of his I am impressed by how highly they speak of him, his vision for our community, and his uncompromising stance on the execution of that vision.  During our Clear Cutting petition in Creekside Park this Spring, one thing that really struck me was that when the Chronicle was running a story on it. They interviewed The George Mitchell Foundation and the foundation was quoted as saying that if George Mitchell were alive, he would sign this petition. That just made me feel like I was, in some way, carrying the torch for what he envisioned for The Woodlands, and it felt good. I want to keep doing that because his vision is something special.

What are the 2 most pressing mobility issues in The Woodlands and what is your preferred solution to each?

1. Finish the bridges linking Creekside Park to the other Villages.  Between the new Montgomery County bond and the Harris County one, both these projects should be funded.  We will need to advocate to both counties to make sure they remain a priority.

2. 242 & Lake Woodlands improvements to turning lanes, etc.  These should be addressed in the new November bond.

Did you take a public position on the May 9, 2015 Road Bond, and if so, what was it? And in a few sentences, explain why.

I was actively and publicly opposed to the May 9th Bond.  I rallied my 2,000+ supporters on the Clear Cutting petition and encouraged them to support Gordy’s petition and vote NO on the bond.  I helped Gordy devise his social media strategies to make the opposition go viral and   There are a lot of good mobility projects that need to be completed, but Montgomery county judges thought they could stick a couple bad projects on there too and force them through.  Woodlands Parkway extension would have delivered yet another GIFT to the Development companies who lobby our Township and County officials.  The brazenness by which our elected officials tried to defy residents and force through a bad road bond was shocking.  You had Bruce Tough and Mike Bass adamantly telling residents to support the bond.  And you had the development company writing Op-Eds telling residents the same thing.  85% of Woodlands Residents came out against the bond and it was a huge victory for resident advocacy…and a huge wake-up call for our establishment politicians.  Now we have Judge Doyal saying he’s going to force through the Parkway extension any way and fund it by other means.  What planet does this guy live on?  Even if he gets the developers to pay for it initially, we the taxpayers will still pick up the tab for maintenance on the road we clearly don’t want.  This battle is far from over, and I’m willing to fight it as many times as it takes.

Explain what a RUD is and it's use, if any, to the community of The Woodlands. Also address any negatives.

The RUD is the strange legacy animal that levies a tax on businesses around the town center and spends those funds to build out the road system of The Woodlands.  Our road system would not be what it is today without the RUD.   It has served its purpose reasonably well in getting the roads built, but it is a very undemocratic vehicle to do so.  I think with The Woodlands reaching build-out we can phase out the RUD in the next several years. 

Should Township directors serve at large or represent specific villages (districts)?

I believe it would be preferable for Directors to be elected by District.  The challenges facing Creekside Park are different from those facing Grogan’s Mill or the other Villages.  Having Village-specific representation would ensure these diverse needs are identified and advocated for on the Board.  Village-specific representation would also make it harder for the Development Company to continue to influence elections and maintain Board control for themselves.

Are you active with any Tea Party or conservative grassroots organization? If so, list which, how long and what capacity? If not, what's your opinion of Tea Party groups here as to their effectiveness?

Not currently.

Do you think The Woodlands should become a city or remain unincorporated? Why?

We need to look at incorporation sooner rather than later.  The Woodlands is consistently rated as the #1 City in Texas...but we're not even a city!  There is a lot of fear mongering on the part the Development Company (and their elected allies) about incorporation because they don't want to have their plans inconvenienced by city-controlled zoning and ordinances.  Cost concerns with incorporation are valid, but with careful business planning these can be mitigated or even neutralized. 

I know there are additional costs with incorporation, but there are also additional fee-based revenue options.  I’m interested in the NET number.  Also, I really don’t think all the cities around us that have fully incorporated regret doing so.  Only with incorporation will residents gain true control over our community.  Isn't it time we govern ourselves?

In this role, you'll be representing both the community & businesses. In the event of a conflict with the Woodlands Development corporation how would handling this situation?

From my track records, it should be pretty clear that when it comes down to Residents versus the Development Company, I fight hard on the side of the residents every time.