My name is Bob Butler and I’m running for Town Council Place 3 on May 9th.
For everyone that has been reading this blog, been to any of the Candidate Forums, or checked out my website, you already know that I am against the widening of Morriss Rd. In fact, Rick Cleland (running for place 5) and I are the only two candidates that have stated publically that we are against this project. My main opponent Mike Wallace is in favor of the widening and said this at the Denton County Republican Men’s Forum on April 2nd:
Wallace: “I support widening of Morriss, and the reason is because we have a traffic problem. We have too much demand for the supply of the capacity to meet the demand. And, I’ll tell you where it’s coming from. It’s coming from the DFW Connector, one of the largest projects in TxDOT’s history. We also have the extension of 2499 up through I-35E. We also have the River Walk at Central Park, which will have a 100-bed hospital, 1,200 residential units, retail, office, hotel and hopefully a Market Street. And finally, we have additional growth and development in surrounding communities.”
Here’s what I said:
Butler: “I’m against it. I drive it every single day, and I’ve never been in a traffic jam on Morriss Road before. Building the River Walk is a five-six-year project, and when 2499 gets done, a lot of people from Highland Village will stop coming through Morriss Road. Once construction on 407 and 2499 is done, let’s see how it is then. I’ve heard estimates of in five or 10 years there will be 25,000 cars on Morriss Road. Where’s that coming from?”
To read all of the candidates positions, please go here http://www.planostar.com/articles/2009/04/05/flower_mound_leader/news/73fm.txt
One other issue to keep in mind on May 9th is the explosive growth that Flower Mound has been going through. If you think there’s too much construction going on right now as I do, you haven’t seen anything yet. My opponent Mike Wallace currently serves as the Vice-Chair on the Planning & Zoning Commission for Flower Mound. These are the people (along with the Town Council and Mayor) that approve all of the new developments that you have been noticing. So while Mike is a nice guy, he is extremely pro growth and is one of the reasons that east Flower Mound is turning into a giant sea of concrete. I understand that the Master Plan allows for development in these areas, but our current P&Z Commission as well as the current Town Council, are allowing it to happen too fast. I feel that with the current economical times, we need to slow down a little bit to parallel our sagging business climate. Once the economy comes back, we can take another look at things and make certain that when we allow new development, it’s right for the people of Flower Mound.
I’ve had some people tell me that I’m not for the free market or competition and I answer them by saying this: I am for the free market system and I do believe that competition is a good and necessary thing, I simply believe that a more slowed a controlled growth is a better plan for the people and businesses of Flower Mound.
To see all of my positions, please visit my website: www.bobforflomo.com
Thank you and please cast your vote for me on May 9, 2009.
Sincerely,
Bob Butler
Candidate – Place 3
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Fact Check Bob... "Explosive" growth stoped back post 9-11 with the establishment of the Town's SmartGrowth program, even before the economic downturn. By the way, we are NOT a city!
ReplyDeleteMr. Butler, exactly what makes Mr. Wallace "extremely pro growth" as you say?
ReplyDeleteExplosive or not, growth for the sake of growth is not a desireable result. No offense to our neighbors, but I don't want eastern Flower Mound to mirror Lewisville. The SmartGrowth program only ensures that infrastructure keeps pace with growth.
ReplyDeleteI want Flower Mound to grow, as I believe Bob does also. I believe Bob will bring a very valuable counter-balance to the Town Council. We need someone who will ask the questions and ensure that the future growth we both need and want is indeed smart growth.
Here is a question..has anyone involved with Stop Morriss 6 ever spoken to Mr. Wallace about this? Have you spoken to him at all?
ReplyDeleteI do believe Stop Morriss 6 is inviting all 8 candidates to an event on April 30th to allow each to speak to residents. (Check the earlier blog postings.)
ReplyDeleteVoter turn out as it is, I am glad to see there is a group and an issue that will increase voter participation. Candidates just don't have the time to speak to every voter individually, so I am glad SM6 is having a candidate forum.
While I hope most voters will see issues as I do, I completely support the idea that an informed electorate is a good electorate.
