The Wheel's 2023 Voters Guide

Early voting for the 2023 local elections in Texas starts Monday, April 24. On the ballot will be Richardson ISD Board of Trustees, City of Richardson City Council and the City of Richardson Bond Proposition. Use Vote411.org to see your personalized ballot and to read how the candidates answered a questionnaire by the League of Women Voters of Richardson.

Here's the executive summary of The Wheel's recommendations:

For City of Richardson mayor, I recommend Janet DePuy.
For City of Richardson Place 1, I recommend Curtis Dorian.
For City of Richardson Place 3, I recommend Stephen Springs.
For City of Richardson Place 5, I recommend Todd Hunter.
City of Richardson Places 2, 4, and 6 are uncontested.

For City of Richardson Bond Proposition, I recommend a Yes.

For RISD District 3, I recommend Debbie Renteria.
For RISD Place 6, I recommend Eric Eager.
The other RISD Districts and Places are not up for election this year.

Read on for the reasons I make these recommendations.

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City of Richardson

For City of Richardson mayor, I recommend Janet DePuy.

In 2019, Janet DePuy did something I didn't think could be done. She attracted the endorsements of both the Richardson Coalition and Amir Omar, who were on opposite sides of the bitter mayoral election of 2013. This year, she added endorsements by current mayor Paul Voelker and former mayor and longtime council member Steve Mitchell. She was selected Mayor Pro Tem in 2019 and re-selected in 2021, demonstrating her ability to draw support from her peers on City Council. Prior to her election in 2019, she served for a decade as an HOA president, giving her a working knowledge of neighborhood issues. She also served on the City Plan Commission for more than 10 years. She currently serves as a board member representing the City of Richardson on the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the Regional Transportation Council, and the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition.

The other candidate is Bob Dubey. He is certainly qualified himself. Longtime Athletic Director for the Richardson ISD. Service on City of Richardson boards and commissions. Council member since 2017. His resume with the City is not as deep as DePuy's, but his qualifications aren't the issue I have with him. It's the positions he's taken while serving on the Richardson City Council that were at odds with my own positions that concern me. These were covered in The Wheel at the time. I'll summarize just one. I fear his vision of Richardson is stuck in the Richardson of 1961, which is when the Dubey family moved to Richardson. In opposing a zoning application for a Middle-Eastern restaurant near a residential neighborhood, Dubey alluded to the cultural attraction of hookah, saying, "My question is, 'Why does the culture need to come to Richardson, Texas?'" If Dubey doesn't know the answer by 2023, I'm afraid he'll never know. As mayor he'd set back Richardson's image of being a business-friendly city that welcomes diversity.

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For City of Richardson Place 1, I recommend Curtis Dorian.

This is a tough one. I have never met Curtis Dorian. The archives of The Wheel have no mention of him. (That's probably on me, but it's still true.) I also never met G. Scott Waddell. (Again, probably on me.) The point is, I am going to have to make my endorsement decision on resumes alone.

Dorian has the resume. Longtime HOA president (in Place 1). Longtime Richardson Cultural Arts Commissioner. Lots of volunteering roles in the arts. Lots of experience in remodeling and design of homes and commercial space in Richardson. City government can be thought of as a real estate management business...with its own police force. Knowing first-hand the ins-and-outs of dealing with city government is a big plus for representing residents at City Hall. Dorian has received monetary support (the best kind of support a candidate can get) from current Mayor Paul Voelker and former Mayor Steve Mitchell. All of this gives me enough confidence in his ability to do the job for me to recommend him in this race.

G. Scott Waddell is running for Place 1. I had never met him, either, but I was somewhat familiar with him as being someone involved at JJ Pearce HS and northwest Richardson neighborhood issues. How long has he lived in southeast Richardson's Place 1, a requirement to run for Place 1? It can't be long. All else equal, I'd rather see someone with deeper roots in Place 1 represent Place 1. It's an area of Richardson I once lived in for fifteen years and that I've long believed had the least influence at City Hall.

This next paragraph applies equally well to most candidates. G. Scott Waddell's campaign website says, "My primary focus is to support first responders, continue to enhance infrastructure and build community through listening and engaging citizens." This is boilerplate stuff. Later he describes himself as "Accountable for my decisions." Again, boilerplate stuff. I would have been more curious about G. Scott Waddell's candidacy if instead he said something unexpected, like "Will hold Richardson's Police Chief accountable." That would have me sitting up and wanting to hear more. We all support first responders. But how often does the City Council hold the Police Chief accountable?

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For City of Richardson Place 3, I recommend Stephen Springs.

Stephen Springs has the kind of experience in city planning that is most needed on City Council. Voters shouldn't miss this chance to elect someone like him. He is a founding board member of an HOA. A former Parks and Recreation Commission member. A professional architect. A former City Plan Commission member. It's this last resume bullet point that first made me aware of Stephen Springs and his service to Richardson. Watching his deliberations on the City Plan Commission impressed me with his professionalism, experience, and judgment. The City of Richardson would greatly benefit from having Stephen Springs on its city council.

