To the MyBCS Community:
I have truly enjoyed the debate and discussion on these forums, and appreciate all of your interest in local politics. Please, whether you like me or think I'm the worst thing ever to happen to College Station, please stay involved. You are among the few!
MyBCS is quite special to me, considering how much I frequented it as a candidate and as a councilman.
I thought I would share this letter with you. Again, thank you for the great resource these forums are for the community, and God Bless you all.
Jess
Friends,
For the past few years, I have had the great honor of serving you as a College Station City Councilman. I cannot possibly express the gratitude I have for your support during these years, and through the many issues and challenges that our city has faced.
I ran for office because of my limited government principles, a commitment to preserving our natural rights, and a strong belief in holding all levels of government accountable to the people. I did not run to hold a title, spend your money, or run your life. Whether you agreed or disagreed with my votes and positions, you always know where I stood, because I am honest about my beliefs.
Our founding fathers established a republic based on the idea that willing individuals would serve their fellow citizens on a voluntary basis. Unfortunately, political office has become a revolving door, and there are too many familiar faces. We need more statesmen, and fewer professional politicians.
In that spirit, and with excitement for the future, I hereby announce I will not run for a second term on the College Station City Council this fall. However, I won't be completely leaving local politics.
God has blessed me and my family immensely. Last July, I married my wonderful wife Courtney. Not long after, we found out that we are expecting our first child this August, a girl. This little blessing has helped to put my life in perspective, which was surely His plan all along. I am truly excited about having the time to grow and nurture our family.
Beyond my personal life, there is another reason I am excited about the future, and I hope that you are also.
This spring I became aware of an opportunity to continue the policy work I've started as a city councilman, but on a statewide level. It was an opportunity I could not pass up.
As of this fall, I will begin work for a major conservative organization in Texas, focusing on local policy. In this new position, I will travel around the state to encourage and educate city staffs and councils in implementing conservative policy changes.
Thanks to grassroots activists, the Tea Party and all who value liberty our country is slowly waking up to the dangers of big government and bureaucratic central planning. Through my new position, I will be at the vanguard of an emerging movement to hold local governments accountable to the people. I will be able to continue the work I have begun as a member of the College Station City Council. More details will be available at a later date.
The sad part of my not running for office again is in missing the many opportunities to interact with the great people of College Station and the Brazos Valley. Without the many citizens who fought government overreach in College Station, the local policies I have developed would have been much harder to come by. I met my wife at Texas A&M, started my business here, and my daughter will be born here.
My heart will always be here in College Station, even if I cannot be.
Going forward, I harbor a great deal of concern about the future of College Station city government. Will city leaders succumb to the temptation to restrict growth and micromanage our economy?
More regulations, fees, and taxes would destroy the jobs that will employ our children and our Aggie graduates in the years ahead. Developers will move elsewhere if it becomes more challenging to build in College Station. Many small businesses, like the one I've built, will not survive if our broader local economy becomes stagnant. And ultimately, as always, the people will suffer the decisions of the policymakers.
As bad as it is to restrict growth, it is equal folly to try and steer it in a politically desirable direction. Economic development policies which try to lure corporations to our community are based on the same illogical thinking that brought down the Soviet Union. Central planning, whether through outright regulation or the picking of winners and losers, is always harmful to the economy in the end, and will ultimately result in poorly allocated resources, less growth, and fewer jobs. Whenever a big business is lured to town via special incentives, our existing small business owners are taxed to pay for it. It is unjust that some businesses should benefit by the decisions of politicians while others do not.
Another unfortunate reality of local politics is that those who can influence policy to their own benefit, do. Special interest groups working to influence policy think of it as the course of business. While not always visible to the general public, the reality is that special interest groups wield a great deal of influence in government at all levels.
Ultimately, the blame for this falls at the feet of government. The bigger our government is and the more regulations there are, the more government policy is left to the whims of bureaucrats and politicians, who are vulnerable to the influence of special interests.
City leaders must also aim to spend as little as possible and leave more in the pockets of taxpayers themselves. As the great free market economist Milton Friedman reminded us, no person spends someone else's money as carefully as he spends his own. Elected officials would do well to recall this around budget time, when some expensive new project is being considered, or when a costly bond is being proposed. Too many politicians and bureaucrats want to have, as part of their legacy, a big visible project somewhere with their name on it. The College Station budget is over $250 million dollars a year, which works out to more than $2500 per person, so the citizenry should be ever vigilant of how their money is being used.
