Questions for Pearland City Council Candidates

Name: Clint Byrom

Position Seeking: City Council – Position 4 Campaign Website: n/a

Campaign Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clintforpearland Campaign Email: voteClint@gmail.com

Campaign Telephone: 409-273-1122

What was the most important factor that influenced your decision to run for Pearland City Council and what makes you the ideal candidate?

1. 1. My two daughters are the main reason I am running for City I believe in giving back to your community and doing what you can to improve the future for the next generation. Pearland is a wonderful community where one can settle down and raise a family. I want to do my part to build on the foundations we have and protect the values that built our city. I want my daughters to be proud of where they are from and to be able to unequivocally say “yes” to raising their families here if that is an option for them.
   2. I believe that the foundation of good governance is relationships. In order to be an effective civil servant one needs to have built relationships across a spectrum of the community with residents, business owners, community leaders, faith leaders, civic leaders, and city staff. I have spent the last 19 years here in Pearland doing just that. I have taken the time to build the relationships that will allow me to go to work for the citizens of Pearland on day one. I have spent the last 8 years intentionally learning how our city functions and how its many facets work together. There is always more to learn, and new challenges are sure to arise as we continue to I look forward to utilizing my knowledge of the city and the relationships I have built in order to help lead our community.

Pearland ISD School Board is referred to as the Team 8. This refers to the concept of trustees working with the superintendent to implement How can the City Council follow a similar approach and achieve the city’s direction from a team perspective?

1. This is something I have discussed extensively throughout the community in recent months. Pearland is led by City Council and managed by our City Manager. Council is a team and must be able to function as As a member of Council, it will be my job to work alongside my fellow council members in order to reach consensus on various matters and to give clear direction to the City Manager. At the same time, I believe that Council needs to be open to hearing from our City Manager, and city staff, so as to understand the day to day needs that they see within our city. Our city has a great staff that are both knowledgeable and passionate about what they do. I believe that Council should recognize their commitment to our city and heed their advice and input. Leading Pearland should truly be a team effort.

Beyond the major expansion of FM 518 Broadway, what long-term transportation projects or improvements do you believe are necessary for Pearland’s growing population?

1. I believe that Pearland has made some great strides in improving traffic flow across our community. We all know that Pearland is a wide and narrow city where East/West travel is paramount. The extensions of both McHard and Magnolia have greatly improved our East/West mobility and the current Bailey Road expansion will also ease the demand on However, North/South travel is also important as many of our residents still need to commute into Houston for work. I believe a future expansion of MyKawa is in the works with TxDot and is slated to begin in 2025. An expansion of 1128 is currently in the design phases and the Smith Ranch Rd. project is planned to begin later this year. Each of these projects will serve to improve overall mobility within our community. As a member of city council, I would seek the expertise of our city’s planning and engineering departments when considering future projects to determine the best, safest, and most effective road expansions needed to set Pearland up for future growth in our community.

How do you define pro-active engagement with the business community and how do you plan to achieve this engagement?

1. I would define pro-active engagement as exactly that - being Shopping local, connecting with business leaders at Chamber Events, attending community functions, and taking the time to meet our business leaders where they are rather than waiting for them to come to council. Over the years I have gotten to know a number of business leaders here in our community due to my involvement at various levels throughout our city. I intend to continue to be engaged locally and I look forward to more opportunities to meet and connect with our business community.

What is your ideal vision for the future of economic development in Pearland?

1. Prosperity is one of the cornerstones of my campaign. I want to see Pearland continue to take the steps necessary to attract high paying jobs to our community so that our residents do not have to commute to Houston, or other neighboring cities, for good jobs. This means we need a diversity of job opportunities here in Pearland. In order to attract jobs, we need an attractive, business friendly community. A city’s infrastructure is something the business community looks at when considering investing in a given area. Pearland has done a good job of catching up on infrastructure needs over the past several years. More work is certainly needed but great progress has been made.
2. I also believe that we need to foster a development friendly environment if we are to attract investment in our community. This means that we need to have a permitting process that takes a common-sense, user-friendly approach to getting projects designed, approved, and off the ground; within the framework of Pearland’s land use plan.
3. Effective economic development also means looking for opportunities to incentivize investment in our community through vehicles such as a TIRZ. I believe that working alongside the Chamber and the PEDC is best way to keep a “finger on the pulse” of the marketplace in order to ensure that Pearland is the city of choice when businesses are looking to start up or expand.

