HUTCHINS – There are two councilmember seats – at large – no places or district – open in this election as well as the mayoral seat. The individuals below answered questions for FDN. If there is no answer for the candidate they either did not respond or there was no contact information allowing us to get in touch with them for answers.
Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
Early voting continues this week through October 30 with Election Day on November 3. We encourage you to vote early to avoid long wait times.
Mayoral Race
Gerald Hollis:
Hollis answered the questions in the format below.
I will be laser focused on the health and safety of the residents of our city. There are many ways to deal with COVID-19 but we must all follow the CDC guidelines going forward. Listen to the medical experts to help us get through this. I think that Judge Jenkins has done a great job in his efforts in Dallas to curb the spread of the disease. I have served as a council member for two years and am a member of our Library Board and TIFF board. Just want to make Hutchins a safe and healthy place for our families and friends
FDN: What will be the challenges to overcome in the new term?
GH: The greatest challenge will be to restore trust, integrity and equality to the Mayor’s office. The way to accomplish this is by having a full- time hardworking Mayor by creating an open door policy to take into consideration all of our residents needs and complaints.
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?
GH: Concerning COVID-19 we simply need to continue listening to medical experts as well as the CDC guidelines that have been set forth in order to slow the spread until a vaccine is made available to us.
FDN: Is there another City in the DFW area you feel is doing things well regarding COVID and learning and moving forward with the current pandemic?
GH: I truly feel that Judge Jenkins of Dallas County has done an excellent job in providing guidelines to curb the spread of COVID-19 and will continue to support his decisions and guidelines for our country.
FDN: Anything else you would like to say?
GH: Just would like to say that if the voters of Hutchins wants a full time, hard working Mayor then vote for Gerald Hollis in this election cycle. Thank you and may God bless you.
Demarcus Odom:
No contact information provided
Mario Vasquez:
Vasquez answered the questions in the format below.
We have budgeted $12,975,872 for city wide projects, for some of these projects, we were not able to accomplish last year due to the pandemic. We expect to move forward with them 2021. We will reconstruct 11 streets and what I’m really excited about is our new Public Safety building. Also, in 2021 we will open a 20,000-square-foot retail Plaza and we have also approved 900 new homes. That is just a few of our many ongoing projects. I would also like to recognize Michael Morris with COGG, for the  funding of this project – north and south Texas turn around at I-45 and Dowdy. This will help alleviate traffic at this intersection and it is a $3.7 million dollar project.
As far as challenges, I think it is the uncertainty of Covid-19 and how it will affect us now and in the future.
Moving forward as a city, even though 2020 numbers weren’t off by much, we will be conservative in every aspect.
I think every city has its challenges. I don’t know any city that can boast about the challenges figured out. We’re all in together, we try to follow Dallas County as our lead.
I was appointed to the planning zoning board in 1999. I spent 14 years as a councilman and I have served six years as Mayor.
This has been a different year because this pandemic has really altered our way of life. I guess the uncertainty of what direction the  country is going means we just have to go to God to get us through this.
At-large councilmembers
Brenda Campbell:
Left message and did not respond by deadline.
Dominic Didehbani:
Left message and did not respond by deadline
Stephen Nichols:
Focus Daily News: What changes are you looking forward to if you win the election for this city council seat?
Stephen Nichols: If elected, this would be my fourth term. I am dedicated to the fiducial responsibility in the handling of city finance by not spending beyond our means, the current city budget which I voted against will spend more than the city receives in revenues and this is not a sustainable course of action for our city.
FDN: What will be the challenges to overcome in the new term?
SN: The biggest challenge we will have to overcome in the years ahead is the growing pains of the rapidly expanding new residential construction in our city, given the influx of increased traffic on our already dilapidated streets, our lack of sufficient infrastructure to handle the growth, the melding of our large commercial base with our growing residential base and a lack of quality retail development.
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?
SN: I don’t think anyone was ready for the pandemic and the city of Hutchins handled it as well as most cities, I also think that Hutchins like many other cities have been shut down to the public for far to long, the taxpayers who we serve still have to go to work, pay their taxes and face the same risk to earn a living and should not have their access to city hall denied to conduct business as needed. All cities need to reopen and just enforce social distancing for the foreseeable future.
FDN: Is there another City in the DFW area you feel is doing things well regarding COVID and learning and moving forward with the current pandemic?
SN: No, I believe they all handled it equally badly.
FDN: What other boards have you served on in this city and/or other cities?
SN: I currently serve as the president of the Tax Increment Fund (TIF) board and vice president of the Hutchins Economic Development Corporation (HEDC) board.
FDN: How long have you lived in this city?
SN: I have lived in Hutchins since 1977 but my ancestors have lived in Hutchins since the early 1900’s.
FDN: Anything else you want to say?
SN: It has been my privilege to serve the citizens of Hutchins for the last 6-years and hope to continue to serve them in the future.
