Mansfield Mayor – Tarrant Votes

Job description	Presiding officer of the City Council, the city’s governing body. Term is three years.
Duties	Represents city at official functions Enacts city laws and ordinances Determines city policies Adopts city budget Appoints city manager to administer city government
Annual salary	Unpaid; reimbursed for official city expenses.
Meetings	Council meetings twice monthly; special meetings called as needed.

Michael Evans	Website: https://www.evansformansfield.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evansformansfield Twitter: https://twitter.com/evans4mansfield Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evansformansfield/ Email: info@evansformansfield.com Phone: 817-729-1956 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeq-sqDIfgSa8eIuu7gCh0w
Brent Newsom	Website: https://newsom4mansfield.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brent.newsom.526 Twitter: https://twitter.com/newsomplace2?lang=en Email: newsom4mansfield@gmail.com

Candidate Q&A

1. WHY ARE YOU THE BEST QUALIFIED CANDIDATE?
	Michael Evans I have served in the City of Mansfield for 31 yrs as a local pastor involved in community development projects that have led to community revitalization, the construction of single family homes, the construction of a 135 unit senior adult independent living apartment complex, serve as a member of the Texas Commission of Law Enforcement working with local law enforcement in the area of mediation, consultations, advisement and counseling. I served as a member of the MISD Board of Trustees for 10 yrs. the president of the board for two terms, where our team built one of the most lauded school districts in the state of Texas by exercising fiscally conservative accounting practices. I am presently a member of the Tarrant County College Board of Trustees and a Regent for Baylor University. I served on administrative teams that have cut taxes and increased services to the community. My skills sets are wide and my knowledge of working with teams and building bridges of understanding through collaboration and team work are noted throughout the city. These are only a few of the qualities that make me qualified to serve as the Mayor.
	Brent Newsom
2. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP FEW PRIORITIES IF ELECTED?
	Michael Evans A. Dealing with the high property tax rates. 1) Seek an additional 10% Homestead Exemption after working with Council and City Manager on agreed upon budget augmentations. 2) Promote the city’s economic development strategy by encouraging a more symbiotic relationship between the Chamber and MEDC. B. The need to employee more law enforcement and first responders. 1) Work to maintain competitive salary and benefit packages for our Police and Fire, EMTs. C. Prioritize funding to meet the future infra-structure needs of the city by working with the City Manager, council and staff. D. Work with fellow council members and the City Manager to develop an agreed upon strategy/vision statement for smart measured growth and economic development by engendering buy-in from the Mansfield Community. E. Invite the citizens to participate in surveys and community listening sessions that will allow the Mayor, Council, and City Manager to hear from the citizens concerning what they may want to see as we develop a Vision Statement for the city.
	Brent Newsom
3. THE CURRENT PANDEMIC IS AFFECTING CITY BUDGETS AND SERVICES AND IS AFFECTING THE LIVES OF CITY RESIDENTS. HOW WOULD YOU ADDRESS THESE ISSUES?
	Michael Evans A. To be fair, “Hindsight is 2020.” 1. Offer weekly updates on the city’s response to the COVID crisis. 2. Convene a round table of community partners to help lay out a strategy to serve our local school district with the distribution of food and learning devices. 3. Convene a round table group of corporate leaders, MEDC, Chamber Leadership, City Manager, and local bank presidents to devise a strategy to aid small businesses that did not qualify or attain PPP. a. The group will be encouraged to help fund rent payments for small businesses. b. Provide vouchers to citizens who patronize local establishments. c. Put into place temporary measures that would temporarily relax city codes that will allow for creative ways for businesses and restaurants to operate outside its establishments. d. Encourage the City Mgr and staff to explore ways to use the Community Development Block Grant Funds to provide matching corporate dollars that to help fund certain "stop gap" measures.
	Brent Newsom
4. WHAT RESPONSIBILITY DO YOU FEEL THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL HAVE TO ADDRESS THE AVAILABILITY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING?
	Michael Evans The Mayor and the City Council are responsible for the wellbeing of the entire citizenry, therefore they are to promote a "smart growth" policy that will allow for the development and construction of a diverse housing plan. The housing plan will contain a variety of mixed use developments that include single family homes, townhomes, brownstones. In the case of the city of Mansfield, previous councils have zoned wide sloths of land that include more than 6,900 apartment units to be added by way of already agreed upon build commitments. The aforementioned diverse housing configurations serve as a good mixture of housing choices that meet the needs of people from a broad spectrum of the economic scale.
	Brent Newsom
5. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE ROLE OF CITY GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE IN SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES?
	Michael Evans City government should work to promote local small business recognizing that these establishments represent the character of the city. It is also important for the city to seek out ways to support these business during economic downturns, natural disasters and health emergencies. City governments should work to foster a relationship between its economic development office and the local chamber of commerce in order to carry the vision of the city forward to perspective industrial, retail and residential development suiters. These relationship help small business to grow and employee local citizens which undergirds the local economy.
	Brent Newsom
6. HOW SHOULD THE CITY COUNCIL ADDRESS ISSUES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY, PARTICULARLY REGARDING FUNDING?
	Michael Evans The Mayor and City Council are responsible for providing the City Manager with the financial support needed to employee the best and the brightest law enforcement officers and first responders. The Mayor and Council must work to maintain competitive salary and benefit packages for our Police and Fire, EMTs. Failure to maintain high pay standards will make it more difficult to recruit good quality employees and ultimately the entire city suffers.
	Brent Newsom
7. ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD?
	Michael Evans I want to be the next Mayor of the City of Mansfield because: A. I love the city and the citizens of Mansfield, TX. I want to preserve a way of life that promotes a safe, secure environment for both the young and the seasoned citizens of our city. I want to develop a regional strategy that promotes Mansfield as a great place to live, learn and play. B. I want to advocate for smart, balanced growth and encourage robust economic development that will help to lessen the tax burden on our citizens. C. I am seeking the office of Mayor in order to serve with a council that will assure the citizens of our city that their voices are heard and that the level of fairness and integrity is something that they can expect.
	Brent Newsom