The Pearland Prosperity Plan has served as a community strategic plan and was recently Which area(s) do you believe should receive the most attention?

1. 1. I believe that Infrastructure and Mobility is the most important focus area of the prosperity plan. We cannot have a thriving community without a resilient and sustainable infrastructure. In recent years we have made great strides in water production, wastewater treatment, and drainage improvements. We need to continue our efforts in these areas while also adding a focus on improving our roads while establishing sustainable maintenance and repair Having a resilient and sustainable infrastructure provides peace of mind for businesses looking to build in, and/or expand to, our community.
   2. I also believe that Corridors needs to be a primary area of The 288 TIRZ has proven to be successful, and we need to be considering something similar for the 35 corridor. We need to look for opportunities to create an attractive investment environment for good, high paying jobs to come to Pearland as we continue to be the city of choice for people moving to our region.

What is the role of the City of Pearland in Workforce Development?

1. According to the Pearland Prosperity Plan, “access to an educated and skilled workforce is the most important factor driving location decisions for ” The plan further states that Pearland has “a highly educated community that boasts excellent PK-12 public schools and proximity to numerous higher education institutions and training providers.” However, the plan notes that we need a better pipeline to connect local talent and the business community. The City can play a role in this process by working alongside the Chamber of Commerce and the PEDC to promote networking opportunities for the talent available within our city. The City could also coordinate opportunities for educational institutions, the Chamber, non-profits, staffing agencies and the like, through the PEDC, to coordinate and brainstorm on how to leverage the talent currently available within our community as well as build and improve the systems currently in place. The Chamber’s Workforce Council, the Adult Education Center, the PEDC, Turner, ACC, UHCL are just a few of the entities that could be brought together for this purpose.
2. Communication is key in my opinion. The City could leverage its various communication platforms to promote the efforts of these entities and spread the word on job placement events or career training opportunities as they come

What is the biggest concern you have heard from businesses and how do you plan to address these concerns?

The biggest concern that I have both heard, and experienced, is that the permitting process in Pearland is rather challenging. The UDC, in its current form, is too rigid and restrictive making it very difficult to get a project off the ground. The City has made improvements in this area and I understand that further improvements are already However, if we want to be the city of choice for families or business investment then we need to make the process of here in Pearland much more user friendly.

What do you think has been our City’s greatest accomplishment within the past 10 years?

1. 1. I believe that one of the City’s greatest accomplishments in recent years is the completion of the Surface Water Treatment Plant on the west side of town off
   2. This project marks the single largest capital investment into the city’s infrastructure in our history to date. It is also a milestone marking Pearland’s independence from the City of Houston for water while creating a robust and resilient water supply for our community. With its 10 million gallon per day capacity, this water treatment facility, along with the rest of our water infrastructure, will afford Pearland the capacity it needs to weather drought conditions more effectively, provide our community with a clean and efficient water supply, and have room for future capacity as the city continues to grow and the demand for water increases.

The 'Strengthening Pearland's Mental Health Framework: A Community Blueprint' document outlines critical mental health challenges faced by our community, including the need for more inpatient resources, overcrowding in emergency departments, and the impact on students and law As a City Council member, what specific steps would you take to implement the recommendations outlined in this blueprint, such as establishing a dedicated in-patient crisis center, expanding school-based counseling services, and supporting the pipeline of qualified counselors? How would you prioritize mental health initiatives in the context of city planning and budgeting?

1. This is an area that is near and dear to my heart. Last year I began taking classes to get my master’s degree in marriage and family therapy with a long- term goal of becoming a licensed marriage and family I have a passion for helping build strong marriages, and strong families within our community and I believe that will have a positive impact on mental health issues. Mental health is definitely an issue here and across the country. I believe that a large contributor to this issue is the cultural breakdown in our values system and the breakdown of the family unit. I also believe that our faith community, non-profits, and industry professionals are the best equipped to address these concerns within our community. I feel that the City can play a role in engaging on this issue by facilitating think tanks/brainstorming sessions where these entities can work collaboratively towards developing solutions to the mental health issues we face. The city could then work on supporting those solutions by developing pathways to ease the process of permitting, inspections, or licensing that may be needed; similar to the approach we took in bringing the Isaiah117House to Pearland.

Each candidate also gets 300 words to provide a bio.