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ReplyDeleteThe previous post was deleted because I forgot to put my e-mail address in it :)
ReplyDeleteTo the Anonymous',
1 - I am referring to a little project called The River Walk. If that's not explosive growth, I don't know what is. By the way, for those of you that don't know, the Master Plan was changed to accommodate this development. And I'll explain the "City" reference to you as well, I'm glad you asked. When I moved to Flower Mound a little over three years ago, it was a Town. By the time we get done cutting down all of the trees, widening all of the roads and building until there's no where left build, it will look like a city, just like all of the other cities that border us. Is that what you want? I don’t. So I put on all of my signs and website “City Council” sort of in protest.
2 - Mr. Wallace is the Vice Chair of the P&Z and there seems to be an awful lot of growth going on. Was Mr. Wallace for all of the growth or opposed to the growth? I have nothing against Mike, he is an extremely nice person, we just don't agree on this issue.
3 - I have talked to Mr. Wallace. I sat right next to him at the Denton County Republican Men's Forum.
It’s obvious that the Anonymous posters don’t agree with the my stance on the Morriss Rd. issue or my idea to control and slow the growth of our “Town”. That’s what makes America the best country in the world, we can agree to disagree. As I tell everyone I talk to, I won’t lie to you about an issue just to get your vote. If you don’t agree with me, you have the freedom to vote for Mr. Wallace or Mr. Forest.
And if you back Morriss Rd. and agree with me, I would love to put a sign on your fence facing the road so everyone knows who to vote for. Send me an e-mail with your address and I’ll put one up: bob@bobforflomo.com.
Thank you for your posts, I'm glad everyone is getting a little fired up for this election.
Bob Butler
Cadidate - Place 3 - City Council
So Mr. Wallace has experience and you do not. I should vote for you why?
ReplyDeleteBecause Mr. Butler seems to care about the citizens and the town more than "growing" the city to fluff his resume.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous #1 - You answered the question for me. I want people to vote for me because I'm not a part of the current town government or any commission or board. In other words, I don't have any hidden agendas or pet projects that are already in the works or that I voted for in some previous position. I’m not accusing anyone else having any agendas, but you can be certain that I don’t. I only decided to run for City Council a few months ago, so I’m still learning a lot about the way things work in Flower Mound. If you’ll notice, I’m the only one who put what Place I’m running for on my signs, I wonder why no one else did that? I’m running this year and if I lose, then I lose. I’m not going to put my signs in the garage and bring them out again next year like some others have done. I don’t seek, need or desire power, I only want to get on the Council and do what I feel is best for Flower Mound. I state all of my positions in depth, unlike my opponents, because I want the people who vote for me know what they’re getting. When an issue comes before the Council, I want the people to feel confident that I will make the right decision on their behalf. Look, I'm just a regular guy with a wife and two young boys, I have no political ambitions in the future. I’m not looking to use the Council position as a stepping stone to Mayor and then State Representative etc… The most important thing in the world to me is my family, and that’s why I’m running. I want my boys to grow up in a great town with great people and great parks and great schools, that’s safe and secure. Flower Mound is that town, so sue me for wanting to keep it that way. If you want the status quo, then I don’t want your vote, because I’m not that guy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post, even though we disagree, I appreciate your comments.
Anonymous #2 – Thank you for your post, you nailed it and I appreciate that you understand where I’m coming from. Need a sign for your yard ;)
I signed the petition but would kindly recommend that you post it on the following websites to increase your numbers:
ReplyDelete1. www.roundthemound.com
2. http://www.topix.net
3. http://stopthedrilling.blogspot.com
4. http://bqlc.org/
5. send an email to all the HOA board members listed on the Flower Mound website at http://www.flower-mound.com/comm_info/hoa_list.php
6. http://lantanalinks.com/forum/index.php
7. http://www.americantowns.com/tx/flowermound/news/an-invitation-to-our-flower-mound-community-blog-on-91134
The more public relations and awareness that you can build around the Morris Road issue, the better chance that you will get of attaining 1,000 signatues. It is great to see grass roots groups fighting back against a council and mayor who seem to have the developers best interst at heart rather than the citizens who voted them into office. Best of luck!
Duh.. No current council member is running. Why,then make this race against them? This is clearly a lesson learned from Obama. If you do not have a good argument against your opposition, run against someone who is not running!
ReplyDeleteGo Bob, you have my vote. One question...You stated that you and Rick Cleland are the only ones to state you are against this project, but I must say I have heard Tom Hayden say he is against it as well. Just want to get that info out, I support Hayden for place 5. I just don't want to split the votes between Cleland and Hayden, because the worst possible person to get this spot would be Angie Cox!
ReplyDelete