TATE, MORGAN MAKING FINAL PUSH IN BRENHAM MAYORAL RACE
As early voting approaches for the City of Brenham elections, eyes are glued to the up-for-grabs mayoral seat.
The race has incumbent mayor Milton Tate facing off against former mayor and Washington County Judge Dorothy Morgan.
While each of the candidates consider themselves conservatives and share a close friendship, the two differ on several key issues pertaining to the city and its management, its biggest issues, and how to prepare for the future.
Tate maintains the city government has remained stable and strong throughout his time in office, accomplishing several capital improvements.
Morgan says her main goals when running for mayor in 1982 were getting more jobs in the area and building up the city’s financial status. She says, with the help of sitting councilmembers, accomplishments were made in those areas.
Tate says, in the future, he wants to ensure the city can provide everything necessary to continue the growth of the city.
Morgan says she wants to work with the public to make sure the city stays strong financially.
One of the issues on the forefront of voters’ minds is the need for affordable housing. Tate says the city needs to figure out how to provide low-cost housing for those with low incomes.
Meanwhile, Morgan says acquiring more job opportunities for the youth in the area remains one of her top priorities.
One of Tate’s wishes for the future of the city is to see more young people get involved with local government.
Morgan says she wants to look into and study certain staff positions, and determine whether they have too much power.
Early voting begins Monday, April 22nd. Election Day is May 4th.
Now that the city has taken control of the economic development from the tightly controlled old guard in Brenham, more and better jobs with higher salaries will bring in the builders of every kind. But this future may depend on the mayoral election currently in full swing. The incumbent is experienced, fair and honest. He also can cast a deciding vote. His opponent was sent in by the gop to regain control of the economic development so as to use it for protections of the big Brenham owned businesses. As the editor and owner of this publication pointed out, a power grab, period.
“Tate says the city needs to figure out how to provide low-cost housing for those with low incomes.” Well isn’t that what the “projects” was for? The real problem is that finding a home here WAS affordable until property values skyrocketed due to the exodus of people moving-in from larger municipalities/cities, paying more-than-the-market-value to escape the inflated cost-of-living from said, bigger municipalities/cities. Additionally, investors purchase properties that are below-market-value, refurbish them, and then sell them for an exceeded profit, further increasing the value of properties around them. Unless the city/county/Blinn/Brenham ISD is willing to cut spending to lower taxes, there is little else to “figure-out.” If either elected-mayor is serious about “affordable housing” here, then they need to appeal to the state whom levy property taxes in the first place, beginning with slapping the state upside the head for proposing the idea of raising the state “sales tax,” the final insult to the working families trying to find affordable housing.