NRH Citizens Group Endorses Candidates for May NRH Elections

Report by:  Ron West

        During the meeting last evening, members of the NRH Citizens Group had a chance to meet and ask tough questions of the candidates seeking group endorsement.  From the reactions of the group, it was very evident that virtually everyone there was pleased with the responses from the candidates.

        The candidates are:

                Suzette Christopher for City Council Place 1 -  Suzette ran for Mayor last year and missed unseating the current Mayor by less than 200 votes.  She is articulate and knowledgeable on city issues and a very strong proponent of private property rights.  Suzette has her own website up at:  http://www.suzettechristopher.org   She will be opposing John Lewis who was an opponent of the Senior Tax Freeze and a supporter of the obnoxious RV Ordinances that were repealed after the last City Council election.  John Lewis has also stated his support of the abusive use of eminent domain for North East Mall.

                 John Martin for City Council Place 3 - John is a newcomer to local politics but has been a resident of NRH for several years.  He decided to step up to the task after seeing first hand how the local elected officials deal unfairly with the citizens.  He has a back ground in accounting with work experience with major CPA firms.  He owns and operates his own small business distributing massage products in Haltom City.  John will bring invaluable accounting knowledge to the budgeting process in NRH.  He will be opposing Suzy Compton, the recent Trevino appointee to the council.  Unlike Suzy who has declined to state any position on the runaway spending and ever increasing taxes in our city, John is not a public employee and is totally independent of any governmental body.

             Maurice Siskel, Jr. for City Council Place 5 - Maury is a retired citizen of NRH that became active in local politics when he saw the city's abusive approach to the RV issue.  (He doesn't own an RV or boat.)  He has a voracious appetite for detail and actively follows world political activity.  He is opposed to the use of eminent domain and will bring a voice of civility to our council.  He wants genuine interaction between city government and residents -- not just helpless observation.   Maury will be opposing David Whitson who calls himself a "bean counter" because of his proclaimed accounting background.  When I hear that, I wonder how Mr. Whitson missed the over $2,000,000 slush fund on page 279 of the current budget - or - was he just comfortable giving our City Manager over $2,000,000 to spend as he sees fit?

            Kerry L. West for City Council Place 7 - Kerry is a Systems Engineer with a computer systems board manufacturer.  A Bachelor of Business Administration graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, and - with obvious personal pride from me - my son and prior supporter.  He is a strong believer in honesty in government and in private property rights.  He has helped in prior campaigns with efforts to reign in the runaway spending in our city and fought actively for both the Senior Tax Freeze and the repeal of the noxious RV ordinances.  He believes strongly in the rights of the citizens to participate in government and in their rights to expect responsive government.  He is also a champion of the rights of small business in our city and believes that the city needs to be more friendly to small business owners.  Kerry believes that conflicts of interest within the council are counter productive to the interests of our citizens. He will be opposing Tim Welch who's engineering firm contracts with a number of entities that do business with governmental agencies.  Tim has had to excuse himself from voting on several issues due to these conflicts of interest.

    All of the above candidates fought for the passage of the Senior/Disabled Tax Freeze that was passed last year despite vigorous (and possibly illegal) opposition from the sitting candidates they are opposing.

    Folks - this is our chance to elect City Council Members that are not a rubber stamp for Mayor Trevino and City Manager Cunningham.  It is our opportunity to open our government to the view of the tax paying citizens.  It is an opportunity to reign in runaway spending and maybe even see small tax reductions in the future.  Bottom line - we have a chance to truly make NRH a City of Choice rather than a city controlled by aristocratic special interest groups.

        The NRH Citizens Group is collecting the required signatures to place these folks on the ballot and the petition is open to any registered voter in North Richland Hills.  If you would like to help by signing their petition, please contact:

Herb Parsons Vice - President/Web Master 817.498.5968 webmaster@parsonsys.com

Roy D. Sculley Group Organizer 817.485.0268 agla5004@aol.com

Either of these gentlemen will get someone to you with a petition for you to sign.

    Support for these candidates is being raised by a legal non-profit Political Action Committee.  Just click on the following link if you can and would like to help insure victory for the "little people of NRH" that have been ignored too long

       Ron West Organization Political Action Committee