Tomorrow, Midwest City will be holding elections for several positions on its city council. One of its candidates, Daniel Bays, was nice enough to take some time out of his busy campaign schedule to answer a few questions.
1. First off, why do you want to run for city council?Being a City Councilman will allow me to do what I have wanted to do for some time which is invigorate and rejuvenate the city. I want
MWC to be a more livable city and that is going to take a lot of work and will require councilmen who have extraordinary vision and leadership skills.
2. Why should the voters choose you over your opponent, Jay Dee Collins?I am running for something, not against anyone. I only ask that the voters hear and understand my vision and allow me the opportunity to add a fresh voice of optimism to the Council.
I really like this answer.3. What are the 3 most pressing problems facing Midwest City and how would you address those problems?In order:
1. Lack of growth (economically and population-wise).
2. Bad perception outside of
MWC and how that effects growth.
3. A vast disconnect between the power players in
MWC and the population.
My approach to dealing with these problems will involve a combination of crime control, proactively going out and attracting businesses and helping to usher in developers who will build better neighborhoods for our children.
4. Do you think there is a lack of involvement in local politics in this area? (If so, what can be done to change that?) There is a lack of involvement in politics in this town because the powers that be continually elect themselves to various positions within the city and this shuffling of bureaucrats makes is very difficult for the average citizen to have a voice. We also have powerful special interests in play that want their agenda to take priority over the needs of the citizenry as a whole. My presence on the Council would be a welcome addition to a political base that has remained largely unchanged in decades.
5. From my perspective, there seems to be a lot of vacant buildings in the Midwest City area. What can you, as a member of the city council do to change this and how would you go about making that change? Right now, we wait for businesses to come to us. We can't do that any longer-we have to go to them. We should be on the phone or in meetings constantly trying to get people to come here and/or move their business here. Respectfully, since our Council is largely made up of former city employees and bureaucrats, they simply don't have the business mindset necessary to attract entrepreneurs. I founded my own law firm, I built it from the ground up and I continue to run my own business everyday. I can relate to business owners and I believe they will be receptive to my message.
6. This question is mostly so people can get to know a little bit about the person Daniel Bays as opposed to the candidate Daniel Bays.......What is your favorite movie, book, band/artist, and TV show?My favorite movie is Glory, my favorite book is Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, my favorite artist is David Gray and my favorite show is Scrubs.
7. Any thoughts you would like to leave with my readers?Only that I hope they understand as I do that the destiny of this city can be more than managing our own decline. We can be a great city and we can meet and exceed every goal we lay out. We can Move Midwest City Forward.