Clint Byrom attended All Saints Episcopal school in Beaumont and graduated from Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School in 1998. He received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Texas A&M University in 2003. There he met his wife of 20 years, Christina. They have lived in Pearland for 19 years and have two amazing daughters.

Clint and Christina became members of Crosspoint Church in 2005 where Clint served on staff for just under 5 years and was ordained as their Business Operations Pastor in 2019.

Clint went to work for Beazer Homes in 2003. In 2007 he went to work for his father’s land development and custom home construction business, Brint Construction, Inc., alongside his brother, Brian. In 2018 he and his brother began their own land development and home building business, Brint, Inc, while also working for their dad. He retired in 2022 and closed Brint Construction, Inc. in 2023. The brothers continue to run Brint, Inc. today.

Service has always been a guiding principle for Clint and his family. His many areas of service include being an Elder at Crosspoint Church, serving on the Pearland Drainage Bond Committee in 2022, working with the Operation Red Wing Foundation to build them their first wholly owned treatment location at Crystal Beach and serving alongside the Light House Charity Team from 2014 – 2021. Most recently they have been supporting the Cole Gordon Foundation and are working with Isaiah117House to build a home to change the way foster care begins in Brazoria County. Clint has served his neighborhood by sitting on, and presiding as the President of, his HOA. He has also served as a board member, and board President, of the Next Generation Academy here in Pearland.

Questions for Pearland City Council Candidates

Name: Veronica Kreuder Longoria

Position Seeking: Pearland City Council Pos 4

Campaign Website: None

Campaign Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556645534712

Campaign Email: vlongoria009@gmail.com

Campaign Telephone: 713—447-9009

Candidate intro:

The biggest factor that influenced my decision to run for Pearland City Council was my passion for the preservation of a city I dearly love. We are going in the wrong direction, high spending, credit rating is going down the pipes, fees everywhere and going up, people call our water liquid gold. Tax and spend, feels like our daily hamster wheel, so one day I decided complaining on social apps or at a meeting was not enough – it was time to take action. So I ran, and here I am.

I am a great candidate. I am a candidate of the people. I am a regular middle class worker just like you. I may not own a business but I do have a Master’s in Business Administration. I am currently in a management position of a team of amazing professionals. I have worked in the legal field for over half my life from family law to corporate law, from personal bankruptcy law to intellectual property law. I understand the needs of businesses and people from both sides.

Pearland ISD School Board is referred to as the Team 8. This refers to the concept of trustees working with the superintendent to implement policy. How can the City Council follow a similar approach and achieve the city’s direction from a team perspective?

While I believe team 8 is already part of the cornerstones of council, we need share differing perspectives and discuss the unpopular issues. Council needs to active their listening ears each time a resident comes to speak. I think we could be better at talking about the challenges respectfully as professionals to find the best solution for residents, not for what is easy for elected person sitting up on that council table.

Beyond the major expansion of FM 518 Broadway, what long-term transportation projects or improvements do you believe are necessary for Pearland’s growing population?

We should consider the metro ride share pilot program again for the 288 corridor. The tollway can be used by the buses to help alleviate some of the congestion. Right now, that tollway either requires your arm and leg to ride it or taking away more precious time of our lives to sit in traffic. Sometime this summer, council will be considering microtransit for the area which will greatly help seniors and the disabled. If we could somehow make living here more affordable maybe more people would live and work here. The recent study by HGAC shows a very high percentage of residents commute outside the city. The higher paying jobs are outside of Pearland.

How do you define pro-active engagement with the business community and how do you plan to achieve this engagement?

Proactive means getting out there and connecting with local businesses and not waiting for them to come to you. Attend events, ribbon cuttings, if there are grants, programs that would help them to succeed, share the knowledge. Be a river, not a reservoir. I don’t see council regularly at the govt relations committee meetings held by the chamber. They should make a commitment for one seat to attend each month and provide an update to the chamber and also the residents who listen in.

What is your ideal vision for the future of economic development in Pearland?

We need to find alternative sources of revenue now that Texas passed a bill that exempts a large portion of our Lower Kirby businesses from paying taxes which will greatly impact the money we have coming in, maybe even in the millions. We need to attract larger “primary employers” like Mitsubishi so that not all of the tax burden lays on the shoulders of the residents through property and sales tax revenue. Taxpayers are footing the bill to maintain the beautification of this city to attract businesses but they should be paying their fair share to enjoy the space with tax paying residents.

