03/30/2015
TJ Brown
City Council Candidate Questionnaire - 2015
Topeka Capital Journal
1. What have you done in terms of community and public service?
I believe in Servant Leadership (Service Above Self). I've spent most of my adult life in community or public service.
US Army (Retired 2009) Master Sergeant – 29 years. Nurse/EMT/Combat Medic – 21 years. Oakland Neighborhood Improvement Association (NIA) Board President – 2 years. Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) Representative – 2 years. CAC Alternate Representative – 2 years. Oakland NIA active member – 7 years. Neighborhood Watch Coordinator – 3 years. Citizen Patrol member – 5 years. Safe Streets Coalition member – 4 years.
National Night Out Against Crime event leader/volunteer. Keep America Beautiful event volunteer. Get Down and Get Dirty event volunteer. Hands On Topeka event volunteer. Quincy Veterans House volunteer adviser. LULAC Senior Center event volunteer. El Centro event volunteer. Oakland United Methodist Church mobile food pantry distribution volunteer. Let's Help meals volunteer. Mural Project volunteer.
Community Action (CA), Inc Board of Directors and Community Services Committee member. Heartland Visioning Steering Committee member. Seward Avenue Action Group committee member. Neighborhood Task Force Committee participant. Heartland Healthy Neighborhoods (HHN) Complete Streets Committee member. Metropolitan Topeka Planning Organization (MTPO) Policy Board member.
2. Why should people vote for you instead of your opponent?
My demonstrated commitment to District 2 and Topeka through hard work and long hours spent representing, advocating for, assisting families, neighborhoods, and local businesses in my district. Years and dedication working for the betterment of my neighborhood, District 2, and our city. For being an active and hands on volunteer supporting organizations serving our community.
Honesty and Integrity. As a senior military leader I lived the Army Values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless-Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage (LEADERSHIP). These same values continue to guide every decision I make as representative for the people of District 2.
Because my first concern on any issue is always how does this serve the best interest of middle income Topekans and provide opportunity, protect, or benefit the 21% of our citizens who live in poverty. Because I am committed to improving the core services of our city government in a fiscally responsible manner. Because I believe local government has a role and responsibility in the cooperation, collaboration, and teamwork needed to solve complex social and economic problems.
Because I believe everyone should be treated fairly and with dignity. Because I reject divisiveness, coercion, or special influence as a means of advancing policy. Because I believe in using common sense. Because I am reasonable, responsible, and professional. Because I treat my position as a full-time responsibility.
3. What issues compelled you to run, and where do you stand on them?
(A) Strong, ethical, and honest representation for my district. I am committed to this.
(B) Safe liveable neighborhoods. Improving and growing Topeka starts in our neighborhoods. Almost all city services affect this – Neighborhood Relations, Public Works, Planning, Police, Fire, Municipal Court. My priority and responsibility is ensuring these services are responsive, effective, and cost efficient.
(C) Ensuring Community Policing is and remains the central focus of our police department built upon a relationship of cooperation, collaboration, and mutual respect. I support Chief James Brown's reorganization toward this goal; for acting on my suggestions to fully support a revitalized Citizen Patrol and to Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) training to more of his officers and extend that training to citizens in our community.
(D) Continued improvement and repair of our streets and infrastructure with project selection and priority based on a fair measurable scoring system free from politics or special interest. I am advocating for making this criteria and all project selection information available to the public.
(E) Modernizing our local economic development - Smart economic investment focused more on assisting our own local small and medium sized businesses toward becoming regional, national, and international companies and less on land acquisition, cash incentives, and tax abatement in order to bring more dollars into the Topeka economy at a lower cost. Providing better workforce training and poverty reduction through work opportunities.
I fully support the Joint Economic Development Organization (JEDO) developing it's own Comprehensive Strategic Economic Development Plan; for setting measurable and quantifiable economic development goals; and providing more responsible oversight for it's agent Go Topeka.
4. What would you bring to the city council that it doesn't already have?
I believe that I bring a unique set of attributes - values, knowledge, skills, abilities, and life experience.
I am very good at leading and facilitating a group toward accomplishing an objective. I think one of my main strengths is the ability to analyze complex problems, develop ideas, connect alternate resources, and formulate potential solutions. I have extensive experience researching and writing policy. I am a self-directed life-long learner. I have a passion for knowledge and useful information. I'm smart enough to know what I don't know.
My life has provided me with a depth and breadth of experience – I was a successful leader, manager, and instructor/trainer/educator for many years. Earlier in my adult life through a strong work ethic and education I advancing myself through a series of jobs - tree cutter, warehouse worker, factory production worker, quality control inspector, factory foreman, and as a job skills and employment counselor for the disabled and disadvantaged.
As a child and teenager I experienced the effects of poverty first hand - subsisted on welfare, lived in foster care, experienced a parent with mental illness, was an emancipated minor at sixteen, and graduated high school on my own.
