ELECTION
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On Nov. 26, Frisco City Council Member Dan Stricklin said he will run for a seat on the Denton County Commissioners Court. He e ectively resigned his Council Place 5 seat, according to Frisco o cials. By state law, the city was required to set an election date no later than 120 days from the resignation. The date could not be set exactly 120 days after the resignation on March 26 due to it being within 30 days of the state primary election March 1. Frisco City Council Place 5
Jan. 12-25 early voting Jan. 29 election day
SAI KRISHNA
LAURA RUMMEL
Occupation: owner and principal consultant of Many Voices, a lead- ership development and coaching business Experience: two terms on Frisco City Council, two years as mayor pro tem, 20-plus years of serving on Frisco boards and commissions TRACIE REVEAL SHIPMAN
Occupation: registered nurse and insurance provider
Occupation: director, strategic accounts for PayPal Experience: 20 years in consumer products and payments industries negotiating agreements with some of the largest companies in the
Experience: advocate in local Indian community and local chapters, direc- tor at national organizations in India and the U.S. in di erent capacities Campaign website: www.votesaikrishna.com Contact information: 2saikris@gmail.com
world, city of Frisco Social Services and Housing Board member, and two years of involvement with City Council meetings and work sessions Campaign website: www.lauraforfrisco.com Contact information: laura@lauraforfrisco.com
Campaign website: www.friscotracie.com Contact information: tracie@friscotracie.com
Why are you running for o ce?
I rst moved to Frisco in 2002 and am passionate about our city. With two decades of leadership experience at Fortune 500 companies, mostly in nancial technology, I bring a fresh perspective toward building this city’s best future. I ran for this position in 2020, coming very close in the runo , and my com- mitment hasn’t wavered. I’ve stayed very involved and still want to help keep Frisco a place we’re all proud to call home.
A success is viewed di erently by each individual. I de ne my success as to be able to serve my community that we live in. I have adopted this philosophy to meet my intrinsic need. I have been pursuing this passion of mine in the communities that I lived in starting from Mysore, India, my birthplace, and Frisco, my adopted new home. I see a great deal of work that I could contribute.
Retiring City Manager George Purefoy’s heart and handprints are all over Frisco. Selecting his replacement is an immediate and monumental decision facing City Council. For our quality of life, our home values, our future as a state and national leader among municipalities … we simply cannot a ord to get this hire wrong. This crucial decision and its potential impact on Frisco’s future is my primary catalyst for running.
What are the biggest challenges facing the residents of Frisco?
When you say challenges, it is a vast area that needs more critique and needs a talented intervention. Every opportunity is most important to understand, and there are plenty of options that just slipped from the positive outcomes and turned out to be a challenge. Again, we need to change the approach and think outside the box and nd a solution.
Our remaining development needs to be carefully managed. Our infrastructure must be prioritized, maintaining our high standard for city services like public safety, roads and water. The challenge is allocating limited funding to our existing/aging infrastructure and at the same time building a strong founda- tion for future growth. I support creative ways of increasing city revenues without raising property taxes.
That depends on who you ask. For 2021, council set among its top priorities: a performing arts center, increasing tourism, master planning of Grand Park, help bring the World Cup to DFW. Residents will tell you they want council to prioritize scal responsibility, reducing tra c, balancing our public safety needs with associated costs and smart growth management.
If elected, what would be your top priorities?
WithGeorge Purefoy set to retire in June, ourmost urgent priority is hiring our next citymanager. This choicewill shape the future of Frisco, and the search goes beyond the citymanager selection (whichmay ormay not be an internal candidate), but alsobrings the opportunity to create a successionplan. Prioritizing infrastructure, smart growth, developing aworld-class center for innovation and entrepreneurship, our parks andour pets aremy additional priorities.
I have three key priorities which I want to emphasize on: wom- en’s and youth empowerment, infrastructure and public safety.
1. Help hire our next city manager, and support city sta in executing the transition plan—which could include other big personnel changes if longtime city sta follow George Purefoy into retirement. 2. When I served on past councils, we lowered the tax rate annually. I will bring that voting record back to the dais, so residents can continue to expect city nances that are sound, systemic and bene cial in the near- and long term.
What are some new ideas or programs you would like the city to explore?
The critical factor is conducting neighborhood meetings in a scheduled calendar more frequently and making sure that I am available to residents. Becoming councilman is not the question; what is coming on the table and unique to resi- dents/city is essential—being said that my delivery of service will be outstanding.
Innovation and continuous improvement are core practices forme, bothpersonally andprofessionally. I would encourage city sta to bring their ideas onhowwe can improve city services.We have tal- entedpeopleworking for our citywhohave created award- winning programs and saved Friscomoney.My one askwouldbe for Frisco to consider a local animal shelter and amopen to a public-private partnership tohelpmake it happen.
I would like to see the city partner with developers to encour- age them to reinvest in older areas of Frisco that are still vibrant, valuable and worthy of attention. I realize that new rooftop construction makes the fastest money, but I suspect we can tap into grants and funding at no cost to Frisco that would incentivize our commercial investors to get creative on ways to sustainably and pro tably focus on areas like downtown.
Answers may have been edited for length, style and clarity. Read full Q&A’s at communityimpact.com .
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FRISCO EDITION • JANUARY 2022
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