Municipal elections in Collin County, Texas (2017)
From Ballotpedia
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| 2017 Collin County elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: February 17, 2017 |
| General election: May 6, 2017 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: County college board of trustees |
| Total seats up: 4 |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2017 |
Collin County held a bond election for Collin College, a regular election for the Place 1, 2, and 3 seats on the Collin College Board of Trustees, and a special election for the Place 5 seat on the Collin College Board of Trustees on May 6, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was February 17, 2017.
Challenger Stacey Donald unseated incumbent Larry Wainwright in the race for the Place 3 seat on the Collin College Board of Trustees. Nancy Wurzman, who held the Place 1 seat prior to the 2017 election, ran for and won the Place 2 seat. Raj Menon, who ran unopposed in the special election, won the remaining two years of former Place 5 trustee Stacy Anne Arias' term. Arias resigned in August 2016 due to relocation. In October 2016, the board of trustees appointed Menon to fill the vacancy through the 2017 election.[1][2][3][4]
Voters voted to approve the bond measure 56.4 percent to 43.6 percent. The measure authorized the board to issue $600 million in bonds for projects to improve the college district.[5]
Elections
General election
Place 1Incumbent Nancy Wurzman ran |
Place 2 |
Place 3☐ Larry Wainwright (i) |
Special election
Place 5
☑ Raj Menon (i)
Ballot measures
Note: The following ballot measure might not have appeared on all county voters' ballots. Please check with the local elections office for more details.
• Proposition No. 1: Collin County College Bond Measure 
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of issuing $600 million in bonds for projects to improve the Collin County Community College District |
| A no vote was a vote against issuing $600 million in bonds for projects to improve the Collin County Community College District |
Additional elections on the ballot
Note: The following elections might not have appeared on all county voters' ballots. Please check with the local elections office for more details.
- See also: Texas elections, 2017
Municipal elections
Garland and Plano held municipal elections on May 6, 2017. Click on the following links to read about their elections:
School district elections
Several school districts in Collin County held elections on May 6, 2017. Click on the following links to read about their elections:
Issues
The League of Women Voters of Collin County asked the Collin College trustee candidates in the three contested races for their views on the most important issues facing the college, as well as their positions on college infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, campus structure, and job readiness. In the uncontested Place 5 race, they asked about the candidate's priorities for the upcoming term. Click "show" on the bars below to view the candidates' responses. To view the League of Women Voters' full voter guide, click here.[6][7]
| Infrastructure: What college infrastructure changes are needed, if any, to support the changing population and demographics? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Candidate | Response |
| Place 1 | Greg Gomel | "While great strides have been made in the technology at the college, we must continue to push for additional enhancements to create a 'frictionless' experience for all users (students, staff and faculty). Case in point is the retirement of Blackboard and the replacement product Canvas; which provided a much easier to use interface. One area for improvement is with the Ellucian software which appears dated when compared to a modern interface such as Cougarweb. I have witnessed my children being challenged in trying to seamlessly navigate their way through the Ellucian product successfully." |
| Place 1 | Fred Moses | "As Collin County grows, the College must expand its footprint, reaching out to smaller communities in the eastern part of the County." |
| Place 2 | Jeri Landfair Chambers | "In the next 13 years the population of Collin County is expected to double. By 2040 the population is expected to triple. The Collin College Spring Creek campus today is at over 90% use capacity. More campuses are needed to meet the growing demand. As the county grows so does the number of vehicles on the road further justifying more campuses to be geographically spread across the county to meet the population growth and accessibility." |
| Place 2 | Nancy Wurzman | No response |
| Place 3 | Stacey Donald | "Infrastructure change is imperative for Collin College as the population served grows from 950,000 to a projected 2.5 million people by 2040. Fortunately, the existing Board has outlined a Master Plan that will allow Collin College to make extensive additions in anticipation of that growth. The Board has made provisions for new campuses as well as improvements to existing campuses. I will contribute to this plan by making sure academic rigor remains constant, supporting the training of new faculty needed to staff for growth, and helping to streamline academic advising." |
| Place 3 | Larry Wainwright | "As an educational institution, Collin College remains aware of changing demographics and makes every effort to meet the educational needs of all students. Recently, organizational changes were made to deans by adding associate deans. The new associate deans were composed of faculty members desiring a career path to administrative positions while at the same time reducing administrative roles of full-time faculty. This allows faculty more time in classroom and for curriculum research. Instructors also have more time for office hours and one-on-one tutoring." |
| Curriculum: What new programs are needed at the college in order to serve the community’s higher education and job skills needs? | ||
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| Race | Candidate | Response |
| Place 1 | Greg Gomel | "My daughter, a freshman at Collin, recently participated in an annual conference for The Texas Center for Working-Class Studies, a Collin College-based center that aims to raise awareness of class-related issues and promote collaborations between the school and the community as whole. I believe providing students with more opportunities like this one would aid them in developing a greater sense of responsibility for their work and valuable experience in networking. Continued development of programs such as this will enhance the partnerships we need to build with local businesses." |
| Place 1 | Fred Moses | "As a business owner, I know first-hand the challenges businesses face in identifying skilled workers. As a Collin College Trustee, I want to ensure the school's curriculum is meeting business and industry needs. We want our students to be taking away tangible skills that will help them succeed in their future endeavors." |
