Glenn Heights City Council Candidates Q&A

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Glenn Heights election flyer

Glenn Heights City Council November 2021 Candidates

GLENN HEIGHTS – Three Glenn Heights city council seats will be on the ballot come November for open seats; Place 1, 3 and 5.  Sonja A. Brown will keep her seat in the Place 1 seat as will Place 5 Shaunte Allen who is also running unopposed.

Two candidates will be running for Glenn Heights Place 3 in November, the third candidate, Bassam Isa contacted Focus Daily News earlier this week to announce she will be not running for the Place 3 seat.

“Thank you for reaching out to me, due to personal and my conflicting future schedule, I am withdrawing my candidacy for City Council Place 3,” Isa said.

Still vying for the seat are incumbent Travis Bruton and challenger Juanyce Wilson.

(Questionnaire answers are in alphabetical order)

Travis Bruton Place 3

Focus Daily News: What changes are you looking forward to implementing if you win the election for Place 3 in November?

Travis Bruton: There are a couple of things that I’m excited to see implemented if I win reelection. First, will be the vision, branding and strategic plan for the city.  When you think about our neighboring cities, Desoto is the All American City, or Lancaster is the shining star of Texas.  What about Glenn Heights?  Glenn Heights is……? There needs to be one vision for the city as well as updated short and long term strategic plans to achieve the vision.

There currently aren’t any activities within the city for our youth. A few years ago, I created a youth advisory council.  This was created to get the youth involved in the decision making of our city as well as create ambassadors for the community and increase their level of civic engagement.  I would like to get this committee going and the ball rolling to engage our kids.  Once the community /rec center is complete, I would also like to see a basketball league.

The growth in Glenn Heights has been overwhelmingly residential and it is time for the focus to be on doing what’s necessary to attract businesses to our city. The neighboring cities are flourishing, and I would like to incentivize businesses to come to Glenn Heights. With the expansion of Ovilla and next year the expansion of four lanes and sidewalks on Bear Creek, the time is now to get things in motion.

One personal change that I would like to see happen is more engagement and communication between the citizens and city officials. There needs to be a continued push to get citizens involved and I believe the key is bringing the information to THEM.  I sent out a survey and started a newsletter (Truth With Travis) just for this purpose.

FDN: What will be the challenges to overcome in the new term?

TB: One of the biggest challenges to overcome in the new term will be addressing the city’s infrastructure needs.  There are several areas within the city that need updating or will need updating soon, such as the water/sewer systems and our city parks. With all the new homes being built the city needs to have adequate water lines for all the homes and backup generators in place to protect the water infrastructure. The truth is that the citizens have been complaining about the city water and sewer for as long as I lived here. We’ve got to be able to address that. I believe there are grants and other federal government programs that can help subsidize the things we need but we must do the work and research to make things happen.

FDN: With COVID still present how do you think the City is best served moving forward and is there anything else you believe should be implemented?

TB: The city of Glenn Heights vaccination rate is less than 10% but the city has partnered with Parkland Hospital to offer vaccinations at the Glenn Heights Senior Center on Oct 2nd.  This is an example of how the city can partner to offer services to its citizens to help in the fight against COVID. If a citizen wants to get vaccinated there is an opportunity in our city.  Overall, the city puts itself in the best position when it is listening to the CDC and the scientists surrounding COVID. There are guidelines that have been published to keep people safe such as being vaccinated, wearing masks and being socially distant. The city has postponed most of its events including opening the senior center until the beginning of the year to help stop the spread.  Moving forward, the city needs to continue to provide necessary PPE to our first responders and all of the city staff that is working hard for our city.

FDN: What is the reason you decided to run for Place 3?

TB: The citizens elected me to Place 3 in February 2021 to finish out an unexpired term.  I am now running to be re-elected into this position for my first full term. I love my city and there is a lot of work to be done.  There is a saying that great leaders don’t set out to be great leaders. They set out to make a difference.  I’m running to be re-elected and make a difference in our city.

FDN: What do you think makes you more qualified than your challenger for this seat?

TB: I am most qualified for this position because unlike anyone else running for this seat, I have the experience.    I have city council experience from a previous one-year term, experience within the corporate business world as well as experience as a small business owner. I have taken council leadership classes from TML. I also graduated from Leadership Southwest, which is a program designed to train and give exposure to the future leaders in our southwest region.

