Richard Herman
Challenger for Amarillo City Council, Place 4
Herman/Photo by Campaign
Question: What is your age?
Answer: 56
Q: How long have you lived in Amarillo?
A: I have been back home from the military for 18 years
Q: What is your educational background?
A: High School, US Army, and College and was selected distinguished honor graduate a few times but I also believe that a piece of paper don't make you smart because I have known people with a GED that make better decisions than some of the folks we elect that have all kinds of paper.
Q: What is your occupation?
A: Retired US Army, Justice of the Peace, and Business Owner
Q: If you are a business owner, please list the business or businesses that you own.
A: N/A because I sold everything for retirement
Q: Please list any civic boards or commissions (non-profit, government, union, political, etc.) on which you have served as a board member or equivalent.
A: Legacy Life Member of the VFW and Past District Commander, President of Amarillo Lions SPUR Club, Distinguished Member of the Audie Murphy Club, Served as Trustee, CEO, and other positions in various boards in the community
Q: If your campaign has any online campaign resources where voters can learn more about you, such as social media accounts or a website, please list them below.
A: Text Herman to 94253 https://www.facebook.com/judgerichardherman, https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-herman-b8bb0643/
Q: Why did you decide to run for this office in 2021?
A: Overall, I believe that our community should be a safe place to live, raise a family, and work. I will go to work on day one working with first responders and law enforcement to ensure our community is safe. I will bring new businesses to our area while remembering how important it is to support and improve the businesses that are already here first. I believe that when we work on decreasing the homelessness and improve the ways we deal with mental health it has a domino effect on the safety and security in our community. I believe that it is important that Economic Development in Amarillo remains a vibrant, competitive, and our children deserve the opportunity to find good paying jobs because they are important to us. Something that is personal to me is religion and I believe that it goes against our constitution when our elected government restricts our freedom to worship in any way. I believe that our church leaders should be left alone, and no government interference is acceptable.
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities in office?
A: On day one I will go to work on Safety and Security of our community which is my priority, Infrastructure and cleaning up our city are important, Mental Health and Homelessness needs more attention, and Economic Development and Competitiveness is important to provide opportunity for our children.
Q: What is your opinion on taxpayer-funded lobbying? Please explain.
A: I am not a fan of it and understand that it is done to give our city a competitive advantage in Austin but if it is done properly it can bring more opportunity to future generations in our community but should be monitored closely to make sure we are not spending more than we are receiving.
Q: Do you support moving municipal elections to November of even-numbered years? Please explain.
A: Absolutely because it would be cheaper on the community.
Q: Do you support single-member districts for City Council representation? Please explain.
A: I am in support of single member districts because it makes a council person responsible for a certain area and people someone to hold accountable.
Q: In what cases would you support efforts to raise property taxes? Please explain.
A: I really don't support it ever but am realistic and understand bills have to be paid just like at home because if we don't pay the electric or water bill they turn it off.
Q: In the 2020 general election, did you support or oppose Proposition A ($275 million Amarillo Civic Center and downtown projects bond)? Please explain.
A: I strongly opposed it because it was to much money, they were raising the taxes because they couldn't pay the bills we already had, and people were on lockdown for COVID. I really thought it was pretty dumb to spend that kind of money when so many local restaurants, small businesses, and people were struggling financially because of the lockdown.
Q: What is an issue you believe has gone overlooked in your race and how will you address it if elected?
A: If people do their home work they will realize we are actually budgeted less sworn officers than we were when the current council took office in 2017 versus 2021. I plan on working on solving this issue with law enforcement to increase the safety and security in our city because I believe it is the first responsibility of any elected official at any level of government.
Q: Why are you the best candidate for voters to support for this position?
A: I believe that my track record of success has proven that I am a man that loves my community and will work harder for them because of my passion for them. I believe that we must improve our community not only for each other but also for the opportunity of future generations because we all want our children and grand children to have greater opportunity.