The Pearland Prosperity Plan has served as a community strategic plan and was recently revised. Which area(s) do you believe should receive the most attention?

The primary 2015 shift from economic development/marketing is to business development/marketing number in 2024 lacks one important issue to address, are we going to continue to provide land for expansion for businesses exempt from tax revenue do the new bill? Where are these new businesses going to build considering land is one of our city’s most precious and dwindling resources? Maybe the town center should be revitalized to attract retailers with better branding. I am not sure how much tax revenue is coming from $5 legging stores.

What is the role of the City of Pearland in Workforce Development?

There is a huge pool of workforce resources due to our proximity to several parts of Houston, instead of people posting on the talk of Pearland looking for jobs, we should have a robust system of jobs available across all businesses in Pearland, not just those who pay to be part of an organization. We need to improve on connecting businesses to job seekers and partner with workforce solutions to get people trained up and get the word out about trainings. A skilled workforce leads to revenue, either in visiting or living here.

What is the biggest concern you have heard from businesses and how do you plan to address these concerns?

Takes forever to get permits and it is costly to open a business here. Maybe we can have city dept managers perform some evaluations on poor performing employees and move them under a Performance Improvement Plan to the permitting department to help work through the backlog.

What do you think has been our City’s greatest accomplishment within the past 10 years?

The city has managed to maintain its beauty in spite of its quick growth. I highly enjoy all the crepe myrtles, oak trees, fountains in the retention ponds, landscape details in the detention ponds, park events, high school events, Mary’s creek trail, and town center events.

The 'Strengthening Pearland's Mental Health Framework: A Community Blueprint' document outlines critical mental health challenges faced by our community, including the need for more inpatient resources, overcrowding in emergency departments, and the impact on students and law enforcement. As a City Council member, what specific steps would you take to implement the recommendations outlined in this blueprint, such as establishing a dedicated in-patient crisis center (this is mentioned at the county level. I would support the endeavors of county officials in building a center with revenue streams from Federal or State grants or funding), expanding school-based counseling services (I believe this question is better suited to ISD Candidate), and supporting the pipeline of qualified counselors? (Candidate comments in italics)

As a supporter of Law Enforcement, I think we could tackle this problem in two ways with one solution. Mental Health Deputies. The mental health deputy program augments the state’s crisis response system by diverting people in need of behavioral health crisis services--away from hospitals and jails to effective and less costly community-based behavioral health treatment. Mental health deputies are law enforcement officers with additional specialized training in crisis intervention provided by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Mental health deputies work collaboratively with the community and their local mental or behavioral health authority’s crisis response team. How would you prioritize mental health initiatives in the context of city planning and budgeting? I don’t believe it would be in my top 3 in front of police pay, budget and infrastructure.

Each candidate also gets 300 words to provide a bio.

Veronica is a legal professional, Chief of Staff. Born and raised in El Paso Texas, she moved here at 12yrs old so her stepfather could attend medical school at Baylor. Veronica frequented the library halls of Baylor and chatted with Dr. Red Duke on occasion. It was here that she became a lover of learning and education. Prior to moving to Houston she attended St. Pius X up until 8^th and her faith continues to carry her through every moment in life.

Veronica has a keen interest in the law with over 25 years’ experience. She began her legal career in family law and later worked in personal injury. When she moved into corporate/transactional law she completed an undergrad in pre-law at UHCL. Later when she moved in-house with the State of Texas, Veronica pursued an MBA at UT Tyler. After graduate school, she went to work for Houston tax consulting firm and has been there for the last 6 years.

Throughout her career, Veronica has demonstrated exceptional skills in problem-solving, leadership, communication, making decisions, team building and strategic thinking. Her commitment to honesty and ethics has been evident in her professional endeavors.

Veronica is a mom and a grandma. She purchased a house with her husband in the historic part of Pearland in 2004. Her daughter graduated from PHS and her grandchild is in a faith-based academy. Over the years she has developed a passion for connecting people and serving her community. She has dedicated hundreds of hours locally to the community and continues to dedicate herself to staying engaged. Her passion for learning, connecting, and serving will always be part of who she is.

With a vision to [your long-term goals or aspirations], [Your Name] continues to strive for excellence in all aspects of their life, seeking opportunities to make a positive impact in their community and beyond.