As I look back on my time on council, I'm proud of my record in these three years. I was perhaps the only council candidate ever to make a campaign issue of the return-on-investment transfers from the utility fund to the general fund, which I called the "utility tax" and ran radio ads about. After a year of fighting to reduce the utility tax, citizen awareness led to every candidate in 2011's elections agreeing with reducing the ROI transfers. In both 2011 and 2012's budgets, the utility tax was reduced, preventing further rate increases from occurring.
One of my first successful proposals on council was to increase transparency in city finances by posting all city checks on the internet for our citizens to view. The city subsequently earned the highest possible rating for transparency given by the Texas Comptroller's office.
I successfully pushed for the city to withdraw from the United Nations-backed organization ICLEI, a radical environmentalist group that promotes extreme regulations on development.
Further, I'm proud to have been part of reducing numerous regulations in our city that burdened our small businesses, such as getting rid of a one-size-fits-all color palette for commercial buildings. Another regulation I fought to remove was the ban on food trucks.
Our public safety personnel, and in particular our police department, have been very important to me, as I have consistently advocated for higher police salaries to reward and attract experienced officers, and an expansion of the number of officers. I'm glad to have seen both occur during my time on council.
More important than anything I've done was what I have not done. I have not voted to regulate your life. I have not voted to spend your money on wasteful projects. I have not voted to expand the power of government.
It is no secret that I have voted "no" on quite a few things, but never without good reason. Every vote I have cast has had a principle behind it. If an ordinance, project, or any other measure before the council has violated one of my principles, I have not voted for it.
I have erred on the side of caution in my voting because government is the only entity in the world legally allowed to use force. If we pass a law, we are saying that the issue is important enough that people should lose their liberty or their property if they are found in violation of it. Given that, the only laws I am truly comfortable with passing are those that protect our rights and provide for core services of the city. I have never been, and never will be smart enough to use my own discretion in telling you how to live your life. The ugly truth is, no politicians are. We are all, myself included, tempted to pass unnecessary laws of choice. We must only pass those laws that are truly necessary.
As I said before, whether you've agreed or disagreed with my positions, you have always known where I stood. I will continue to fight for our natural rights and limited government principles throughout my life.
Thank you again for your kindness and encouragement during these years. It has truly been an honor and a privilege to serve you, and I hope that God may bless you and your family richly. May He also bless College Station, Texas A&M, and our entire community in years to come.
God Bless, and Gig' Em,
Jess Fields '10
979.571.6724
jessalanfields@gmail.com
I have truly enjoyed the debate and discussion on these forums, and appreciate all of your interest in local politics. Please, whether you like me or think I'm the worst thing ever to happen to College Station, please stay involved. You are among the few!
MyBCS is quite special to me, considering how much I frequented it as a candidate and as a councilman.
I thought I would share this letter with you. Again, thank you for the great resource these forums are for the community, and God Bless you all.
Jess
Friends,
For the past few years, I have had the great honor of serving you as a College Station City Councilman. I cannot possibly express the gratitude I have for your support during these years, and through the many issues and challenges that our city has faced.
I ran for office because of my limited government principles, a commitment to preserving our natural rights, and a strong belief in holding all levels of government accountable to the people. I did not run to hold a title, spend your money, or run your life. Whether you agreed or disagreed with my votes and positions, you always know where I stood, because I am honest about my beliefs.
Our founding fathers established a republic based on the idea that willing individuals would serve their fellow citizens on a voluntary basis. Unfortunately, political office has become a revolving door, and there are too many familiar faces. We need more statesmen, and fewer professional politicians.
In that spirit, and with excitement for the future, I hereby announce I will not run for a second term on the College Station City Council this fall. However, I won't be completely leaving local politics.
God has blessed me and my family immensely. Last July, I married my wonderful wife Courtney. Not long after, we found out that we are expecting our first child this August, a girl. This little blessing has helped to put my life in perspective, which was surely His plan all along. I am truly excited about having the time to grow and nurture our family.
Beyond my personal life, there is another reason I am excited about the future, and I hope that you are also.
This spring I became aware of an opportunity to continue the policy work I've started as a city councilman, but on a statewide level. It was an opportunity I could not pass up.
As of this fall, I will begin work for a major conservative organization in Texas, focusing on local policy. In this new position, I will travel around the state to encourage and educate city staffs and councils in implementing conservative policy changes.
Thanks to grassroots activists, the Tea Party and all who value liberty our country is slowly waking up to the dangers of big government and bureaucratic central planning. Through my new position, I will be at the vanguard of an emerging movement to hold local governments accountable to the people. I will be able to continue the work I have begun as a member of the College Station City Council. More details will be available at a later date.
