Bob Townsend, 1933-2017

Mayor Voelker honors Bob Townsend

The City of Richardson announced that former Mayor and longtime city council member Bob Townsend passed away.

Townsend was first elected to the City Council in 2001 and served until deciding not to run for re-election earlier this year. His term ended last month. During his time on the Council, Townsend also served as Mayor from 2011-2013, Mayor Pro Tem from 2007-2011 and again from 2013-2015.

Source: City of Richardson.

To mark the sad occasion, we republish Bob Townsend's responses to questions posed by The Wheel last year in our first (and so far, only) online Town Hall Meeting.

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August 5, 2016

Bob Townsend, Place 1

Q1. You have been on the Richardson City Council since 2001. What accomplishment are you most proud of?

To your first question, there are so many accomplishments by the City Councils I have served with that I am extremely proud of. Some of them, in no particular order are.

1. The attaining and maintaining the Triple A bond rating by both Moody's and Standard and Poor's.
2. The development of CityLine.
3. The development of plans for revitalization of certain sections of the City.
4. The revitalization of Heights shopping center.
5. The opening of Galatyn Park and the Eisemann Center.
6. The development of the trail system.
7. The purchase of the remainder of the Spring Creek Nature Area.
8. The arrival of DART in the City and the transit-oriented developments around some of the stations.

These are just a few of the many accomplishments I am proud of.

Q2. What accomplishment do you most hope to achieve during the remainder of the current council term, which expires in May, 2017?

Regarding your second question, I want to see the development of a plan, including financing, for major upgrades to the City's infrastructure. That is the critical issue facing the City now.