The Garland City Council District 2 race is between incumbent Deborah Morris and candidate Koni Ramos-Kaiwi. Questions and responses are below.
Koni Ramos-Kaiwi, Candidate, District 2
Why do you want to serve on the Garland City Council?
I want to serve on the City Council as I believe it is time for change. Before I made the decision to run I was approached by several friends and neighbors who had great concerns about their place in our community. Many felt they were not being listened to or been part of any discussions or decisions that affect their lives on a day-to-day basis. I want to be a voice for our community, someone that they feel they can reach out to and listen to their concerns. I believe that if we work together, we can make a difference.
What sets you apart from your opponent?
I believe that what sets me apart from my opponent is that I have lived and worked in my community for the last 25+ years. I have been at the grassroots level of our citizens’ concerns and worked with so 
many who felt that they did not have a voice. In working with other organizations in forming UNIDOS I was able to bring our Hispanic community and our police department to an understanding of what our diverse community needs to succeed. Because of these conversations, UNIDOS was formed. As a founding member I believe that building a bridge between our community and our police department has helped us work together for the greater good. I will continue to be that voice.
What changes/improvements are most needed in your district? What will you do to make those happen?
Many of the older neighborhoods in District 2 have been ignored. In listening to their concerns I have been told that they do not feel that anyone has listened to them. They would like to know that all families’ needs are met. We need to have more communication between our citizens and those on council, how can we serve our communities if we do not hear their needs. I also believe that District 2 needs to have a place for our youth and young adults, we need to make sure that resources are available to help them succeed. What I would do to make these things happen is to listen to our community find out from them what needs are most important and prioritize them according to need.
What changes/improvements are most needed in the city? What will you do to help make those happen?
I believe that the greatest change/improvement that needs to happen in our city is we need to have more inclusiveness. Have some conversations with our citizens. One of the biggest concerns I’ve encountered during my campaign has been that many of our citizens do not feel that city leaders are reaching out to them – that they have not been included in decisions that affect them. We are a growing and very diverse city- yet it is not mirrored in our city government. What I would do to make changes and or improvements is to listen – listen to what our citizens’ concerns are- I believe that communication is the best key to success. I would work with the other city council members to make sure we are all doing what our constituents needs are. By working together we can help our communities become progressive and assure everyone that we are a council that will listen to their concerns.
How will you involve your constituents more in helping to make decisions and bring about changes at the district and city level?
It is very important that as a city council member I will listen to what the needs of our constituents are. I would listen to any ideas or suggestions they feel would benefit them in their neighborhoods. All our neighborhoods have different concerns and it is up to me to make sure that those needs are heard. Many feel that they have been left out of important discussions and decisions that affect them. Working together with them will show how important they are in their communities and that together we can work at making our neighborhoods shine.
What are your suggestions for improving the decline of the many aging Garland neighborhoods?
I believe that all of our neighbors should feel valued, respected and heard. We need to continue to build and invest time in preserving and revitalizing these aging. neighborhoods. These investments will restore pride in the community and encourage residents to put more effort into maintaining them.
What are your suggestions for improving Garland’s response/solution for the homeless population?
We have all seen what these trying times during COVID has done to not just our city but to our country. We have seen more and more homeless people travel to Garland in hopes of finding better solutions and help. I believe our city needs to work with all the other community organizations on a plan to help and restore faith for our homeless. We need to continue to work together in finding resources and programs, better accessibility on how to help them with what our city already has to offer. I believe that we also need to educate our communities on what is available for them. When we all work together for a common good we can see change by helping those who have lost hope and dignity – we need to help them to restore their pride as they work to redo their lives. Better education, resources and education is the key to having success in helping our homeless population. I have always believed in what my grandmother taught me a long time ago – do not judge for there but by the grace of God go I. We need to have compassion and work at understanding their situation and work with them to become productive citizens.
Deborah Morris, Incumbent, District 2
Why do you want to serve on the Garland City Council?
