A bond has officially been put on the ballot and four Plano City Council places are up for election, leaving a lot to consider before the May election.
City Council – Who’s running and on what platforms?
The Plano City Council consists of eight at-large places with district-specific residency requirements for Places 1 through 4. The upcoming May election will have races for Places 2, 4 and 8 as Place 6 (Mayor John Muns) is running unopposed.
Anthony Rocciardelli (Place 2), Kayci Prince (Place 4) and Rick Smith (Place 8) have all hit their term limits after eight years on City Council, leaving their seats up for grabs. Let’s take a look at who is gunning for the spots so far:
Place 2 (West Plano) candidates include Bob Kehr, Douglas Reeves and Carson K. Underwood.
Bob Kehr brings a career in software development to the mix, having run his own Plano-based IT managed services provider company for nearly 20 years. Kehr also served as a Parks & Recreation Commissioner for the City of Plano from 2022-2024. He is running on a platform of finding solutions to housing issues, increasing funding for Plano Police and Fire Rescue, updating four-corner retail into space “more suited for the future,” increasing maintenance and improvements to roads and infrastructure and pursuing bringing in corporations.
Douglas Reeves ran against former Mayor Harry LaRosiliere in 2017 on the platform of reducing the amount of high-density apartments being built. Reeves is a U.S. Army veteran and founder/director of My Brothers’ Helper, a nonprofit that links disabled adults with employers. His platform on this election centers on the same opposition to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing and high-density housing.
Carson Underwood is a former Collin County CAD Board Member and Collin County Park Advisory Commission member, current vice chair of the Park Advisory Commission, vice chair of the Willow Bend Lakes HOA, member of Plano Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association, member of Plano VIP (Volunteers in Plano), retired yoga teacher and lifetime member of the American Paint Horse Association. (Mentioned as he says horses led him to Texas through competition to begin with.) He is running on a platform of building more homes to move the current rental-ownership rate more toward homeowners, infrastructure improvement, job creation, expanding Plano’s parks and libraries and prioritizing public safety.
Place 4 (South Central Plano) candidates include Christene Krupa Downs and Cody Weaver.
Christene Krupa Downs is a licensed attorney with her own Plano-based practice specializing in estate planning, probate and guardianship law. She has given several presentations on these topics in the region. She has previously served on the Plano Cultural Arts Commission and is a member of Leadership Plano Class 22. She is running on the platform of improving resources for first responders, improving roads and infrastructure, preserving city services and enhancing parks, trails, libraries and recreation centers.
Cody Weaver is a licensed residential real estate broker. He has served on the Plano ISD board of trustees, Dallas Area Torah Association in Plano and Leadership Plano Class 38. He is running on a platform of increasing funding for first responders, reducing the DART tax burden on taxpayers and improving parks, recreation centers and libraries.
Place 8 candidates include Vidal Quintanilla and Hayden Padgett.
Vidal Quintanilla is a member of Hope’s Door New Beginning Center Young Professionals Committee, the North Texas Disability Chamber, and both the Plano Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association (PCPAAA) and Plano Fire Rescue Associates (PRFA) as well as a graduate of Leadership Plano, Class 40 and the Plano Citizens Government Academy. He is running on the platform of creating job opportunities, fostering local businesses, keeping property taxes low, advocating for resources for police and fire and revitalizing the four-corners retail area.
Hayden Padgett is a fintech product manager who is currently the board chair for Plano Parks & Recreation. He ran for the Republican Party in the Texas House of Representatives Place 70 in 2022 but did not get enough votes in the primary election. According to a post on Facebook, he is running on the platform of lowering taxes, enhancing parks and trails, repairing roads and public safety.
With most candidates running on the same issues – road construction, housing, jobs, property taxes and job attraction – the election will be a show of community engagement.
The Bond: What is it and why does it seem HUGE?
In addition to the council races, a bond is on the books for the election that will run the city $647.9 million. And no, that’s not a typo. According to an interview with KERA on the bond package, the bond’s high number is due to inflation causing the price of materials and land purchases to increase, with updates to roads and facilities as a priority.
“I mentioned earlier that Plano is a mature city. Muns told Plano has one of the highest senior property tax freezes. That lowers property tax revenue. He says the city doesn’t want that to change. But it does mean they may need to explore other options for big projects,” KERA’s Caroline Love said. “That’s where the bond comes in. Rhodes Whitley says they’ll issue the debt and collect the money over the next 20 years.”
According to Love, the original bond was almost twice as much, and many projects, like an arts building, were taken off the docket and will need alternative funding sources. The bond, if approved, would add about 3.2 cents to the city’s property tax rate in 2029.
The bond will be broken down into propositions. We’ve summarized them:
Prop A: $316,470 to streets, bridges, intersections, etc.
Prop B: $155,155,000 to police headquarters
Prop C: $51,000,000 to police training center
Prop D: $37,485,000 to public safety facilities
Prop E: $45,135,000 for fleet operations center
Prop F: $1,870 to Schimelpfenig Library
Prop G: $40,795,000 to parks and recreation facilities
Election Info
Early voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from April 22 to 29 at the Collin County Election Office located at 2010 Redbud Blvd. or by mail.
