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April
10, 2003
Click on Photos to Enlarge in this Article COLLEYVILLE
CANDIDATE'S FORUM DRAWS OVERFLOW CROWD TO CENTER A
Candidate's Interview Forum, sponsored by an organization known
as Colleyville CAN, was held at the Colleyville Center on
Wednesday night April 9th.
The standing
room only crowd was estimated at over 100
citizens. The forum was an interview type of
program whereby each candidate was asked the same series
of questions. During the answer period, no other
candidate was allowed to remain in the room.
LNO obtained a copy of the questions used for the city
council candidates.
Click Here to See Page
1, Page
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Mike Taylor
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Mayoral
candidate Mike Taylor said that the current situation in
Colleyville has the city living off the backs of the
homeowners. Taylor said, "Politicians love to
spend money, but they need to learn it is not how many
checks you have in the checkbook, but how much money you
have in the bank." Taylor served on city
council from 1999-2001. |
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Richard Newton
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Richard
Newton served as mayor before Donna Arp, pointed out
that he felt there were five critical areas that needed
to be addressed:
1.) Leadership
2.) Economic Development
3.) Conservative Financial Strategy
4.) Open and honest Government
5.) Image of the city
Newton resigned from Place 4 to run for the mayoral
position. He has also previously served on city
council. |
Former Mayor Ed Baker was
the moderator of the event seen in the far center.
Each candidate was given 15 minutes to answer questions
and a 3 minute summation. |
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Dave Dudziak
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Dave
Dudziak is a candidate for Place 1. He pointed out
that he felt the current council majority has spent a
great deal of lip service to economic development, but
doesn't seem to put their money on the problem. He
said the city should hire a full-time professional
Economic Development Director.
Dudziak promised, if elected, that he will work to make
city government a much more civil and respectful
entity. Dudziak is currently President of the Ross
Downs Homeowners Association. |
| Candidates
were encouraged to visit with citizens in the lobby area
between interviews. Seen below on the left is
Richard Newton, Mayoral Candidate speaking with some of
the large attendance. Below on right in the suit
is Paul Dunn, Candidate for School Board speaking with
former School Superintendent Jim Thompson and Mrs.
Thompson. |
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Elaine Dolan
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Elaine
Dolan is a candidate for Place 2 on the Colleyville City
Council. Dolan is a Certified Financial Planner.
She said that many encouraged her to run because they
knew of her hard work and business ethics. Dolan
pointed out that supporters told her they felt someone
with her financial expertise and integrity would make a
good member of city council at this difficult time. |
The attending crowd
included a large cross section of Colleyville
citizens. Seen above is (standing) School Trustee
John Eubanks and former School Superintendent Jim
Thompson. Seen front left is Dar and Yvonne Busa. |
At top can be seen
former candidate Jo Ann Gasper and former
Mayor Pro Tem and currently President of the Soccer
Association John
Grace. Also attending was neighborhood activist
Steve Knight and former council members Jody Short,
Smokey Vanover, Senior Citizen Rep Jim and Connie
Hampton and Historical Committee Members Dee Barker and
Ed Harvan. |
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Dr. John Gober
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Dr. John Gober (on left)
presented the questions to the candidates and former
Mayor Ed Baker (above) was the moderator. |
No literature was allowed to
be distributed, however candidates and citizens visited
in a relaxed atmosphere in the lobby of the Center. |
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Enjoying
a lighter moment during the questioning is Jerome Davis,
a candidate for Place 4. This place is for the
unexpired term of Richard Newton.
Davis said he is one of the "senior"
citizens. He said he has lived in the city for
thirty years. Davis said he is very concerned
about the ongoing image of the city and the ethical
questions that have continued to surface over the past
two years. He stressed the need for reasonable
economic growth in a primarily bedroom community.
Davis is a retired TV Anchor. |
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Paul Dunn
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Paul
Dunn is a candidate for the only contested Board of
Trustee seat on the Grapevine/Colleyville School Board.
Dunn stressed that he has a love and concern for the
education of children. He is a Certified Public
Accountant and long term education activist.
Dunn said he was optimistic that Robin Hood was going to
face defeat in the courts and legislature. He said
there is a critical need for the schools and city
government to work closer together. Dunn pointed
out there could be substantial savings and improvements
for all the citizens with a cooperative effort between
the two entities. |
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A number of citizens
encouraged the Colleyville CAN participants to make the
forum an annual event. Seen above is Jim Graham on
left, with Dr. John Gober on right.
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