What makes you qualified for this office?  Name three main reasons you believe you’re the best candidate for this position?

1) I have worked as an Adjunct Professor at Lone Star College as a Decisions Theory, Marketing, and eCommerce instructor. 

2) I am also a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership Candidate with Our Lady of the Lake University (4th year), a program that is housed under the Lone Star College-University Center at The Woodlands.

3) I am a licensed Real Estate Broker/ Owner of Expert Way Realty, who understands that the property taxpayers are Lone Star College's main stakeholder. And if someone pays property taxes that benefit Lone Star College, they are owed a good college resource in their community. 

Is this position currently fulfilling its obligations?

I believe Dr Townbridge has done his very best with the position. But there are more improvements that can be done by the Board, One of the main issue is the lack of branding by Lone Star College. This is a bigger college than Texas A&M, the University of Houston and the University of Texas in enrollment. And it also competes very well with those institutions in funding. The Woodlands-Kingwood area is a highly educated area that can bring a good student base to this college. Lone Star College has the potential in becoming a big name across the state and the nation. So branding and marketing would be my focus, in order to increase the value of an LSC degree. 

What are the 3 largest challenges currently facing this position/office and your road map to address them?

This is my view on this question.

1)The lack of an adequate online education strategy. There has been plenty of talk in creating a better system for online education, that would include better online faculty. I have not seen any results from the administration on my 3 years as an online educator of LSC.

2) The lack of interest in the education of Veterans. LSC should do more than just having a Veteran's office in each college. LSC should concentrate on helping Veterans settle into civilian life. They could do this by promoting classes solely based on Veterans. This point hits home for me because my mother is a recently retired SFC with little idea on how to settle into civilian life after 20 years of service.

3) Student debt is becoming more evident as an issue for graduates. More awareness needs to occur for the benefit of the students. We need more than loan forgiveness solutions, but also awareness on student loans. This awareness needs to come from the college, as the curator of information of the community, 

Do you favor term limits? Please explain why or why not.

Term limits are the reasonable way to understand that rarely is a public office effective without term limits. These term limits should expand depending on the position (Supreme Court assignments could be a decade-long). But life limits helps promote more democracy in each public position. A monarchy does not have to be hereditary, and permanent positions are the closest to that notion. 

What special interest groups have you belonged to or attended meetings of? Include business, social, civic, educational, environmental or any other cause for which you have advocated or supported with time or money.

I have worked with the Real Estate Investment Club of Houston. This is an interest group that concentrates on real estate investment education across the Houston area. I volunteered plenty of time in the set up of events that would promote membership. 

What special interest groups have you belonged to or attended meetings of? Include business, social, civic, educational, environmental or any other cause for which you have advocated or supported with time or money.

Other groups would include my time with Lone Star College students working on their own entrepreneurial ventures and small business. Especially with my experience in social media marketing and Google AdWords implementation. This is the knowledge that I have acquired from my own small business growth, and my passion is to help the younger minds think about entrepreneurship. This to me is the key to the success of our country, not more programs designed to enable the student's tutelage. 

Will you vote to limit budget increases to a factor based on student enrollment growth?

I do believe that I would vote to limit budget increases overall. As a Business Professor, I promote the efficiency of proper budgeting techniques. And Lone Star College is a business nonetheless. If the enrollment is down, we should scale down to the service of those students. This is why Marketing is important to the branding of the institution. 

Do you support using zero-based budget practices for every governmental entity, elected and appointed?

Since being a micro business owner for 8 years, I do believe in a zero-based budget. I teach my students that a non-profit is a business nonetheless, that have to abide by the same business principles. I believe this applies to Lone Star College, and all budgets should be evaluated per success. 

Do you believe a component of compensation for teachers and chancellors should be based on merit, instead of the traditional system of seniority.

I do not believe the old "tenure" system is helpful to today's Lone Star College. All positions should be based on their contribution to the system, and the results their decisions have gotten them. 

What are the top 3 areas where the budget for LSC needs to be adjusted?

1) The budget involving food operations. Most student and faculty organizations do not need to be fed in every event.

2) Budgets that involve Sabbaticals, this should be done on the dime of the Academic.

3) Marketing budgets can be adjusted by the elimination of billboards who do not show proper results. 

Do you believe a lack of funding from the state is the primary reason for lower educational outcomes compared to other states or nations.

Lone Star College is one of the best-funded colleges in the nation, this is due to the HQs of major companies paying property taxes into Lone Star College. This matter could be the case in other colleges, but this is not the case at Lone Star College. 

Will you vote to award any contract with less than three qualified bidders?

In my years as a Real Estate Investor, I would not get any less than three bids per project. I would need to make sure there are no less than three bids under my watch. This is only proper use of business principles. 

In light of increased property valuations, will you vote to decrease the property tax rate for LSC?

I would consider a budget reduction, the taxpayers are stakeholders who should benefit from LSC's decisions. 

What LSC needs would justify a tax rate increase?

I do not believe any project would justify the rate increase. LSC is well funded compared to other institutions. But anything to do with Veteran's aid and education should be considered. 

As property assessments increase, giving government a bigger piece of an ever-increasing pie, should tax rates decrease so that tax revenue remains constant or grows at a reasonable rate? What is a reasonable growth rate for tax revenue?

It should be less than the growth of the yearly value of the property. This way some of it stays with the property owner. 

Should tax dollars be used to provide medical care and public education to people who are in our country illegally?

I do not believe this is a proper use of tax dollars. 

What is the appropriate staffing ratio of non-teachers to teachers?

This depends on the subject matter. But life science should be about 1 to 30 maximum. In business education, it can be up to 1 to 60.

Have you ever been convicted as result of arrest? Ever had any tax liens? If so, give start & resolution dates?

No.

Do you believe the private conduct of a public official is relevant to that official’s suitability for office?

I believe some private conduct is a symbol of the public official. 

How will you improve the transparency and access to financial and other records for the public?

By proposing that the budget of the College be placed on the website and spread through social media. Transparency is important to the taxpayers, and they should be aware of their investment.

What political party have you affilated with over the last twenty years? Do you believe in that party platform(all of it or % part - if %, please describe what you disagree with?

I haven't had the pleasure to join a political party. But my initials are G.O.P.

Do religious and moral views have any role in the county governance process? Why or why not?

I believe these are an important factor in the decisions of a public official. 

Should municipal and school board elections allow for ballot declarations of party/independent affiliation?

I believe this would help the community see the affiliations of the candidate. The taxpayers deserve clarity. 

Do you support or oppose a government entity to engage in a business enterprise in competition with a private enterprise? Why?

I support an open market that gives the options to the taxpayers. As a Business Professor, this has been my lecture in the past 3 years. The government should compete with private enterprises in order to give the consumers the best deal. If this would have been the case with NASA, we would have had better results from them.