We began our interview process by putting out a call to the citizens of Austin County via the Austin County News Online.com Facebook Page for citizens of Sealy and Bellville to submit any questions they would like asked of the candidates for their respective town.    We didn’t forget Wallis but, when we contacted the city they informed us that there were no candidates running.    If you have not gone and “LIKED” our Facebook page, we encourage you to do that.  We received several excellent questions submitted from the citizens of Sealy but none from Bellville.  Unfortunately, we also received quite a few more but, they were sent to us after the deadline of April 12th.  We were unable to utilize them because we had already sent out the list of questions to the candidates and started video interviews.

The questions that were asked were in two categories:  questions submitted by the citizens of Sealy and questions that we formulated.  We premised our questions on the general principles of limited government.  The candidates were asked to keep these concepts in mind while answering our questions. These principles are:

Principles of Limited Government – Most residents believe that city activities should be based on the same philosophy of limited government and respect for individual rights that animated the American Founders. The Founders believed that by keeping government constrained, individuals could pursue their hopes and dreams and the country would prosper. That principle is no less true for city government than the federal government.

Stick to the Core Mission – Responsible city leaders ensure that the cities’ essential services, such as fire and police protection, transportation, water, sewer and solid waste, are delivered in the most cost effective ways. Outside of public safety, that includes keeping costs low and service levels high by using competitive bidding and contracts with the private sector. City leaders should also work to keep their cities from getting far afield of their core mission and into expensive private-sector activities such as providing or subsidizing golf courses, restaurants, convention centers, etc.

Limit Taxes – A low tax burden is a hallmark of limited government. Governments that stay within their bounds don’t burden their citizens with excessive taxation. These constraints must be provided by city leaders who choose not to grow city budgets beyond their core missions nor allow inefficiencies to fester. Such leaders respect the importance of allowing individuals the freedom to follow their dreams, understand the awesome power of taxation, and are mindful not to abuse it.

Respect the Rule of Law – Responsible city leaders are also mindful of the unseen costs imposed by arbitrary zoning and land-use regulations and how they confound economic progress. A key element of limited government is the rule of law rather than rule by unpredictable, capricious whim. The Declaration of Independence charged King George III with 27 acts of arbitrary rule. City zoning and land-use regulations can be equally arbitrary and capricious. They can treat individuals with similar property very differently, depending on how the land is zoned or based on the arbitrary recommendations of an unelected planning board or city planners.

Protect Citizens’ Rights to the Fruits of Their Labor – In the Declaration, the Founders recognized that citizens have certain God-given unalienable rights “that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The authors of the Texas Constitution went further and added that individuals have the unalienable right to “the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor.” Individuals form governments to protect these rights. Owning a home or business is a primary exercise of those foundational rights, but it is imperiled by the governmental power of eminent domain. The Fifth Amendment protects property owners by stipulating that private property cannot “be taken for public use without just compensation.” Traditionally, that has meant that if a city needs to take private property for a public use such as a fire station, it would have to compensate the owner. Recently, however, cities have broadened “public use” to justify many different kinds of takings, again sliding into arbitrary rule depending upon officials’ inclinations of the day. City leaders who are respectful of individual rights adhere to the traditional use of eminent domain.

Keep the Charge – Keeping city government within narrow bounds is difficult. Numerous special interests lobby city council members to expand or adopt their pet projects. Federal and state money is offered to start or expand programs, each supported by special interests at those levels. City council members are under constant pressure from these powerful special interests and city bureaucrats who have vested interests in maintaining and expanding the activities under their purview. Responsible city leaders recognize and resist these pressures. Council members must constantly rededicate themselves to serving the public interest by limiting government activities and respecting individual rights.

We would like to thank the candidates who were willing to sit in front of the camera and be interviewed.  It can be unnerving being filmed knowing that you will be up for scrutiny by the public at large.  These candidates showed great courage in participating and we wish them luck in their future government endeavors.

A Note:  The list of questions below are accompanied by a time stamp of the corresponding video.  The time stamp shows from what two points in the video the candidate answered that particular question.  We took this extra step to allow our viewers the ability to go directly to what question interested them most without having to sit through the entire video.  However, we encourage everyone to watch the videos in their entirety so as to get the best feel for all the candidates before making your decision.

The video time stamp is in the following format:  hours : minutes : seconds

Questions Submitted by the Citizens of Sealy

1. What attributes do you possess in your personal and/or business life that might give you a tangible advantage over your fellow candidates?

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:00:18 – 00:01:54 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:00:17 – 00:01:44 of her video

2. Several years ago BAE Systems left Sealy causing a reduction in tax revenue.  What specific strategies do you plan to implement to bring businesses back that could increase tax revenue to the city?

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:01:54 – 00:03:17 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:01:44 – 00:03:42 of her video

3. Currently, the City of Sealy Charter prohibits employees from discussing city business with council members.  Do you agree, if so, why?  If not, describe what measures you will take to amend the charter.

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:03:17 – 00:05:34 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:03:42 – 00:05:07 of her video

4. Currently, the city manager holds the final decision on employee appeals, including any disciplinary action originating from the city manager’s office, not allowing for an appeal process.  Being that the city manager is also employed by the city, should city council have the final decision on employee appeals?

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:05:34 – 00:07:03 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:05:07 – 00:06:08 of her video

5. Do you think taxpayers should have been allowed to vote in a bond election to fund the YMCA building with $2 million dollars?

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:07:03 – 00:09:11 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:06:08 – 00:07:13 of her video

6. Do you think taxpayers should be responsible for funding expensive charitable organization’s projects?

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:09:11 – 00:11:25 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:07:13 – 00:07:50 of her video

Questions From Austin County News Online.com

1. Discuss your interest in serving on the City Council. Discuss your prior experience working with civic, community or governmental organizations.

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:11:25 – 00:13:11 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:07:50 – 00:09:54 of her video

2. What do you perceive as the three most important concerns facing Sealy?

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:13:11 – 00:14:51 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:09:54 – 00:11:48 of her video

3. What are your thoughts related to the City of Sealy’s relationship with Bellville?

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:14:51 – 00:16:11 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:11:48 – 00:12:45 of her video

4. What do you think is the most important issue facing the city in the next two years?

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:16:11 – 00:17:07 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:12:45 – 00:13:31 of her video

5. How do you differ from the other candidates in the race?

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:17:07 – 00:19:08 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:13:31 – 00:14:51 of her video

6. If elected, what would be YOUR primary goal for the next year?

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:19:08 – 00:19:08 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:14:51 – 00:15:58 of her video

7. Is Sealy prepared for a major disaster? Answering as specifically as possible, how could the city be better prepared?

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:19:08 – 00:22:54 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:15:58 – 00:17:29 of her video

8. What do you propose we do to attract business to Sealy?

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:22:54 – 00:24:35 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:17:29 – 00:18:51 of her video

Closing Comments

Kerry Hinze Kovar’s Answer:  00:24:35 – 00:25:28 of her video
Jennnifer Sullivan’s Answer:  00:18:51 – 00:19:12 of her video