On April 16, 2025, the League of Women Voters of Richardson hosted a forum of Richardson mayoral candidates at the Eisemann Center, moderated by Lanet Greenhaw. Mayoral candidates Mayor Bob Dubey and former Councilmember Amir Omar participated. Alan C. North was unable to participate because of a scheduling conflict. Mayor Pro-tem Arefin Shamsul and Lisa Marie Kupfer, candidates for Place 6, also participated. About 150 persons were in the audience. The forum was live-streamed by the City and video on demand is available on the LWV website.
I was pleased with the forum, with the questions asked by the LWV and members of the public, by the earnestness shown by the candidates, by the decorum on stage and in the audience. I recap the highlights here, excerpts that I feel best show the distinctions between the candidates. I will be stripping out a lot of words, maybe at the risk of losing important context, but that's what the video is for. If a snippet of an answer here makes you want to hear more, then watch the video on the LWV website.
Mayoral Candidates
The first three questions were asked only of the mayoral candidates.
Q. What can you do as mayor that you could not do as a council member that benefits the city of Richardson?
Amir Omar says the mayor is the face and voice of the city and, as an executive of a technology company, he has the experience to communicating to large groups as well as smaller, very important groups. He also says running City Council meetings gives him opportunities to set the tone for applicants. Finally, as mayor he can partner with the City Manager and Economic Development Director.
Bob Dubey says the mayor position is a leadership role that allows you to meet, greet, and go to lots of functions. He says it's important that as a ceremonial mayor you don't step out of your lane. "It's not my job to run economic development."
Q. Under federal law, disaster declarations are made by the chief elected officer of a jurisdiction in the city of Richardson, that is the mayor. What actions can or should the mayor take during an emergency?
Bob Dubey says you work with the city's emergency management team. The mayor gets called in so you know the truth of how bad it is.
Amir Omar says it's an opportunity for the mayor to be the face and voice of the city in some of the most difficult times. The mayor takes an assessment of what the impact is for our residents, first ensuring their safety. But he says it's also important to consider other impacts on citizens. For example, if there's a Council meeting that's going to be addressing an issue that affects a part of that city that's been damaged or has a power outage, he would delay hearings that would potentially impact those neighborhoods, so that those people won't feel like they are prevented from weighing in because of storm damage. He didn't say it, but that situation did happen to Richardson Heights. Many residents were concerned about a proposed Ferris Wheel near their neighborhood and asked for a scheduled public hearing to be postponed, but the City Council rejected their request.
Q. If elected, would you be in favor of reinstating the Richardson Mayor's Summer Internship Program?
Amir Omar said, "We absolutely need to have a summer internship program" and not just partner with RISD, which would leave out PISD, private school, home school, and parochial school students. He said, "As mayor, I absolutely would bring it right back."
Bob Dubey said, "To clarify, the program was enhanced." He said the program was "extremely financially draining on the school district," but somehow it was expanded from just being the summer to first semester and second semester opportunities for the students." He said, "I'm pretty fired up about it, and I think we enhanced a program" without specifying who the "we" is. It sounds like it's RISD, not the City of Richardson. "Now the schools that didn't get to participate in it, that's because it's RISD's taxpayers who are funding this program, the other individuals are not." That's what prompted the question in the first place. Dubey didn't address that.
All Candidates
All of the rest of the questions were asked of both the mayoral candidates and the Place 6 candidates.
Q. What qualities or accomplishments do you bring to the position you are running for that make you the person I should vote for?
Arefin Shamsul cited his service on the City Council for the last four years, his work as a civil engineer doing municipal infrastructure who owns his own company,
Lisa Marie Kupfer cited her ten years of service to the community in various volunteer capacities, most recently on the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Amir Omar said the quality he brings to being mayor is being proactive. He used the Mayor's Internship Program as an example of how he would be different than a ceremonial mayor would be. It's something he's already done as a councilperson, figuring out how to fund a tree-planting initiative happen when the City had very little money available. The result was "a seven-zero vote by the City Council to adopt it as an actual program of the city called Tree the Town."
Bob Dubey cited his "loyalty," having lived in Richardson "basically my entire life" and working for over 40 years for "one company," the Richardson ISD. "I think that speaks volumes for a person who has integrity and a person that's proven to be loyal to the cause, and that's what I do."
