Patrick Abell is challenging incumbent City Council Member Robert Vera for Garland’s District 6 council seat because he wants to do more for the community, have the ability to reach more people and be more involved.
“I want District 6 to have a voice again,” he said. “District 6 needs someone to get out and let people know that we do not have the same problems that our bordering neighbor, Dallas, has. We have better schools, a better police force, better residents, more to offer and we’re centrally located.”
Garland has a better overall environment for people and businesses because of its diversity, which, he feels, is one of the city’s biggest strengths.
He also likes that Garland hasn’t lost its small-town feel and said that he can go anywhere in town and people speak to him.
“You can go to Frisco or McKinney and your little neighborhood may be all you know unless you get really involved,” he said. “Also, I don’t think we are a judgmental city. I think there is a lot of pretention in some of the other North Texas cities. It’s not that way here.”
Another plus Garland ISD’s Gilbreath Reed Career and Technical Center, which emphasizes learning trades and helps show that the city has begun to embrace the image of a working-class community, which is what it is.
“We can try to cover it or embrace it and become a better place because of it, which is what we are choosing to do. That’s helping our image,” he said. “GRCTC is teaching our children that you do not have to become a computer programmer or go out and get a master’s degree to make something of yourself.”
District 6, along with the entire city, has problems. Neighborhood revitalization, infrastructure improvements and parks and recreation improvements are badly needed.
“The revitalization in downtown shows what that will do in bringing people here. We need that in our neighborhoods all over Garland,” he said. “The surrounding cities are doing a better job of building parks and putting things out there that draw young families.”
Hollabaugh Recreation Center has recently been redone and draws a lot of people, but the candidate feels that the district also needs an all-access playground.
“When you see a child that hasn’t ever been in a swing because he or she is wheelchair-bound, get to swing for the first time, either it will tear at your heartstrings or you need to look in the mirror,” Abell said.
Abell believes that the next five to seven years will define what Garland becomes over the next 20 years. He said that city officials need to go out and find out what Garland’s residents want as well as what will make the city a destination. Things need to be done and issues need to be fixed and that’s where the bond package comes in.
“We haven’t had a bond election since 2004 and look where it has gotten us,” Abell said. “It has taken people from our community into surrounding communities. We’ve lost our tax base to people around us like Richardson because they have more to offer. Garland has a relatively low cost of living. Our taxes are low. The bond committee was dedicated to putting together a great package that will do the most with the least amount of money to get us on track with surrounding communities and it will be up to the council to be sure that those repairs get done in a timely way.”
Some of his past community activities include serving as president of Jackson Middle School Band Boosters, various volunteer tasks at Spring Creek Elementary School and serving as Watch Dog coordinator.