Welcome

Never let it be said that you were not engaged in the fight.

Thanks for dropping by. You have reached the online home for the mind of Matthew Hudson.  On these pages you will find my thoughts and ideas for life, my city (Fort Worth) and my faith. I believe everyone should engage in making this planet a better place to be. This webssite is dedicated to my musings on these issues. Hope you enjoy and I hope you engage in the fight.

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My vision for our city can be summarized into three core elements – The 3 R’s…

RETAIN the character and quality of life in our neighborhoods.

RESTORE the character and quality of life in our neighborhoods that have been neglected or forgotten.

REVIVE a spirit of service and volunteerism in our city. 

To achieve the 3 R’s, here are my 7 Main Tactics:

1. Ensure the voice of the neighborhoods is not drowned out by the voice of the developer.

I have spent many hours in the council chambers advocating for neighborhood issues. Many times, it felt like my voice was never heard. I will make sure this does not happen for others.

2. Work to restore the infrastructure of our neighborhoods (streets, transit, lights, etc.)

We all know the streets with potholes and drainage issues throughout the district. Chuck Silcox and I worked hard to get a bond package onto the docket to help relieve this stress, but it falls woefully short of meeting our needs. The condition of our streets not only impacts our quality of life, but the safety of our children. Just drive through Austin to see what lack of attention to this problem yields.

But more than just streets and curbs and lights, we need a plan for public transit to relieve the burden on our roads. It must include a combination of multiple applications from rail, to bus, to other new technologies that are affordable and fast. The main reason people do not use our current transit system is that it takes two to three times as long to get where you are going. Close this gap and more people will utilize the system.

We also need to revisit the fee schedule on the Transportation Impact Fee program. Putting in this new program was a great idea. Making it neutral to the old program was not. We are already losing ground, but instead of making it up, we just changed the process.

3. Establish Neighborhood Planning Committees to engage neighborhoods in planning for the character and quality of life they desire in their communities.

These plans would include zoning, safety, traffic, and development issues and would roll up into the city’s comprehensive plan. In essence, invert the current model from top (city) down to bottom (neighborhood) up.

When an item comes to council, I am only one vote. First, I must have solid relationships with the other council members. Second, if I could point them to the Comprehensive Plan and the Neighborhood Plan, it would be much easier to win their vote. They can see that the item is against all planning – that is not just one or two people who do not like the item.

4. Appoint a Gas Czar for neighborhoods and make the Gas Drilling Task Force a standing commitee.

This would be a person of character who is familiar with the issues and would be available to neighborhoods to answer questions and offer advice on where to get resolution. Additionally, this person would keep the flow of information between the neighborhoods and the energy companies, their partners, and their sub-contractors, honest and forthright. I asked the mayor and council to do this a few years ago, only to result in the creation of the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council – an organization not built for neighborhoods.

The Gas Czar would also chair the Gas Task Force Advisory Committee, a permanent organization which will oversee gas drilling issues in our neighborhoods. This Advisory Committee will “drill” into items such as pipelines and salt water injection wells, and why no one can tell us what is in the pipeline or why it is odorless . . . There is much more work to be done like the need for a Master Plan for Pipleines. (see Urban Drilling)

5. Establish balanced growth and development throughout the city.

We need development, but some days it feels like if there is an empty parcel of land, we are going to build on it. Irresponsible urban sprawl has devastated the north side of our city, and my fear is that they will work their way around I-820 and do the same in our district.

Development should enhance the neighborhood concept and not detract from it. Development should consider access to bus routes and employment centers, and not just dry cleaners or coffee shops.

More importantly, we need a council rep who knows how to see the big picture and is engaged with the other council districts. As your council person, I only have 1 vote. You need strong relationships with leaders in the entire city to achieve this goal. Fortunately, through my years as the Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods president, I have these relationships.

6.  Create a Junior Council made up of Next Generation leaders.

This idea came from my college committee. As we have been attending forums and debates, there has been an alarming absence of younger generation in the audience. My wife and I lead a college mentor group on Sunday nights and have learned so much from these young people. But no one is engaging them in the process – no one except for us, that is.

I would like to form an advisory board of next generation city leaders. This board, including a Jr Mayor,  would meet monthly and advise the city council. They will keep us informed of what their generation is concerned about and how they feel about issues facing our neighborhoods and city.  Most importantly, they will become engaged and involved at an early age and be prepared to take the mantle from my generation and lead with awesome character and experience.

For more information about me and what I believe, please peruse the links on the side. We encourage questions and feedback.

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