I am writing to announce my candidacy for Mayor of the Town of Copper Canyon and to explain why I made a decision to run.
I am running for mayor in an effort to influence the town’s direction going forward.
Our family has lived in Copper Canyon for 11 years and, like many families, moved here due to the low property taxes Copper Canyon historically was known for, which has changed, and with current government will probably continue to change, (I want to reverse course on this issue).
We also moved here because of the close proximity to many amenities and yet a true rural feel, an environment that I believe is paramount in preserving.
The government has grown and continues to grow. Our spending has more than doubled since 2002 while population levels have grown approximately 1% per year. We do not need a government aspiring to be larger than we are. I believe we need a government that works hard to preserve the way of life many of us have enjoyed for years.
Though this is disputed, I believe there is a desire by the current government to have a code enforcement officer (at a cost of several thousand dollars per year); we do not need to spend this money!!! My approach to this issue would be that a resident would see a potential code issue, call it in to town hall, and then the town administrator, a council member or myself would drive by, evaluate the situation and then proceed as warranted.
The road work that has been done or is being done in the next few months is something that I question if we handled responsibly, a large share could have been paid for by wasted funds from prior years while the remainder could have been deferred for a few more years until we had funds to PAY AS WE GO!!! Therefore no need to borrow money.
That sort of leads me into my main objective for running for mayor: SIMPLER SMALLER GOVERNMENT. While it is difficult for me to articulate the various strategies that would be used to accomplish this, the main course of action would be to spend much less, identify creative ways to increase our revenue stream without picking the pockets of our citizens, thus allowing for the elimination of the debt we borrowed as fast as possible. Once we are able to accomplish this then I would want to see the reduction of property taxes, as low as possible as soon as possible. This in contrast to our current government’s approach which has increased spending in a very large way in the last several years while population has grown minimally.
If elected Mayor, I would also strive to create coexistence between citizens and town hall where there would be better participation at council meetings and such, by town residents. One way I think we could do that would be to have a council meeting environment that solicits more discussion and critique from citizens.
For those of you not currently aware I would foster an open door to discussion, any time you feel you have critique or questions I would welcome the call, e-mail or input at a council meeting.
My confidence remains resolute that if elected we would be successful in creating a SIMPLER SMALLER GOVERNMENT and make it less costly for citizens to live here.
In a phrase I can say by way of your vote on May 14th I am asking for a mandate to reduce the size of government and government spending.
David Linder
Copper Canyon, TX
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