5. What are your thoughts on Heartland Park Topeka? Please include what you think of the city's plan to save it and its handling of the situation.
Heartland Park has been the most frustrating issue I've experienced in my time on the city council.
First, because I support and sincerely wanted to honor the intent of the petition and the 5,000+ signers who sought a public vote on the matter. It was very disheartening that we as a city council DID NOT have the statutory authority under Kansas law to authorize a referendum (binding) vote on the issue without a valid petition.
Second, because this created a dilemma where if the council had authorized a non-binding vote (in the case of a majority “no” vote) it would have almost certainly lead to long and costly legal battles (brought by Jayhawk Racing and CoreFirst Bank) for all of us as taxpayers and our city, forfeiture of a 748 acre property and facilities worth $15 million, the loss of over $23.5 million in prior tax payer investment, Heartland Park would have closed indefinitely if not forever, and due to it's closing we would stand to lose $160 million (estimated) that it's activities and races generate annually for the Topeka economy. That would be a loss of $1.6 billion over 10 years from the Topeka economy.
Third, because all of this and a lot of other important information wasn't communicated very well to the public.
Main example – the city isn't “buying” Heartland Park. We, all of us already own it. However this statement was made multiple times. What the city is trying to do is protect the public interest and the substantial public investment that's already been made in this property by purchasing the reversionary interest clause inherited by the current operator to prevent him from claiming ownership of the property in 2025 (at the end of the Star Bond period), and to clear debts held against the property. Yet despite these actual facts both city officials and the media both erred in stating on several occasions that the city was “buying” Heartland Park.
At this time I stand by my belief that expanding the Star Bond district and saving Heartland Park is in the best interest of the citizens of Topeka. I also believe that the majority of Topekans understand this. Based on this belief and the potential legal quagmire that would have resulted, I couldn't support rescinding the resolution authorizing these actions nor support staying the city from having the courts determine the validity of Mr. Imming's petition. However, I had very much hoped that the courts would rule in favor of the petition so that we as a governing body would have the authority to proceed with a public vote on this matter.
6. Topekans tend to have little trust in their local government. What will you do to change that perception?
To my understanding this is a problem in Topeka with some historic basis in fact which warrants that lack of trust. Because of this fact it will take a great deal of successful effort over time to rebuild trust in our local government. This is a challenge we should all take seriously and work diligently toward achieving. It's the right thing to do and our citizens deserve it.
I will continue to advocate and work for improving the transparency of the processes of the governing body and city administration, push for better and more open communication, and for making access available to the public for any and all documents and records possible as part of the normal processes of the city on the city website or by other means and to keep the cost of access to any other documents or records as low as possible.
7. What will your priorities be when considering your votes?
I've already spoken to this somewhat in my answer to question 2. I also consider the following four things - Is it necessary? Is it fair? Is it the right thing to do? Is it worth the cost?
8. What sense of obligation do you feel toward your donors?
I am very appreciative of people who want to donate to my campaign. However, I make it clear to any donor that I only accept their donation with the understanding that they are choosing to support me based on my record and my prior actions and that their donation will not be a consideration in any future decisions that I may make as a member of the city council. I would automatically refuse a donation from anyone who in any way indicated they expected special consideration because of their contribution.
9. What are the most pressing issues impeding Topeka's future success?
Our 21% poverty rate is and should be a primary concern because it is impeding Topeka's future success. The serious state of this issue undercuts our local economy, increases our crime rate, increases outward migration from the city, increases the cost and burden of providing social, nutritional, and health services, makes Topeka less attractive to outside investment, and most importantly if we are not working urgently to find a meaningful and successful strategy to solve this problem this does an injustice to the over 26,500 Topekans directly affected.
In direct relation to the 21% Poverty rate issue we must adapt our local economic development strategy (as I've already stated) but also ensure that we include attacking this issue in that strategy and better incorporate solutions that will assist with building an attainable pathway out of poverty.
10. What are your thoughts on Go Topeka?
I think that it is only prudent and wise as elected officials and community leaders for all aspects of our local economic development efforts to be periodically evaluated for their long-term effectiveness. That is why I strongly support the current initiative to seek a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the JEDO board to develop a Comprehensive Strategic Economic Development Plan.
I think that Go Topeka has had mixed success in it's economic development efforts. Again, I believe this is due at least in part to the JEDO board having not provided and sustained a Comprehensive Strategic Economic Development Plan with clear priorities, goals, and expected outcomes to provide Go Topeka with the direction and accountability any agent would need to chart a path to full success.
Some Go Topeka successes do deserve clear recognition – Mars Chocolate and Bimbo Bakeries to name a few. Regardless, I think the real and meaningful discussion should be how much of our economic development efforts and funds should be targeted at recruitment, monetary incentives, tax abatement, and land acquisition and how much toward other means of economic growth.