Q. What aspects of the City Charter do you believe should be changed in order to keep Richardson current and competitive?
Bob Dubey said, "I think the term as far as every two years for a council member, I think that's a little short to be honest with you, because it really, every two years, it weighs heavy on our staff. The staff is the one that has to train each council member."
Amir Omar said, "I don't know that I have major desires in terms of the Charter Review Commission, and I, too, trust the process." But he is frustrated with the process. "This is now the second Charter Review Commission process that we've gone through that none of us can go back and watch. None of us have the ability to watch a video of it. There's zero transparency in terms of the ability to watch anything after the fact." "As mayor, I would be pushing for initiatives that make meetings, not just the Charter Review meeting, but every commission and every board meeting, make sure that they're all recorded."
Lisa Marie Kupfer said, "On some of the recommendations that the Council put forth to consider...that stuck with me, one was considering longer terms. I personally do not support that. I feel like respectful challenge is the hallmark of healthy democracy. When we look at, you know, there's only a few of us up here today. We have every other position running unopposed. I don't think that is necessarily an issue. I think elections keep us healthy, keep us accountable, and also provide the opportunity for good discourse."
Arefin Shamsul said, "I do have my personal choice, but at this point, I think it's important that I stay away recommending something because that could influence the individual decision there." I don't understand why, in four years on City Council, Arefin has never put forward any ideas for changes to our City Charter, or even the position that no changes are needed. I consider doing that part of the job.
Q. In recent years, housing has become less accessible and affordable for young families. Does the city have first time home buyer initiatives, and what other ideas do you have to address these issues?
Lisa Marie Kupfer said, "Housing affordability is also a regional issue. It's having affordable jobs. It's having transportation to those jobs. I think that the city is somewhat limited in what they can do to promote specific affordable housing, beyond building a good economy." She did allow that there are things like permitting accessory dwelling units that Richardson can do.
Arefin Shamsul said, "We have taken some steps just from the recent Comprehensive Plan that we just updated that has some great ideas, small housing, missing middle housing." But wasn't more specific than that.
Bob Dubey said he supports "repurposing Class B office space, getting rid of the things that are eyesores within our community, and finding a way to do multi-house, multi-family housing."
Amir Omar said, "I believe that the answer isn't more apartments and more apartments and more apartments in places that they're not planned...What I'm not in favor of is taking a plan, tearing it up, and then moving forward with apartments, because we think somehow it's going to make a difference in affordability... The answer isn't just approving anything anywhere."
Q. Richardson is one of the cities in North Texas that doesn't offer a Homestead exemption. Would you be willing to lead an initiative for an exemption and vote for it?
Amir Omar said, "I am in favor of absolutely looking at doing homestead exemptions...That said, I would like to do it by way of research" into best practices in other parts of the region.
Bob Dubey said, "For the last two years that I've been the mayor, we've lowered taxes every single year, so in essence, you're getting a homestead exemption when we lower your taxes, in an indirect way." I take that as a No. He added that Richardson also has a senior tax exemption. "Right now we just raised that up to $165,000 for each house." In fact, Richardson just raised the senior tax exemption for 2026 to $160,000, not $165,000. I am just amazed at the Mayor's inability to master basic math. See "Dubey Explains Taxes" or "The Money Race for City Council".
Arefin Shamsul said, "Yes, if there was a way to do it, I would have done that" but then went on to say the budget may not permit it, in a way that I conclude he really means "No."
Lisa Marie Kupfer said, "I think it's definitely worth exploring," but she, too, said "it's a balancing act with budgets" in a way that I conclude she really means "No."
Q. Do you think there is enough transparency in the way the City Council appoints members to city boards and commissions?
Arefin Shamsul said, "I would love to see all the board and commission being recorded live broadcast. But we have to see that, you know, remember, I said that I care about every single penny that we spend from the tax money." Note that when the Council last discussed recording the Charter Review Commission, City Manager Don Magner said, "Let me make it clear. I didn't say this was a budget issue. I never, I never, I never implied that this was a budgetary question, okay. I just want to be clear about that. I never said that it was a budget issue." And to his credit then, Arefin voted against the motion to keep the meeting procedures as they are now without recording.