When you think about your local elected officials most people want someone who is reachable, communicates and represents their best interest.  I have published my phone number, created a Facebook page, created a newsletter to distribute information and keep citizens informed and I will continue to represent the best interest of you the citizens. If you go to my Facebook page you can see some of the work that I’m doing behind the scenes to make Glenn Heights better.

In three years from now, Glenn Heights will look like a whole new city and it is important that you vote for a leader that will make sure the city is reflective of our community wants and needs. The decisions that are being made today will dictate how our city grows, how the city expands and what businesses will be in the city three years from now.

FDN: What other boards have you served on in this city and/or other cities?

TB: Dallas Mayor’s Star Council

Red Oak ISD Superintendent Advisory Council

Leadership Southwest Board of Directors

2018 Glenn Heights City Council

Nonprofit – Grandma’s Love

FDN: How long have you lived in this city?

TB: I have lived in Glenn Heights since 2013.

FDN: Anything else you want to say?

TB: In February 2021, you supported me, believed in me and voted for me to represent you. In this short amount of time, I have reached out to every HOA in the city, I have done a town hall, I have sent a flyer to every home with my contact information, and I have created a newsletter to keep you informed. When the winter storm hit, I was in the streets handing out water and filling water containers.

My vision for the city of Glenn Heights is Future Focused. We are starting to see progress in the city but there is still more work to do. What I can assure you is that I will continue to keep you informed. I will continue to work on our economy to increase our tax base and bring the commercial and retail business that you want for our community. I will push to make sure all of the streets in our city are drivable and that we have quality water / sewer systems and services.

I’m asking that you come out and vote, TRAVIS BRUTON on November 2nd. There is not a better candidate, and the city will be Better with Bruton.

To learn more about me feel free to email me at: travis.bruton1@gmail.com or go to my facebook page at www.facebook.com/CouncilmanTravis.   I will also be hosting a Q&A, October 16th at 10am on Facebook live.

 

Juanyce Wilson Place 3

Focus Daily News: What changes are you looking forward to implementing if you win the election for Place 3 in November?

Juanyce Wilson: I would like to see a better working relationship between our City Manager’s office and the employees. Based on what I’ve seen over the past few weeks in Council Meetings, our City Manager is doing a great job making things happen in our City, but still somehow there’s a disconnect that I can’t seem to pinpoint.  I would love to see a better working relationship between all parties, as we all share a common goal to make Glenn Heights a great place to live.

FDN: What will be the challenges to overcome in the new term?

JW: The biggest challenge that I’ve seen thus far is getting everyone on one accord and unfortunately that can’t be done overnight.  It will take willingness to actually listen, deal with past hurts and hopefully develop a plan to move forward that everyone can live with.

FDN: With COVID still present how do you think the City is best served moving forward and is there anything else you believe should be implemented?

JW: I believe in safety first, so I agree with the postponing of reopening our Senior Center and continuing to follow the CDC guidelines of wearing masks and handwashing. I also believe that the vaccination is helpful although not foolproof. However, I do understand some people are hesitant, as it was developed very quickly, and all possible side effects haven’t yet been vetted.

FDN: What is the reason you decided to run for Place 3?

JW: I’m definitely not a politician but I am very community focused. So much so that our Non-Profit organization, 1 Love Charitable Foundation has supported the City of Glenn Heights as a community partner since 2018. I believe that if I live in a community, it’s important to know what’s happening as well as give back. That includes my time, resources, and talents whether I’m on the Council or not.

FDN: What do you think makes you more qualified than your challenger to win this?

JW: I don’t think that I’m more qualified than ANYONE running for this seat. In fact, I have great respect for the other candidates and have done community service here in Glenn Heights with them. All I can say is that I’m a new person that may be able to bring a fresh perspective.

FDN: What other boards have you served on in this city and/or other cities?

JW: I have never served on a board politically before. I currently serve on the board of 1 Love Charitable Foundation, Meadowcreek Homeowners Association Secretary, and hold board and/or committee seats in a few Masonic Organizations.

FDN: How long have you lived in this city?

JW: My husband and I have lived in Glenn Heights since 2016.

FDN: Anything else you want to say?

JW: Whether I win or lose, I enjoy being a resident of Glenn Heights and appreciate this opportunity.