The sad part of my not running for office again is in missing the many opportunities to interact with the great people of College Station and the Brazos Valley. Without the many citizens who fought government overreach in College Station, the local policies I have developed would have been much harder to come by. I met my wife at Texas A&M, started my business here, and my daughter will be born here.
My heart will always be here in College Station, even if I cannot be.
Going forward, I harbor a great deal of concern about the future of College Station city government. Will city leaders succumb to the temptation to restrict growth and micromanage our economy?
More regulations, fees, and taxes would destroy the jobs that will employ our children and our Aggie graduates in the years ahead. Developers will move elsewhere if it becomes more challenging to build in College Station. Many small businesses, like the one I've built, will not survive if our broader local economy becomes stagnant. And ultimately, as always, the people will suffer the decisions of the policymakers.
As bad as it is to restrict growth, it is equal folly to try and steer it in a politically desirable direction. Economic development policies which try to lure corporations to our community are based on the same illogical thinking that brought down the Soviet Union. Central planning, whether through outright regulation or the picking of winners and losers, is always harmful to the economy in the end, and will ultimately result in poorly allocated resources, less growth, and fewer jobs. Whenever a big business is lured to town via special incentives, our existing small business owners are taxed to pay for it. It is unjust that some businesses should benefit by the decisions of politicians while others do not.
Another unfortunate reality of local politics is that those who can influence policy to their own benefit, do. Special interest groups working to influence policy think of it as the course of business. While not always visible to the general public, the reality is that special interest groups wield a great deal of influence in government at all levels.
Ultimately, the blame for this falls at the feet of government. The bigger our government is and the more regulations there are, the more government policy is left to the whims of bureaucrats and politicians, who are vulnerable to the influence of special interests.
City leaders must also aim to spend as little as possible and leave more in the pockets of taxpayers themselves. As the great free market economist Milton Friedman reminded us, no person spends someone else's money as carefully as he spends his own. Elected officials would do well to recall this around budget time, when some expensive new project is being considered, or when a costly bond is being proposed. Too many politicians and bureaucrats want to have, as part of their legacy, a big visible project somewhere with their name on it. The College Station budget is over $250 million dollars a year, which works out to more than $2500 per person, so the citizenry should be ever vigilant of how their money is being used.
As I look back on my time on council, I'm proud of my record in these three years. I was perhaps the only council candidate ever to make a campaign issue of the return-on-investment transfers from the utility fund to the general fund, which I called the "utility tax" and ran radio ads about. After a year of fighting to reduce the utility tax, citizen awareness led to every candidate in 2011's elections agreeing with reducing the ROI transfers. In both 2011 and 2012's budgets, the utility tax was reduced, preventing further rate increases from occurring.
One of my first successful proposals on council was to increase transparency in city finances by posting all city checks on the internet for our citizens to view. The city subsequently earned the highest possible rating for transparency given by the Texas Comptroller's office.
I successfully pushed for the city to withdraw from the United Nations-backed organization ICLEI, a radical environmentalist group that promotes extreme regulations on development.
Further, I'm proud to have been part of reducing numerous regulations in our city that burdened our small businesses, such as getting rid of a one-size-fits-all color palette for commercial buildings. Another regulation I fought to remove was the ban on food trucks.
Our public safety personnel, and in particular our police department, have been very important to me, as I have consistently advocated for higher police salaries to reward and attract experienced officers, and an expansion of the number of officers. I'm glad to have seen both occur during my time on council.
More important than anything I've done was what I have not done. I have not voted to regulate your life. I have not voted to spend your money on wasteful projects. I have not voted to expand the power of government.
It is no secret that I have voted "no" on quite a few things, but never without good reason. Every vote I have cast has had a principle behind it. If an ordinance, project, or any other measure before the council has violated one of my principles, I have not voted for it.
I have erred on the side of caution in my voting because government is the only entity in the world legally allowed to use force. If we pass a law, we are saying that the issue is important enough that people should lose their liberty or their property if they are found in violation of it. Given that, the only laws I am truly comfortable with passing are those that protect our rights and provide for core services of the city. I have never been, and never will be smart enough to use my own discretion in telling you how to live your life. The ugly truth is, no politicians are. We are all, myself included, tempted to pass unnecessary laws of choice. We must only pass those laws that are truly necessary.
As I said before, whether you've agreed or disagreed with my positions, you have always known where I stood. I will continue to fight for our natural rights and limited government principles throughout my life.
Thank you again for your kindness and encouragement during these years. It has truly been an honor and a privilege to serve you, and I hope that God may bless you and your family richly. May He also bless College Station, Texas A&M, and our entire community in years to come.
God Bless, and Gig' Em,
Jess Fields '10
979.571.6724
jessalanfields@gmail.com
