By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
There are five people running for the three open positions on the Hays city commission in the Nov. 7 general election.
The candidates are Chris Dinkel, incumbent Sandy Jacobs, John Mayers, incumbent and current mayor Shaun Musil, and Dustin Roths.
The two people with the highest number of votes will be elected to four-year terms. The person with the third highest vote total will serve a two-year term. The mayor is selected by the commission members.
Hays Post has talked to each candidate, asking why they are running and what they consider to be the most important issues facing the city of Hays.
John Mayers, 38, is a political newcomer. He and his wife Melissa have two children, the oldest of whom attends Wilson Elementary School.
Mayers is a realtor at Landmark Realty and also works for Westhusing’s Inc., based in Stockton. He previously worked in the oil field but was laid off when oil prices began a dramatic plunge.
“I feel I’m not personally well-represented on the Hays City Commission,” Mayers said. “I’ve worked with my hands as a laborer. I’m middle-class and blue collar.”
He wants to represent residents who live paycheck to paycheck.
“When city commissioners make a decision and say ‘This will only raise your taxes or fee $5 a month,’ that $5 is a lot of money for some people,” Mayers contends.
He’s not necessarily against taxes.
“Taxes aren’t a bad thing. They’re inevitable,” he said. “But we need to make sure they’re being spent wisely, where they need to go, including infrastructure. I’m a realist.”
Mayers says he’s “always thought Hays is a heavily regulated city” and would like to see elimination of some regulations. He was pleased with the commission’s recent decisions to approve the easing of requirements in the Unified Development Code (UDC) regarding breezeways and property setbacks and to allow large lot developments within a portion of the 3-mile Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ).
More affordable housing and increased economic development are Mayers’ top two concerns. He calls the failure two years ago of the Big Creek Travel Plaza to locate north of I-70 a “missed opportunity and a decision that still hurts Hays. We haven’t shown we’re an inviting town.”
In his interview, Mayers also talked about the need for better paying jobs and the importance of listening to constituents concerns and exchanging city-related information with them. Much of his election effort concentrates on door-to-door campaigning “letting residents get to know me.”
Advance voting begins Mon., Oct. 23 in the Ellis County Administrative Center, 718 Main, Hays, through noon Mon., Nov. 6. Polls for the Tue., Nov. 7 general election are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout Ellis County.