By:  Jackie Hardy, NDG Contributing Writer

The City of Irving is gearing up for its upcoming City Council and school board elections.  Voters will take to the polls on May 12 with early voting beginning April 30 through May 8.  Seven candidates will be vying for the two single-member district seats up for grabs (Place 4 and Place 6); along with choosing a candidate for the only at-large seat in this election (Place 8).  The other at-large seats consist of the Mayoral and Place 2 seats.

According to Irving’s newly adopted mixed single-member and at-large voting system, a candidate running for a seat in a single-member district must live in that respective district for a minimum of one year prior to the filing deadline; whereas, the candidate running in an at-large district can live anywhere in the city.  Residents from those single-member districts can only vote for their respective candidate; however for an at-large seat, the vote is open to all Irving registered voters.

The candidates for Place 4 which comprise of South Irving include:  John Phillip Riddle, a retired Firefighter and Irving resident for over 63 years; Fran Bonilla,

a Commercial Real Estate professional a resident of Irving for approximately 52 years; and Joe Putnam, a longtime Irving resident and attorney, who is not new to the Irving political scene where he held the office of Mayor from 1999-2005.  In May of 2011, Putnam also unsuccessfully ran for the Mayoral office where he along with Tom Spink and ex-Mayor Herbert Gears lost to opponent Beth Van Duyne.

The candidates for Place 6 whose boundary lines entail part of Las Colinas and Valley Ranch area consist of:  Brad LaMorgese, a practicing Family Law attorney with the law firm McCurley, Orsinger, McCurley, Nelson, and Downing and who has been an Irving homeowner for the past 10 years; and Bill Mahoney also an attorney and one of the founding partners of the law firm Boteler, Mahoney, and Gray L.L.P.

Mahoney specializes in civil litigation, including business, insurance subrogation, worker’s compensation, and professional malpractice cases.

Place 8 candidates are:  Tom Spink, a former two-term City Council member and current business owner of an insurance agency and; Rick Stopfer, current City Council member for Place 6 and acting Mayor Pro Tem.  Stopfer is pursuing the at-large seat as he has served the maximum term in his current Place 6 seat.

Although there are recognizable differences among each opponent; there is one thing they all share in common: they want more transparency from local government.  Many candidates have emphasized the importance of having a transparent government, believing it will help eliminate influence from special interest groups.

“I am very concerned about special interest groups that lobby members of the council and the effect the lobbying has on their votes,” written comments from candidate LaMorgese of Place 6.   “More stringent policies need to be implemented to regulate city council members as well as those who lobby the council.  It is vital that our government be open and honest with its citizens.”

Mahoney also a candidate for Place 6 added in a written response, “We need to eliminate actual or perceived special interest influence in our local government.  Petty politics have been negatively impacting our city.  City council is designed to be a non-partisan governing body where representatives should put the best interest of the city above all else.  I support a stricter ethics policy and necessary revisions to Irving’s Charter…”

Spink, in a recent guest blog post on the Dallas Morning News website indicated he is not in support of the project but also expressed concern about government spending and taxing the Irving residents in general.

He wrote, “I fully understand the importance of setting aside reserves. I certainly understand out of control spending by government. And I hear citizens and understand when they say that fees tacked on to utility bills are nothing more than disguised taxes. I not only understand – I sympathize.”

Stopfer,  an opponent to Spink, supports the IEC Project, but expressed his commitment to due diligence and his commitment to understand all the financial repercussions as it relates to the projects risks and benefits before coming to a final decision.

Stopfer commented on the City Council’s recent vote to extend the deadline for LCG, “…given the economic environment over the last several years, we wanted to afford the proposed developer adequate time to secure support from outside investors.  However, there was not a firm timeframe or deadline in place that would effectively serve as a cutoff point from which to advance the project or terminate the project.”

“We have since negotiated an agreement between the city and LCG that incorporates specific expectations and timing that were different from the original contract, namely that LCG must identify and bring forth its $80 million commitment by August 6th or the project will not move forward,” continued Stopfer.

Both LaMorgese and Mahoney (Place 6 candidates) are not in favor for more extensions.  Mahoney felt the recent extension approved by City Council was necessary because of efforts by outside interests to derail the project.  Although Mahoney is not in favor of anymore modifications to the existing contract, he feels strongly about the city’s obligation to honor the current contract with LCG as long as the contract is valid and binding.  If elected, Mahoney will advocate for the creation of an Oversight Board to oversee the entire project and make recommendations on necessary contract negotiations, perform construction oversight and manage any future potential funding surpluses.

LaMorgese is in favor of an entertainment center, but does not believe the citizens of Irving have received an acceptable deal with respect to the contract with LCG and expressed deep concerns over the city’s commitment to a nine percent Hotel Occupancy Tax from the two percent that was originally approved for this project.  According to LaMorgese, he is also concerned after hearing the warnings from the city’s financial advisor that Irving could lose its AAA bond rating and potentially have to cut city services or raise taxes if the proposed revenue streams do not produce as forecasted.

LCG and their supporters contend that the project will have a significant impact on the Irving economy and Dallas County as a whole. They estimate the City of Irving will receive $762,000 in indirect tax revenues from the construction phase alone. Their forecast indicates the over $200 million spent on construction will result in $400 million related activities and income (employment, rental fees, taxes, etc.).

An American Express Travel Related Services (December 2011) report indicates Irving residents spend three times as much on entertainment outside of the city as they do within Irving.  It is hoped that the IEC project will help to recapture a chunk of that lost revenue for businesses within Irving and the related tax revenue.  They believe the project can generate up to $160 million annually in economic activity, resulting in up to 2,700 jobs.

The Heritage Crossing project is another important issue many voters are speaking out on, thus making this a critical issue in the upcoming election.  Recently Council members voted unanimously to sever ties with Heritage District LLC, according to an article in the DMN and to read more on this story go to: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/irving/headlines/20120130-irving-moves-to-sever-ties-with-heritage-district-developer1.ece?action=reregister and http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/irving/headlines/20120106-map-get-more-information-about-irving-properties.ece

“I believe the severance of the contract with Mr. McDougal is a step in the right direction. The Heritage Crossing project has become bogged down by inactivity. I feel that this can give new momentum to the project, adds Phil Riddle, Place 4 candidate.

Despite the negative press the city has gotten over the past year, The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts awarded the city of Irving with the 2012 Gold Leadership Circle in recognition of outstanding financial transparency, thus causing candidates like Bonilla to focus on the positive aspects and achievements of the city versus the negative.

“Irving was declared to be one of the 10 best managed cities in the United States and the only one in Texas; that says a lot about what our city is doing.  Our city is a great city and we need to get pass the negativity,” said Bonilla, Place 4 candidate.