I want to both continue and enlarge upon what I have begun. I set out two years ago to first convince the people of District 2 that their opinions and input matter to this city, and that they have the power to influence our decisions and direction. I preached it, wrote it, and pretty much did everything but sing it (which nobody would want) — and I’ve watched a gradual transformation take place. The constant refrain I heard in the beginning–“Nobody cares what we think, what’s the use?”–has changed to a much more confident engagement where residents all across the district now contact me regularly to share their ideas, to ask for help, and best of all, to ask how THEY can help! The increase in both the number and diversity of the board applications I’ve received this past year are another indicator that engagement is on the increase.
It will be of critical importance over the next few years to oversee the implementation of the $424 million 2019 Bond Program, including keeping a close eye on how those projects are allotted to make sure District 2 is fairly represented. It will also be important to continue several initiatives I started, like the celebratory gunfire/fireworks campaign and the proactive city-community partnership to address both the needs of the homeless and the challenges they present. (The GarlandHomeless.com website which I sponsored last year has already become a recognized tool in the community.) Our Downtown and its merchants will need continued input and support as we move into the Square Redesign, and I want to continue to reach into neighborhoods, large and small, to address their specific concerns and quality of life issues. I enjoy the process of problem-solving and have demonstrated my proficiency in it.
Another major challenge before us as a city will be managing our ongoing recovery from the pandemic. I believe my hands-on experience in helping our residents and businesses navigate this year will be needed as we move forward and face whatever new challenges may arise.
What sets you apart from your opponent?
I’m running for re-election on my record of actual accomplishments. By working closely with the community and my Council colleagues over the last two years, I’ve been able to get a lot done.
Street repairs in the district are at an all-time high, with even more scheduled for the next 12 – 18 months.
The new Garland Animal Shelter is scheduled to break ground by year’s end. The long-missing playground at Central Park has been replaced with a new inclusive playground, while the ugly rubble at the east side of the park has been transformed into the wildly popular new Dog Park. The Parking Marshals program that I helped champion has been both effective and popular in our overcrowded neighborhoods. The median reflectors I advocated for in last year’s budget are now brightening nighttime streets across District 2 and citywide. Smaller and less well-equipped parks throughout the district are now scheduled to gain many exciting new upgrades and amenities, including one of the city’s first splash pads. The award-winning Police Boxing Gym has received increased funding to serve our city’s youth.
The campaign I initiated against “celebratory” gunfire has been so successful that it has now been expanded citywide. The long-delayed First Street Beautification project from the 2004 bond has been up-funded to $6 million and is now in the early planning stages. The Downtown Square Redesign has finally been approved and funded, and is scheduled to start construction next spring. And much more.
I also played a very active role during the pandemic. I canceled all my planned travel and stayed in place to walk my constituents through this unprecedented time, providing a steadying voice and answering over 1000 calls and emails. I used social media extensively to keep constituents up to date about the ever-changing legal requirements for both individuals and businesses in Garland. I also published (and continue even now to publish) daily COVID-19 case data from our Health Department.
After we closed our Senior Centers in March, I immediately organized a “Senior Phone Buddies” program to have people in the community call our more isolated seniors several times weekly. After hearing from two different non-English speaking communities who asked for guidance about COVID-19 precautions, I arranged for utility bill inserts in Spanish and Vietnamese (as well as English) to be included in our April utility bills, and worked independently with a translator to provide guidance to another community whose language wasn’t available. I also arranged for over 1200 cloth masks to be sewn and distributed free to nursing homes, health care workers, and vulnerable residents.
I believe I have provided steady leadership during both good times and bad. I’ve demonstrated what I can do, how I operate, and where my values lie. Since it takes 5 votes on Council to accomplish anything, my
ability to gain consensus on issues important to my district has enabled me to get a lot done.
What changes/improvements are most needed in your district? What will you do to make those happen?
We are the oldest district in the city, with some of the smallest/oldest homes and most distressed streets and sidewalks. These are all issues that I’ve engaged with over the last two years–and while there are no “instant solutions” to such large and long-term issues, I have been successful in achieving incremental improvements.