Lisa Marie Kupfer gave an impassioned answer. "We look and we can say we're very proud of the representation within our boards and commissions in aggregate, I sit before you as a woman on a stage full of men, except for the moderator, but when you look at our quasi judicial boards, they are overwhelmingly men...I think a step towards having more women leaders at all levels is putting more women leaders in those quasi-judicial positions. I think that comes into transparency and being able to articulate why folks are appointed, who folks were reached out to, what applications we have come in. I do think that's an area that Richardson can do better."
Amir Omar said, "I don't think we're transparent enough, and I don't think that our approach is predictable enough. Imagine you're a resident that is incredibly qualified for a particular board or commission, and imagine then that you apply and you don't even get an interview. What happened? Why did it happen? What could I have done differently? All of those questions can't be answered today because all of it is done in a way that doesn't actually share the information." He didn't leave it at that. Like the idea man he is, he was ready with ideas of how to improve the process: written job descriptions, documented rubric for ranking candidates, and open meetings.
Bob Dubey said, "The process, in my opinion, is working really pretty well."
Q. What is your vision for the revitalization of downtown Richardson? Should the Richardson Panhandle have more city amenities, such as a rec center, library, other things like that?
Bob Dubey said, "We want downtown to be active. We want it to be engaged." He mentioned Culture in the Core, the new Interurban linear park, Chinatown's Lunar New Year, and Light Up Lockwood as destinations downtown. He didn't get to the Richardson Panhandle.
Amir Omar said, "When we look at downtown Richardson today, the concern that a lot of residents have is that we're losing opportunities to keep things that are drawing people, in place for apartments. And from my perspective, I think that we have to double down on first bringing the things that people want to go to, and it can't happen if we just keep using up the few spaces we have for more apartments." He didn't get to the Richardson Panhandle either.
Lisa Marie Kupfer said, "I think that downtown is well positioned. There's more to be done, but I think that we're seeing a good mix of business now." She left time for the Richardson Panhandle. She said, "That second piece of the question was Panhandle and should there be amenities there as well? And yes, of course, I think it's worth reviewing" but she didn't have much to offer. "In some cases, a centralized model, you know, particularly with our public library. Richardson has found that that works. However, we've also incorporated the mobile library, which is an option as well."
Arefin Shamsul started with the Panhandle. "Of course, they need to have some other amenities. But also, think about the budget that we have." Arefin is for everything, but when it comes to prioritizing money in the budget for it, the priority is elsewhere. Arefin then talked about downtown. "My dream is nothing different than your dream. So I pretty much develop this thing by talking to so many people. I want to have walkable downtown, have some retail there, enjoy food, enjoy friendship, enjoy other friends, meeting place."
Q. How will you fight to protect DART services in the City of Richardson?
Lisa Marie Kupfer said, "I think Richardson has led by example in coming forward in support of continuing to fund DART at current levels. I think that there is the opportunity to continue to do more with that and serve as an advocate for other municipalities."
Arefin Shamsul said, "We need DART, and I think this is important. We are not done yet with the DART development, so we are looking at another 10 years, probably before we see 100% benefit from the DART. So definitely I'm going to strongly support the funding that DART needed."
Bob Dubey said, "I'm a big fan of DART, and DART has helped make Richardson one of the premier suburbs, towns in all of the Metroplex. DART is regional, and it's really important that we continue to support DART."
Amir Omar, said, "I support the 1%" but went on to say that's not enough. He looks at whether our DART stops are taking advantage of the opportunity. "Let's look at what we might all think a DART stop should look like, I think it should have places to live. It should have places to work. It should have places where you can get entertained, and places where you can do retail, actual retail, not just restaurants." He then ticked off how all of Richardson's DART stops fall short of that desire, concluding, "If we're going to be serious about DART, we have to have a mayor that figures out how they can maximize those stations, in my opinion."
Q. What does it mean for a council or city to be quote, business friendly? Is Richardson business friendly?
Amir Omar said, "Sometimes, we want to use a word like business friendly to excuse what it is we're about to do, and that's just not the kind of leader I would be. To me, being business friendly means making sure that the business community knows what our plan is, and sees us consistently sticking to that plan."