Dan Barrios is making his second run for City Council. He ran and lost in 2019. At the time, I said "he is personable, intelligent, and focused on service. I think Richardson would be in safe hands if Dan Barrios is elected." I still think that. How has he used the intervening four years to build a resume to show he's even more ready to serve on City Council this time around? I don't see it. I don't want to denigrate volunteerism with PTA, YMCA, Red Cross, and other non-profits, but four years of service in an HOA leadership position or on City boards or commissions would have gone a long way towards positioning him for the step up to City Council. It was an opportunity lost. Maybe next time.

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For City of Richardson Place 5, I recommend Todd Hunter.

This is the toughest call. I had never met Todd Hunter. I had never even heard of him before he filed to run just before the deadline. His resume, for someone applying to serve on the top board of municipal government, is, frankly, pretty thin on experience with City of Richardson government. Still, he does have business experience. And I know of no disqualifying factors in his background. In a process of elimination, I am forced to take a chance on electing Hunter to City Council. (In case you're wondering, that is not intended to be "damning with faint praise.")

The alternative to Hunter is Ken Hutchenrider. On his campaign website, Hunter says, "I have no professional or personal conflicts that will interfere with me serving the city to the utmost of my ability." I infer that is Hunter throwing shade at Hutchenrider. It's a bit harsh. Hutchenrider is a good man and an asset to Richardson. He's squeaky clean. Still, he is the President of Methodist Richardson Medical Center, one of the largest businesses in Richardson. The City Council should provide oversight of business in the City of Richardson. I prefer a City Council that's independent of big businesses, not one that includes the top executives of those businesses. That alone, and not any weighing of pluses and minuses of his four years of service on City Council, prevents me from endorsing Hutchenrider for another two years.

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For City of Richardson Bond Proposition, I recommend a Yes vote.

The current City Hall was damaged by a fire and is now vacant. This proposition asks the voters of Richardson to approve issuing $46 million in new bonds for construction of a new City Hall worth $85 million. Many voters don't understand why the insurance doesn't pay for this. They ask, was the City underinsured? The answer is no. The fire and water damage was extensive, smoke damage even more so, but the building was far from a total loss. Insurance will pay to repair the damage, but the insurance payout will not cover upgrades that were not yet built at the time of the fire. Use the insurance payout on the existing building and we'll end up with a repaired 40-year-old building that would still need tens of millions of dollars in upgrades. The City's judgment is that it makes more sense to build a new City Hall. I'm inclined to agree.

That said, I'm tempted to vote "NO" to send a message that voters don't have enough information about what we'll get. All I've seen is a drawing of a big, orange box surrounded by an ocean of surface parking. The concept appears to be something right out of the late 1970s. The building we're losing might be 40 years old, but its architecture is still striking today. I'd like to hear a commitment made to equally striking architecture in the new building before granting $46 million to build it. I'd also like to hear a discussion of the possibility of a more modern, better use for the whole property. Instead of a standalone building, perhaps a mixed-use development that includes a new City Hall should be considered, turning the site into an income-generating property for the City.

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Richardson ISD

For RISD District 3, I recommend Debbie Renteria.

Debbie Renteria is the current board Vice President. Elected in 2020, she served during RISD's most stressful and contentious period in memory. She stood strong for measures to protect the health of students during the COVID-19 pandemic. She stood strong against attacks on RISD's policies on equity/diversity/inclusion and social-emotional learning. Without reservation, she deserves another term.

Bonnie Abadie. The last time she ran for school board (2014), she expressed support for school vouchers. She's back this year, saying she's against them. Abadie said one of her main goals is "reeling in out-of-control spending." In one place she cites the hiring of "900" new employees by the district as an example of the problem. In anther place, it's "600." Which is it? And how many of those are school nurses, counselors, and school resource officers? In fact, Texas ranks 42nd in the nation in per-pupil spending (Texas Observer). She calls SEL & DEI "new gimmicks in the schools which cost time to learn and are a waste of money." Two of her few financial donors are Lynn Davenport and Lauren Davis. One warns against Bill Gates and robots and the other is an anti-vaxxer.

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For RISD Place 6, I recommend Eric Eager.

Elected in 2020, Eric Eager served in RISD's most stressful and contentious period in memory. While I often wondered which side he was on during the COVID-19 battles, in the end he supported precautions to protect our students. He also offered strong support for the district's policies for equity/diversity/inclusion. RISD would be in safe hands if Eager is returned to the school board for another three years.

Blake Sawyer. Sawyer's biggest campaign contributor happens to be Sherry Clemens. If this means she sees in him a kindred spirit, I am concerned. Sawyer believes that social-emotional learning "is something that seems best left to parents, community organizations, and even religious institutions." That's a dealbreaker for me. It shouldn't be an either-or choice. Those other groups should also be teaching SEL, giving students the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are prerequisites for success in school and life outside. When asked about the achievement gap between white students and African-Americans and Hispanics, he said, "Reducing our students to the color of their skin ultimately divides and hurts our community as a whole." That's a dealbreaker for me. How can we address an achievement gap between ethnic groups if we aren't allowed to even talk about race?

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That's The Wheel's Voters Guide. Now it's up to you. Vote.