Our aging housing is often paired with aging or disabled homeowners who can no longer perform or afford necessary maintenance. This has created great distress when Code Compliance notices arrive requiring major work projects like exterior paint or siding repair. As a city we offer several helpful programs–“Code Cares” volunteer repairs, Minor Home Repair Grants for low-income elderly or disabled homeowners, the Single Family Rehabilitation program–which can help in some cases, but our newest program, the Home Improvement Incentive Rebate, remained out of reach of many residents due to the minimum investment of $2000. I successfully advocated for that minimum to be cut in half this summer, and for the program, originally unfunded in the 2020-2021 budget, to be funded again in this year’s budget. In addition, in cases where no program solutions could be found, I have reached out with permission to local churches and nonprofits who’ve been willing to come perform necessary repairs for a distressed homeowner ranging from tree trimming to painting, siding repair, and fence repair.
Our streets are gradually making a turn-around. Two years ago our Streets Director shared that to repair or replace all the bad streets in Garland would cost over $400 million and take 15 – 20 years in construction.
There’s no overnight solution, but there are several pieces of good news: the average PCI (Pavement Condition Index) in Garland has stopped dropping and starting creeping upward, including in District 2 where we’ve seen an unprecedented 38 streets repaired, replaced, or overlaid last year and this year, with even more scheduled for the next 12-18 months. We’re making progress and moving in the right direction.
Sidewalks continue to pose a serious problem. In our older parts of town we have few curb ramps for those in wheelchairs or on walkers, or for those pushing strollers. The positives of walking in neighborhoods are negated by the difficulty of doing so. On Council we recently approved (and funded) a new sidewalk repair program which includes a sliding scale of reductions to bring some homeowners’ share of costs down to 10%. This puts it within reach for many older neighborhoods to have their sidewalks replaced.
There are other areas in need of improvement: grass/dirt alleys (which will at least start being addressed by the bond funding for Unpaved Alleys), neglected parks (Embree Park, Fields Rec Center, Lou Huff Park, Douglas Park, Bradfield Park and Central Park all have nice improvements coming), continued parking enforcement, and other local quality of life issues. I’m in the middle of educating more District 2 residents about their NPO (Neighborhood Police Officer) and how helpful he/she can be in addressing localized complaints.
I expect Garland, and District 2, to become more beautiful, more drivable, and more enjoyable with each passing year.
What changes/improvements are most needed in the city? What will you do to help make those happen?
Our residents chose last year to invest heavily in our city through the 2019 Bond Program, and they are engaged with the improvements and additions they’re watching come to life all around them.
The big picture is that the Bond Program, overwhelmingly approved by Garland voters, laid out a distinct roadmap for our next 5-6 years. We have a serious responsibility to carry out their directives with all speed and attention to detail. The 2004 Bond was widely considered a failure due to the lack of implementation.
We can’t make that same mistake again. Garland residents deserve–and expect–better from us.
Along with all the specific Bond projects (which can be tracked at http://www.buildgarland.com), we have identified various catalyst areas in need of revitalization, including the I-30 corridor from Northwest Highway to Lake Ray Hubbard. Three major intersections were named TIAs (Targeted Investment Areas): I-30 & Broadway; I-30 & Rosehill; and Harbor Point. Those areas are being actively marketed for redevelopment opportunities which may include single-family developments, multifamily developments, hotel facilities, restaurants, retail and more.
Another large area of concern and focus is to attract a medical facility with a full ER–perhaps one of the new “micro-hospital” concepts which include 20 – 25 beds. While the Veterans Affairs Hospital is a great gift to our many Veterans in Garland, the need for an emergency room is acute. As a reminder, Baylor Garland was a private hospital, not publicly funded, and their decision to close in Garland was triggered by huge ongoing losses from nonpayment of patient bills ($20 million – $30 million/year). Given that reality, we were unable to attract another private hospital to step into the same money-losing situation. Although we are surrounded by major hospitals in almost every direction, the lack of a full ER in the city is distressing. That will remain a focus.
