FBN Coverage of Tunstalls Visit to MC City Council Monday

The Politics Of Tax Breaks And Land Development
Fort Bend Politics

By Bob Dunn

When Kevin Tunstall approached the microphone at Monday night’s Missouri City Council meeting, the District C council candidate hadn’t completed two full sentences before Mayor Allen Owen stopped him.

“Let me caution you,” the mayor said, “I will not allow a political speech” during a council session. It was as if everything that happens before a city council or county commission doesn’t carry political overtones, especially less than a month away from an election.

The subject of Tunstall’s comments, for instance.

He was there to talk about this arcane economic development tool called a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. And it turns out that the theory and practice of creating such TIRZs is fraught with political implications, since TIRZs go hand-in-hand with land developers. And in Fort Bend County, as everywhere else, it seems land developers go hand-in-hand with politicians.

Tunstall said he’d been prompted to study up on the concept of a TIRZ, after two other Missouri City residents – one a past political candidate and the other a current council candidate – had approached council at consecutive recent meetings to suggest a TIRZ should be used to attract business and development along Texas Parkway and Cartwright Road. Council members suggested the two citizens were short on facts about TIRZs and how they operate. . .

(Get more by clicking the title link above)--

Reform Candidate Griffin Announces for Missouri City Council (click on the title link for this FBN exclusive)--

Fort Bend Now Reports On Griffin Race For Council Seat!
Rodney Griffin Files For Mo. City Council District A

by Special To FortBendNow, Mar 07, 2007, 06 23 am

Rodney Griffin, a 27-year Missouri City home and business owner, officially filed for City Council District A on Feb. 12, after what he said was years of being urged by his neighbors across all east Missouri City.

That position now is held by incumbent Missouri City Councilwoman Eunice Reiter.

“I believe in this community but know it can be better. My wife and best friend Jan West, an executive with the Urban League, and I chose to start our family here shortly after we married nearly 30 years ago,” Griffin said. “We raised our four children here and today are the proud grandparents of six grandchildren. Most important to us is our work with our neighbors to insure far east Missouri City again is the best community this country can offer for raising a family and for building businesses.” . . .


Get more at:

http://www.fortbendweb.com/webapp/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=viewnews&id=741#topcomment

http://griffinforcouncil.blogspot.com/


Comment-- Many of you remember that the incumbent in district A of Mo-City voted in support of the landfill agreement and the up to 2700 apartments scheduled for our community (with the first 250+ going in currently across from the Sienna Pkwy MC firestation).