Owen, Poats hold differing views on Missouri City’s future
By DIANE TEZENO
The Missouri City mayoral race has drawn two candidates – incumbent Allen Owen and challenger Greyling Poats - each with differing views and plans for the city’s future.
The upcoming May city elections will be the second time the two have faced off for the city’s top spot. The first time was in May 2006. Owens won the race with 68.55 percent of the vote to Poats 31.45 percent.
Owen has held the mayor’s seat since 1994. Poats, a local insurance agency professional, has lived in Missouri City for 26 years.
Each candidate was given an opportunity to respond in his own words to a series of questions to enlighten voters on his plans for the city’s future.
Q. What are the top priorities of your campaign platform?
A. Owen
The top priorities of my campaign are basically the same they have been since I took office 22 years ago - to promote the city of Missouri City as a place that people want to call home and to provide the quality of life that is necessary to do so. That involves public safety, air and water quality, a good mixture of residential and commercial growth, and to continue to work towards replacing or at least reducing property taxes with sales taxes. That can only be done by continuing to attract commercial and retail businesses. I also want to see the Quail Valley Country Club issue resolved with as small an impact to the community as possible. I want to see us continuing working with our consultants on developing a master plan for the Texas Parkway/Cartwright Road corridors that will redevelop and vitalize that part of the City that serves as one of the gateways to our community.
A. Poats
My top priorities will be within the corporate city limits of Missouri City. I will work to revitalize our current subdivisions. I will work to revitalize Texas Parkway, Cartwright Road and FM 1092 by bringing new businesses and assisting current center owners and businesses in upgrading their investments. I will work to have the amenities that define a city in Missouri City for the use of our citizens.
Q. What is your vision for Missouri City's future?
A: Owen
My vision for the City is one of being a premiere place to live and work. I see us growing to well over 125,000 people in the next 10 years and we need to be prepared for that. We have aging infrastructure that will need replacing - streets, side-walks, park improvements, and adding the necessary police and fire personnel to keep up with that growth. We will truly embrace the "Show Me" slogan as we begin to attract major employers and industry to our area. This will provide many new jobs as well as stimulate the housing market, while we may see other areas of the State and country not do as well.
A: Poats
My vision is for Missouri City to be the premier city in the state of Texas and in a very short time the premier city in the United States. We have the people and the diversity to attain this goal. I will utilize the many positive ideas of our citizens and stop dealing in antiquated ideas where the interest of one segment of our citizenry or one subdivision’s interest is above the rest of the city’s.
Q. What are some of the concerns expressed by Missouri City residents that you have plans to respond to?
A. Owen
My concerns are how we keep ahead of the growth so we do not lag behind and find ourselves trying to catch up. Replacing that aging infrastructure gradually and as we can afford to do so. Making sure that our staffing is adequate in all areas of the City, and especially public safety. Making sure that we have adequate fresh water for our future will be a tremendous task and one we prepared for over 10 years ago. We will have to start treating ground water before it enters our streams and this will be a costly measure, yet necessary one to provide our future generation with clean water.
A. Poats
Within the corporate city limits of Missouri City, council has failed to address the basic needs of our citizens. Highway 6 at Lakeshore Harbour has needed a traffic light. Gessner in the Colony Crossing needs a traffic light. I will protect our children and citizens by first taking care of our basic needs. We will install sidewalks to assist our children who have to walk to school. Our police department will further its efforts to serve and protect our citizens. We are not going to over commercialize Highway 6. Our fire department will be the best in the area.
Q. What characteristics does the city have to be proud of as "The Show Me City"?
A. Owen
As we adopted the "Show Me" slogan earlier last year, we did so saying that we truly do have things to show. We have a highly educated, highly paid, very diverse population that will continue to attract people who want to be part of our City. We will work through the Quail Valley Country Club issue and end up showing people 400 more acres of beautiful green space, water features, mature trees, and an opportunity for everyone to enjoy some part of it. Diversity is the strongest asset we have. We live, work, and play together in a healthy environment that has proven to be our best known strength. We will continue to do that even as we reach a population almost twice what it is today.
A. Poats
We need to be proud of our people. We have a very diverse population and a very good income level in our city, but we don’t work with the people within the corporate city limits. We focus upon minutia instead of focusing on the large things. The large things we need to focus on are our citizens and our children. What are the amenities we have as a city? Why don’t we have real theatre, why don’t we have movie theaters? We have been here long enough to have those things, to have culture. We are focused on Quail Valley which is very good, but why did Quail Valley go down? I believe the answer to that question is that the mayor and his contemporaries have not been proactive, they’ve been reactive. We are going to be a proactive administration, wherein we look at things and try to work with those things now. We want to enhance the wonderful things that we have and then look to add to things in Missouri City.
Q. What areas need improving to make it the "The Show Me City"
A. Owen
We have an aging infrastructure that will need replacing, such as streets, sidewalks, park improvements, and adding the necessary police and fire personnel to keep up with that growth.
A. Poats
Drive around, look at the gateway of the City. Drive around and look at the strip centers on 2234 and on Cartwright Road. Look at how people are really in morose. Why is it that in every facet of the city people are arguing? Quail Valley argues because of the golf course; First Colony argues because of sidewalks; FM 2234 and Cartwright Road residents are arguing because of the way it looks. The subdivisions are arguing because they are not getting any assistance from the city or any direction from the city on what they should do and how they should do it. Our mobility plans are not in place for the city? Those are the things that need improving.
. . . Q. What will you focus on in the first six months should you be reelected?
A. Owens
We will work through the Quail Valley Country Club issue and end up showing people 400 more acres of beautiful green space, water features, mature trees, and an opportunity for everyone to enjoy some part of it.
A. Poats
My initial focus will be on the health and safety of our citizens. Traffic signals, sidewalks and children’s safety will be the initial undertakings. Concurrently, I will make Texas Parkway’s appearance reflective of the gateway entrance of the greatest city in Texas. I will bring business to Cartwright Road and FM 1092 that reflect the character and values of all Missouri City residents. I will determine where the money from past bond issues has gone and establish and use line item spending for new bond proposals. I will work to bring back community pride and that feeling one has when you know any venture you take on can be accomplished. I will have the citizens of Missouri City knowing their elected officials are working on their behalf and not some entity who may come to Missouri City for that entities financial gain to the detriment of our citizens. I will push for term limits. I will bring back civility, credibility and accountability to the Mayor’s office. I will initiate the work to increase property values. My focus will be proactive, not reactive as things are done with the present office holder.
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MCC Comment: Apparently Mr. Owen believes his administrations neglect of the 1092, Cartwright and TX Pkwy corridors, support for the expanding landfill, loss of the hospital and continued catering to the special interests is due more time since his taking office nearly 2-3 decades ago?
Labels: Council Cronyism, ethics, Term Limits