How will you involve your constituents more in helping to make decisions and bring about changes at the district and city level?
For the last two years, I’ve visited neighborhoods and businesses all across the district, held twice-yearly town halls, and interacted with constituents by phone, online, and by email. I have also posted agenda notes before each City Council meeting highlighting issues in question, sharing my thoughts, answering questions, and asking for citizen feedback.
In our diverse community, I’ve had the joy of working with people of different cultures and languages, including Spanish, Vietnamese, Chin (a Burmese dialect) and ASL. Both my Facebook City Council Page and my own website can be read in numerous languages, and messages are easily auto-translated. I’ve provided skilled interpreters as needed in town halls, neighborhood meetings, and more recently Zoom meetings. I have a circle of multilingual volunteers who’ve stepped up from the community to work alongside me as needed.
Continuing and building on healthy two-way communication with the residents of my district will remain my #1 priority since my service on the City Council is largely a reflection of their collective direction. I’ve spent the last two years demonstrating the power of their voices by carrying their ideas and requests into the city process and letting them watch what happens. They’ve seen tangible results, and the word has spread. I want engaged, empowered constituents who’ll partner with me in making this city a better and more beautiful place to live.
What are your suggestions for improving the decline of the many aging Garland neighborhoods?
I probably already answered this above, but improving streets, sidewalks and home exteriors in our aging neighborhoods are a top priority. We recently approved a new Sidewalk Repair/Replacement Program that’s financially within the reach of more of my constituents. The longtime 50/50 cost share hasn’t worked, but this more generous sliding scale leaves a homeowner’s portion in some cases as low as 10%. Our Home Improvement Incentive Rebate Program and Minor Home Repair Grants can also help homeowners of modest means transform their home’s function and exterior. Dallas County also offers a Weatherization Program that can help replace windows and doors. These are all programs I have promoted in my district and will continue to strongly promote as we start our new fiscal year.
What are your suggestions for improving Garland’s response/solution for the homeless population?
This is an issue I’ve been engaged with ever since being sworn into office in 2018. It’s happening everywhere, not just in Texas but nationwide. The approaches different cities have taken have varied wildly in both detail and outcome.
In 2018 I led the initiative to better address Garland’s growing homeless population by coordinating our city services with the many nonprofits and individuals providing emergency resources. I hosted a series of quarterly meetings to connect local and county officials, health care officials, churches, law enforcement, nonprofits and private benefactors. (Shoutout to Commissioner Theresa Daniel, who allowed us to use her Garland meeting space once our group outgrew the Austin Stateroom at City Hall and who has been an active participant in the process.) By getting everyone out of their silos and around the same table, we were able to identify ways to expand and coordinate essential services for the homeless while at the same time supporting the enforcement of our laws to protect our residents’ and businesses’ rights. This balanced approach led to increased medical care and rehousing opportunities, the creation of the GarlandHomeless.com community resource website, new shelter activation announcements through the city’s digital signs and social media platforms, improved programs to address homeless camps and dangerous pedestrian intersections, and more. Our balanced program has attracted the attention of other cities who’ve expressed interest in adopting our methods.
Our highly-skilled Homeless Liaison, Officer Wendy Sheriff, has broken new ground through her firm but compassionate interactions with the homeless and is now actively training other Garland Police officers in her techniques. Over a year ago Officer Todd Guyere, a Mental Health Liaison, joined Wendy Sheriff and together, they have worked with Metro Relief and other organizations to successfully rehouse many willing participants.
In addition, as Chair of our Community Services Committee on City Council, I was able early this year (pre-pandemic) to report to Council our recommendation to make it a top priority goal to rehouse every homeless Veteran in Garland. We are currently studying the recommendations in the U.S. Interagency Council Plan on Ending Homelessness, especially as related to Veterans.
This is, and will be, a continuing process.