By Allan Meagher
Last month on May 11, Irving voters went to the polls to elect three City Council members. Two of those races resulted in a runoff. I was the top vote getter in District 2. I am Allan Meagher. The election to decide between the runoff candidates will be held Saturday, June 15. Between June 3-11 voters can vote early at either City Hall or Valley Ranch Library.
This election is critical for our City. As Irving has increasingly struggled to with both economic development and neighborhood services, our surrounding cities are moving forward with extensive renovations, upgraded infrastructure, attractive entertainment areas, and enhanced senior citizen services. Irving has the resources, the people, and the ideas. But Irving needs the leadership on the City Council that will support these important endeavors. These endeavors will bring us a better tax base, more jobs, and success for efforts like the convention center complex with its hotel and entertainment area, and the Heritage Crossing area in Downtown Irving.
This election is critical for Irving in another way. Never before have we seen a political season in which sitting office holders were taking sides in contested races, candidates were campaigning for each other at, and the members and candidates and members of the IISD Board and Irving City Council were joining forces to campaign for and against candidates. Unlike national politics, which is based on a party system and naturally runs this way, local politics are prohibited from partisan politics and this type campaigning has been considered unacceptable. My race has even seen the entrance of an Austin PAC, an ideologically based group with a questionable background. This behavior smacks of desires for control, not good government. It also leads to government by the special interest, not the people. Who will these candidates be loyal to if elected? You? Or the council member who campaigned for them?
Allan Meagher is not part of a slate. Allan Meagher is an independent, lifelong Irving resident, supported by local people, who wants Irving to be the best it can be. I am grateful for my support, and as a Councilman, I will be the representative of the Irving resident, not another office holder or an out of town PAC
