Winston Edmondson wants to be your voice.

By: Campaign Staff

Lewisville is an amazing city. It offers all the perks of a big city, but still manages to maintain that small town warmth. Unfortunately, there are some areas where we're heading in the wrong direction. We can remedy these problems, thanks to our community of concerned citizens. We can count on you to let us know when we're not on the right path. The relationship only works, however, when you have a Mayor and City Council willing to listen, and act on your concerns. Lately, as so many of you have told me, your concerns are falling on deaf ears. As Mayor, not only will I listen to you, I will repeat your concerns until we get it right. I will be your voice.

Your issues: I'm listening.

By: Winston Edmondson

In my conversations with Lewisville residents, I often hear something along the lines of, "Let me tell you about something that concerns me. I might be the only one that feels this way, but...", and then they tell me what's on their minds. I'll let you in on a little secret. I hear the same concerns over and over again. If you're concerned about your community, you're not alone. As Mayor, I will address the issues that we, as a community, feel need attention.

Illegal Immigration
It's okay to oppose illegal immigration. Despite what the mainstream media has to say about it, there's nothing wrong with wanting to uphold the laws of our land. It's impossible to ignore the negative fiscal and social effects of illegal immigration. While the effects can't be ignored, the root of the problem has been ignored by the Lewisville City Council. As Mayor, I will push aggressively for the adoption and continued use of two programs that have had remarkable results in Farmers Branch and Irving. The Criminal Alien Program (CAP) ensures that we don't release illegal aliens that are incarcerated back into our community. The ICE 287(g) Program provides specialized training for our police officers. The training is funded by the federal government and results in officers that have the authority for immigration enforcement. With these two programs in place, Lewisville will effectively be making the statement that we are not an illegal immigration friendly city. Those that think a statement like this is controversial should focus on the word "illegal" and reconsider their stance.

Old Town Lewisville
Old Town Lewisville is the heart of our city. It's vitaly important that we revitalize Old Town. Even more important, however, is the need to listen to the families that call Old Town home. We've lost beautiful, historic houses in Old Town because we didn't hear the urgency in the voices of citizens that begged the City Council to save them. There are creative solutions that can speed up the revitalization process while honoring the history of Old Town.

Business Development/Property Taxes
The excessive commercial space vacancies in Lewisville are a black eye to the city. As Mayor, I will take an active role in bringing new businesses to the area. The importance of these efforts cannot be understated. In order to maintain low property taxes, we must have an active business community so we can generate income from sales tax.

Government Transparency
There's absolutely no reason for the City Council to conduct business at a special "Council Retreat" in Ft. Worth at tax payer's expense. It doesn't make fiscal sense, and it certainly doesn't promote civic engagement. As Mayor, I will give the government back to the people, encouraging them to participate by making our procedures more transparent and our processes more user friendly.

Police & Fire Services
The real life heroes in Lewisville, our Police and Fire Services teams, must have all the tools, training, and equipment necessary to do their jobs safely and efficiently. Our police officers have been denied the valuable training that they need to deal with illegal immigration. There are costly state of the art training systems that would benefit our fire services department. As Mayor, I would make sure our police force get the additional training, and I would forge creative partnerships that would result in additional training and equipment for our fire services department, without taking additional money from the City coffers.