As they say, all politics is local. Unfortunately, voters and media rarely pay attention to local elections for a variety of reasons. This year, I asked each candidate running for election in Shoreacres if they would like to participate in an “interview” so that citizens would know more about who is running. Four of the six took advantage of the opportunity. Richard Adams is running for the position of Alderman.
Background
Richard was born in Huntsville, AL where his father worked in the space program. When NASA opened up in Webster, the family moved to Dickinson. Richard graduated from Dickinson High School and then from Sam Houston State with a B.F.A. in Advertising and a Minor in Music. His passion is music and he sings and play the guitar at his church, Clear Lake Presbyterian, as well as a couple of other area churches. He and his wife Gaylen were married in 2005, moved to Shoreacres in 2006, and are expecting their first grandchild this year.
Professional Life
After graduating from Sam Houston State, Richard went to work at NASA for two years, where he set up museum displays from various NASA projects around the world. After that, he briefly worked at an advertising agency in the Galleria area of Houston. For the past 33 years, he has worked at the University of Houston-Clear Lake and is currently the Director of Operations.
Political Experience
Richard has been involved in many aspects of the political arena through his volunteer work on various boards and committees, including his homeowner’s association board. He ran successfully for Alderman in Shoreacres in 2007, 2009, and 2011, serving as Mayor Pro-Tem in his last term. He was unsuccessful in his bid for a fourth term in 2013. He was responsible for securing a grant and participation from LyondellBasell for Global Care Day in freshening up Circle Park and the City Hall Gazebo.
Issues
Richard is a “people” person and as such is disappointed in the way council meetings are run. He told me that he would like council to respect the citizens that show up at meetings and that citizens should respect the council. The meetings get chaotic at times, with a lot of crosstalk and he would like them to be run more professionally.
He said that he keeps hearing that the city is going bankrupt and he’d like to find out more about that by digging into the budget and going to the budget workshop meetings this year to find out what is going on and how to save money. He wants to do long-term planning, i.e., 1, 2, 5, 10 year plans, something that was started in his last term of office but has not moved forward under the new council.
His top priority is EMS, Fire, Dispatch, and Police, to have the best response and protection that we can. He would also like to study the current policy of replacing vehicles every two years.
One of the things that he wants to return to is having representatives from the city attend the various emergency planning meetings around the area. Having a presence at these meetings reminds people that the city of Shoreacres exists and helps in obtaining outside help when we need it.
Richard wants to increase the visibility of the community to potential home buyers by reaching out to real estate professionals touting the “country” like atmosphere, fishing, birding, boating, and other nature activities. He would create a marketing package to do this, as well as updating the city’s website. He thinks that an updated website can be a major tool in luring people to take a look at the city and if they do, they will be sold on it.
As for the current financial problems, Richard thinks that we are “coming back” and that property tax revenues will increase with new building and appraisal increases, and he will approach the budget with an optimistic mind and try to save money where he can. He wants to learn from the past and seek better solutions in the future. I would urge all Shoreacres voters to contact Richard directly to discuss his candidacy.
Contact Information
Email: [email protected]
Election Information
Early Voting starts Monday, 4/28 and ends Tuesday, 5/6 at City Hall. Complete information on the city website by clicking here.