Early Voting Started Monday For City Councils, School Boards, Bond Issue
by Bob Dunn, Apr 30, 2007, 06 53 am

Early voting for the May 12 elections started Monday in Fort Bend County, where a constitutional amendment, $156 million mobility bond and several city council and school board seats are at stake.

Anyone eligible to vote in the election is eligible to vote early. Locations around the county open Monday morning. Check at the Fort Bend County Elections web site for schedules and locations. Voters may check here to find their voting precinct and a sample ballot.

Citizens have the opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment, Proposition 1, that would give senior citizens and disabled people the same property tax reductions that other Texas property owners received a year ago. Wording in the proposition is somewhat confusing, but voting “yes” for the measure means voting in favor of reducing the property tax rate for seniors and the disabled.

Mo. City Council Candidates Debate Issues At Forum, Reveal Business News
by Bob Dunn, Apr 20, 2007, 08 10 am

Most challengers for Missouri City Council slots called for change and cited complacency during a Thursday night candidates’ forum, while incumbents cited past accomplishments as evidence the city is in good hands.

News, or rumored news, also surfaced during the event:

→ District B incumbent Don Smith and District C challenger Barbara Gibson said a controversial so-called sidewalk ordinance – which makes citizens responsible for repairs to sidewalks, curbs and streets adjacent to their property – has been resolved, with the city agreeing to assume responsibility for repairs.

→ District B challenger Lou Hunter said he has confirmed that the Blockbuster Video store on Texas Parkway intends to leave that location.

→ Smith said he is “working right now” with Fiesta Mart Inc. “and you will see in a very few days that they are interested” in the Texas Parkway corridor.

→ District A incumbent Eunice Reiter hinted that the city is counting on a bill in the Texas Legislature that could somehow have a bearing on its consideration for purchasing Quail Valley Country Club.

The Politics Of Tax Breaks And Land Development
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.

Kevin Tunstall, a healthcare administrator and six-year resident of Missouri City, has filed for that city's District C council seat.

The position is currently held by Bob Burton, who is not running for re-election. Tunstall said that he decided to be a candidate because he believes that residents are tired of controversy on City Council and that there are "misplaced priorities" in Missouri City's government.
He urged voters to support his platform of lower taxes, increased economic opportunities, and change.