Learn about Bellaire Mayoral Candidate Robert Riquelmy
Riquelmy, 74, a carpenter and longtime Bellaire resident, ran for mayor in 2007 and 2009 against then-Mayor Cindy Siegel, and again in 2011, when he ran against Mayor Phil Nauert.
Riquelmy, an outspoken critic of the city of Bellaire’s investment in Evelyn’s Park, served on the Building and Standards Commission from 2001 to 2003. He is interested in Bellaire government and frequently attends city council meetings.
“A one-candidate election is no election. It’s something one would find in the most primitive autocratic areas,” Riquelmy said. “I am doing thing to keep Bellaire at least reasonably democratic.”
Riquelmy also said he is concerned that “The city is not being run for the benefit of the residents, I don’t think. It’s being run for the benefit of institutions and oligarchs.”
He said, for example, that building permits in Bellaire “are going to HISD, certain builders and any number of private organizations that have access to city funds. The Evelyn’s Park Conservancy would be one such example.”
Riquelmy and his wife Elaine have lived in Bellaire for more than 40 years.
Information retrieved from http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/bellaire/news/mayoral-candidate-robert-riquelmy/article_45067c6f-158c-5aff-a25d-f18a4c853c8b.html and http://www.instantnewsbellaire.com/2011/09/21/17786/
EDUCATION: B. S. in Accounting from Texas A & M
PROFESSION: Self-employed consulting carpenter for 30-plus years. Prior to that, worked in auditing.
CIVIC/COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES: I served on the Building and Standards Commission for one term only, having been thoroughly disillusioned. More importantly, I think of myself as a resource for my neighbors and do whatever I can to help them.
CITY GOVERNMENT MEETINGS ATTENDED IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS?
I have attended all council meetings and council workshops, most committee and commission meetings, all Planning & Zoning meetings, and many other committees and workshops.
What about yourself would you most like voters to know before they go to the polls?
I would like the voters to know that I think governments should serve the public interest and that the public interest is much more than the sum of the special interests.
Why are you running, and what do you feel sets you apart from the other candidates?
The people of Bellaire deserve a choice. They deserve someone who believes in the city’s mission statement of “outstanding quality.” What sets me apart is that I am free of obligations to special interests and I view council’s role as setting policy, not acting as an executive committee.
What is your chief priority, and how will you go about implementing that priority?
The city suffers from low personnel levels. Many important tasks are delayed for months. Code Enforcement is weak. Speed limit enforcement is inadequate. The city needs more competent staff.
If the economy stagnates or worsens, what are you prepared to do to manage Bellaire’s budget?
I am prepared to cut programs, and even whole departments if necessary. What I don’t want to do is to cut everything a little, so that the general level of city services continues to decline. Also I will bring some out-sourced professional services in house, for example legal and engineering services.
Outline a brief description of how you would like to see downtown Bellaire developed.
Downtown should be developed by free market solutions within reasonable zoning ordinances provided by city government.
What do you think is Bellaire’s image, how it’s perceived outside its own city limits?
People from more affluent areas think we have pretensions of grandeur. People from poorer neighborhoods think we want to keep them away, and so avoid our borders whenever possible.
He has stated anyone who has questions can either call or come by.