Up for election for the City of Fairfield this year is the Mayor, and Place 1 & 2 on the Council.
Election is set for Saturday, May 7, 2022. Early Voting will be held beginning April 25th and ending May 3rd. For complete information concerning dates and poll locations, click here.
This year’s candidates are:
–incumbent Mayor Kenneth Hughes running unopposed;
–James Tyus running unopposed for Place 1; and
–three candidates vying for Place 2: incumbent Arland Thill, Conrell Lockett III, and Roger McDaniel Keeton.
Candidates were asked the following:
1. What qualifications or special skills will you bring to Fairfield City Council?
–Roger Keeton
I will bring four years on the student government association in college with me. I will also bring three different times that I was a delegate the Texas Republican state conventions for being actively involved in the city affairs. I have also ran three previous times and I feel that I have gotten to know the people very while I was campaigning.
–Arland Thill
I have been the Technology Director for Fairfield ISD for a total of eight years, and have been part of the district for twenty years. I have a great understanding of how budgets work, and I am adept at finding creative and effective ways to make the very best use of taxpayer dollars. I understand that transparency is important, and communication is key to making good decisions. For example, FISD could have spent $600-$800 per teacher computer buying factory machines from Dell, HP, or Acer, but under my leadership, we built all of the computers in house for half the price. This is just an example of how frugal and creative I can be when it comes to making every dollar count. My success in managing the Technology Department at FISD has been built on a foundation of honesty, transparency and a fundamental understanding of the challenges of managing a limited budget sourced with taxpayer dollars.
We also live in a technology age like no other. Having served in this industry for over 25 years, I bring experience and understanding of the technology advancements required to move our city forward into a world where technology is crucial to public safety, security and every aspect of managing a municipality.
2. Voters have petitioned for an Election to approve the proposed $6M Certificates of Obligation to fund city street repairs and the building of a police station / city hall. Will you vote “for” or “against,” and why?
–Roger Keeton
I will vote for that petition if elected because 6 million dollars is at stake and since it is the people’s tax money to begin with they should have complete say in how it is spent.
–Arland Thill
I would 100% vote for this certificate of obligation. When I was appointed to the city council, the first thing I did was take a tour of the entire town. Having lived here for twenty years, I wanted to view this city with fresh eyes. I was completely devastated when I walked into the police station and saw how we have been treating our local police. We are out of compliance on a lot of things at our police station. I learned that this inadequate arrangement was only supposed to be a temporary solution. Almost 3 years later, we are still operating under these temporary, suboptimal conditions, and that just breaks my heart. I know it’s not a good working environment and this is something, as a city, we need to take care of. I was embarrassed to see that a lunchroom table was serving as our municipal courtroom. I knew at that point, something needed to be done.
City Hall is too small to serve its needs in a professional manner. Meetings have been interrupted by citizens coming to pay a water bill. No one believes there is a need to build the Taj Mahal, but there does need to be adequate space to serve all the functions of city government.
City Hall is the heart of our city, and right now, I don’t feel like the heart of our community is well reflected by this space.
The streets speak for themselves in our city, and I can say the majority of them are just in terrible shape. We need to do whatever it takes to get back into shape. I never want to raise taxes, but if we have to, I firmly believe that it should be spent on things that will outlast the life of the bond that is purchasing those items. I think when you keep those things in mind, you are being a good steward of the taxpayers dollars
3. The City of Fairfield has seen growth in local business the last 12 months. Name one thing the City could do to continue supporting that growth, and what you would do as a Council member to see it accomplished.
–Roger Keeton
The city of Fairfield could use some form of entertainment for people to use instead of the local sports teams to cheer for. They could build a movie theater here so that people would not have to travel all the way to Corsicana just to see a movie. As city councilmen I would recommend that we use some of that 6 million dollars to do just that.
–Arland Thill
To help with growth, I would love to see Fairfield start developing new property within city limits to build new neighborhoods. It has been a long time since our city has done anything like this, and to bring in new businesses, we are going to need room to grow. Right now there are not a lot of places to live in our city, and if we do figure out a way to bring in a business that brings 250-300 jobs, we are going to need places for people to live. Also, building new neighborhoods within our city would bring excitement to the community, and it would support and inspire business people and entrepreneurs who want to build and invest in our great little town.
4. Anything else you would like voters to know?
–Roger Keeton
I am currently attending Liberty University Graduate School Online Program so that I can get my Masters Degree in History hopefully by the end of this year so that I can serve the good people of Fairfield Texas even more and better than now.
–Arland Thill
My wife and I moved to Fairfield 20 years ago to work for Fairfield ISD. We love this community, and we have seen first hand the lasting impact of the TXU plant and mine closure. I have seen the school district lose student enrollment and tax dollars because of this. I want to help our city to rebuild and reinvent itself in this post-TXU world. This community is a great place to be because we are a family– and if it is to stay that way, we must work to create a strong, healthy city that provides our kids a place to return home– a place where they have jobs and housing.
I believe that my education, experience and knowledge will be a great benefit to the City Council. I not only have degrees in technology, but a Bachelor’s degree in Business and a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction in Education. I want to use this knowledge to benefit the City of Fairfield. Further, it is a priority for me to make sure transparency is a core value in all we do. I also want to work hard to not just bring any job to Fairfield, but quality jobs to Fairfield. I am ready to help this town attract the kind of jobs that our community can build careers out of and support the awesome families who call this place home.
