Brian Hasenbauer: Why I’m Running For Dallas City Council District 10
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By Brian Hasenbauer
Special Contributor
I may be an idealist, but I still believe that government has an important role in a civilized society to improve the lives of fellow citizens. Public service is also a noble calling.
I am a pragmatist that enjoys working with others to solve challenges and tackle big issues. The work excites me, and the joy of helping my neighbors live great lives and raise families in my neighborhood is very rewarding.
Serving my community and setting an exemplary example for my children is also very important. As the son of a Naval commander and former boy scout, serving my community and setting a good example for my children inspired me to run for office.
In addition, I believe it’s important for a City Councilperson to have a filter that considers what’s best for the entire city rather than being myopically focused on only their district. What’s good for the hive is good for the bee. One of the best ways for the entire city to thrive is to work as a team and as partners across districts to embrace best practices and make the city of Dallas the best in the world for all citizens, not just citizens of your respective district.
All residents matter, not just those in your own district. I’m uniquely qualified for this role as affordable housing and homelessness are critical issues for District 10 and the city of Dallas and I am the only candidate with extensive experience working with the comprehensive Housing plan and OHS.
What are your top three priorities and how will you address them?
1. Public safety and the hiring and training of new police officers and first responders.
We need to hire additional police and firefighters by aggressively recruiting, creating a new training facility at UNT Dallas, and stabilizing the Dallas Police and Fire pension fund. We also need to ensure that fire departments have working air conditioning and functioning equipment, which must be accomplished in our 2024 bond. We also need to focus on proper lighting in residential neighborhoods, enhancing and supporting neighborhood crime reduction programs through VIP programs, and ensuring that our schools are safe with SROs at every campus.
2. Addressing the need for increased affordable housing, alleviating poverty, and reducing homelessness across the city.
As a former Community Development Commissioner for the City of Dallas appointed by Councilman Adam McGough and representing District 10, I am passionate about reducing homelessness and providing shelter for the unsheltered.
The cost of housing in Dallas is rising faster than wages, and for many workers in the City of Dallas, housing is taking up a more significant percentage of paychecks each month. With fewer options on where to live, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the working class to find safe, affordable housing. In addition, several developments have been turned down just because they include a portion of affordable housing.
Affordable housing has a lot of misconceptions, and one of them is those affordable housing developments are similar to past projects where 100 percent of the units are for those on housing vouchers or need public assistance. This is no longer true, and the majority of affordable housing units are for those with jobs such as teachers, police officers, sanitation workers, bus drivers, and other hard-working citizens who are just trying to make ends meet.
We need to ensure that we are including affordable housing and multi-family units where it’s reasonable and move towards making our neighborhoods more inclusive and representative of those who live and work in our communities.
I support investment in areas that increase the affordable housing options in Dallas and reduce homelessness, including:
- Ensure citizens struggling in Lake Highlands have access to the resources they need, including eviction resources, homelessness prevention, transitional housing, food, and shelter during inclement weather.
- Promoting pilot programs, including tiny houses, duplexes, and other ideas that increase affordable living units
- Enhanced financial support for increasing caseworkers and emergency shelter capacity
- Work with local churches and community groups to address homelessness issues and needs
- Greater outreach to the homeless population, panhandlers, and encampments
- Increased rental assistance for low-income individuals and families
- Neighborhood revitalization and tax abatement efforts to reduce gentrification so seniors can age in place
- Increased funding for affordable housing
To reduce homelessness in Dallas, we need more affordable housing units. I have been holding the Housing Department accountable and asking them every chance that I had to provide updates on the five-year, 20,000 affordable unit goal the city put forth several years ago.
3. Making city government more accountable, transparent, effective, and efficient and lowering taxes on citizens. This includes streamlining the permitting process for new commercial and residential developments.
As a former Advanced Financial Analyst at EDS and i2 Technologies and having worked in the business world for over two decades, we must make the city function more like a business and provide excellent customer service.
The City of Dallas needs to hire more team members from the business world and less from the public sector and look at many of our broken systems with a new filter and skillset. We need to either provide excellent customer service and results to our residents or give them back the money they paid for these services through property tax relief and other means.
Brian Hasenbauer – City Council District 10
Website: https://brian4dallas.org/
Issues: https://brian4dallas.org/issues/
Social Media:
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CandysDirt.com has extended an invitation to all Dallas City Council candidates to share with our readers why they’re seeking public office. Want to announce your candidacy? Email us at [email protected].