Bob Dubey said, "Economic development is really thriving right now. We're doing some amazing things. Matter of fact, we have increased commercial business 6.4% in 2024 we have had over 5,000 jobs created in Richardson in the last two years." He explained the success by saying, "We took economic development out of the Chamber of Commerce, under their umbrella. We have a whole department that's economic development right now, and they're doing a fabulous job. And when we talk about being business friendly, what this allows us to do is work directly with those CEOs, the presidents of the top brass of those companies and find out what is it they really need?"
Arefin Shamsul said, "I know that when you work with, you know, some other city just south of us, the red tape they have. If you want to get something done, construction done, business done, retail, business running, you have to go through so many steps. So those are not business friendly. But if you go to city of Richardson, you get things very quickly."
Lisa Marie Kupfer said, "I do think overall, Richardson is a business friendly climate. Of course, we have a phenomenal Chamber of Commerce. We have a great economic development department. We also have a lot of planning involved...I would love to see what we can do to bring about more diverse retail, particularly on the east side of town, that's something that I've heard from folks repeatedly. What can we do to refresh and revitalize some of our aging shopping centers? To me, that is all part of a business friendly climate, and that is something that I would be committed to digging into if elected."
Q. In light of recent changes in federal and state funding and mandates, how do you see the City of Richardson maintaining safety and quality of life for all residents?
Arefin Shamsul said, "Our city is very conservative about its budgeting, so I feel comfortable that we have enough safety net moving forward."
Lisa Marie Kupfer said, "I think we can all be very grateful with our community that we have not built a reliance on federal funding at this point. I think that's something that is contributing to our resiliency and will help us overall. But that said a lot of our nonprofit partners do receive federal funding, and we're going to have to look at, how do we fill that gap as a community to continue to meet the needs of a citizen, all citizens within Richardson." She didn't give examples.
Amir Omar said, "We do have an exceptional city manager and the entire staff does does a wonderful job, keeping us on budget and keeping us conservative." He said "there are some signs that concern me today. If you look at our budget this year compared to last year, we're expecting a 10% year over year drop in commercial office buildings. If you look at this year's budget versus last year's, we're looking at a 9% sales tax drop year over year." His solution? "So as mayor, although I understand it's a ceremonial role, I'm willing to get in there and work and work with our economic development team, work with our City Manager to go and attract those small, medium sized businesses and making sure that they come to Richardson,"
Bob Dubey said, "In 2024 our tax base is up 6.4%...And like Lisa was talking about, we don't take a lot of federal money. We take a little bit, but most of our funding comes from taxes, franchise taxes, but our taxes are holding their own." One thing that is really concerning would be a change in state law redirecting sales tax revenue from cities hosting sellers' operations to those where buyers receive goods.
Q. What is your position on the commercial operation of drones over residential areas?
Bob Dubey said, "It's a question that I don't have all the answers to yet, but I'm going to have all the answers as soon as they come in front of us. We're going to ask the company that wants to use the drones for them to do a demonstration for us. We're going to evaluate the decibel levels of the noise. We're going to evaluate all that before we do it." On the one hand, he went on to say, "Technology is part of what we do. We are known for being a city that thrives on the latest and greatest, and whether it's AI or it's technology or we've got little cars delivering your food to you, things are going to change now." On the other, he said, "As far as it impacting, if it's going to impact in a negative way, I'm opposed to it." In other words, he doesn't want to be pinned down.
Amir Omar wasn't wishy-washy. "I'm against it, and I'll make it very clear why. There's just too much that you don't know. There are not enough cities allowing the type of things that are being asked of Richardson that we can look at what the track record is...We don't have any of that sort of data."
Lisa Marie Kupfer was refreshingly honest about the limits of her knowledge: "I will admit I'm not the techiest person. I did have to fish our neighbor's drone out of our gutter once, and that was the most fun. But again, I don't have a lot of information to be able to speak intelligently on this. The one thing I would be very interested in is any sort of public safety implications."
Arefin Shamsul said, "Right now, Plano has approved. Frisco is going through. College Park has approved. So we do have to look at lots of data, lots of things. How to manage this. I don't know if we can totally control that. We can say no here, but they're gonna go next to Richardson, just one foot beyond the borderline, and fly from there. So it's a long term issue and concerning. To me, I'm not worried about unknown. I think our job is like, make sure that we make the right decision, safest decision, protect our city, protect our business, protect our residents.":
"Candidates on stage,
A city watches and weighs.
Spring blooms with choices."
—h/t ChatGPT
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