| Place 2 | Jeri Landfair Chambers | "One-third of all new jobs today are considered middle-skill jobs. They require postsecondary education but not necessarily a four-year degree. These are well paying jobs that will help address the issue of underemployment. As the world of work is every changing, it is imperative that the College continue to be keenly aware what these jobs are and how to provide the training and certifications necessary to meet the work-force demand. To serve the work-force demand in nursing, I support the college’s request from the state to allow Collin College to offer a 4-year degree nursing program." |
| Place 2 | Nancy Wurzman | No response |
| Place 3 | Stacey Donald | "Part of the Master Plan is instituting more workforce training programs such as welding, HVAC, and diagnostic medical sonography. As the population of the college's service area increases, the need for workforce skills will increase apace. The college has an established computer programming certification but needs more in terms of manufacturing and project management as large corporations continue to relocate to the area. Additionally, with exciting changes on the horizon for a four-year nursing program, the college needs to develop a corresponding health services management track." |
| Place 3 | Larry Wainwright | "With the opening of the Technical Center, Collin College will offer classes in fields like digital technology, HVAC, manufacturing, construction, transportation, hospitality and health care. Skills learned in the Technical College will allow students to enter the job market with greater potential for successfully landing a well paying job. Certification programs such as welding and truck driving will place graduates in a high paying positions with a healthy demand for their skills." |
| Faculty: What can the college do to continue to attract and retain high quality faculty for academic and continuing (non-credit) education? | ||
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| Race | Candidate | Response |
| Place 1 | Greg Gomel | "Pay them more; this is the first thought that comes to mind for most of us. In his book, 'Bringing Out the Best in People' Aubrey Daniels discusses the use of positive reinforcement within a Performance Management system. The goal within an organization is to create a culture where each individual is incented and rewarded by what's important to them, When we can create a desire within all of our team (Faculty and staff) to perform at their highest level because they want to and the benefit they receive is aligned to that goal, we'll have a place where others will want to come work." |
| Place 1 | Fred Moses | "Collin County is the best place to live and work in America. We have beautiful cities, great schools and a tremendous business environment. To stay competitive and to continue to recruit top talent, we must take a proactive, comprehensive approach at marketing our College and our communities to potential new hires." |
| Place 2 | Jeri Landfair Chambers | "Collin College has a reputation for being a welcoming environment for both students and faculty. The higher the rate of faculty job satisfaction the more likely faculty will continue with the college and make significant contributions and promote academic excellence. The College should maintain a consistent system of evaluating faculty job satisfaction, evaluate the results critically and make appropriate changes as necessary. Seeking to understanding faculty needs and concerns through a strong relationship with the Faculty Council is an important means of retaining a fulfilled faculty." |
| Place 2 | Nancy Wurzman | No response |
| Place 3 | Stacey Donald | "The faculty, both full and part time, have to be given leadership positions at the college. With more than twice as many part-time faculty than full-time, it is essential that the Board invest in Associate Faculty and foster that group’s feeling of personal ownership in and loyalty to the college. They need a voice. They need representation in college governance and the ability to advocate for both their tangible needs (like compensation) as well as the more intangible needs (a culture of inclusion). All faculty want competitive wages, reasonable class sizes, and administrative support." |
| Place 3 | Larry Wainwright | "Collin College has a history of attracting high quality faculty and retaining them. The educational climate, beautiful facilities, excellent compensation with a long history of pay increases, health insurance, disability and retirement plans keeps applicants coming to Collin College. Collin College has provided full-time opportunities for many associate faculty who have benefited from fulltime faculty mentoring. The guidance made the associate faculty member the most qualified and resulted in a contributing teacher, counselor and college advocate. Collin College is a great place to work!" |
| Campus Structure: What are the challenges associated with the college’s distributed campus structure, and what, if anything, should be done to ensure that classes are readily available to students? | ||
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| Race | Candidate | Response |
| Place 1 | Greg Gomel | "I recently spoke with a student who is visually impaired and mentioned the difficulty she faces in only being able to attend a single campus, even though other ones may have the classes she requires. In a situation like this, the student desired a service that would provide transportation to allow her to attend the corresponding campus where the class was offered. This is an allocation of resources scenario similar to what many businesses face daily; analyze the patterns of consumption and develop a strategy to provide the goods/services to as many of their customers as possible." |
| Place 1 | Fred Moses | "As mentioned prior, the College must actively work to expand its footprint throughout Collin County. By continuing and growing partnerships with local school districts, the College will be able to offer additional opportunities to more students. As Collin County grows, so too must the College in order to meet demand." |
| Place 2 | Jeri Landfair Chambers | "One of the biggest challenges to the current campus structure is the demand for classes at peak times but the lack of space to accommodate students at those times. Additional campuses will help to relieve those constraints on current campuses. Expanding the offerings of online instruction is also a way to meet the needs of students needing to fit course into work and home responsibilities." |
| Place 2 | Nancy Wurzman | No response |
| Place 3 | Stacey Donald | "One challenge associated with a distributed campus structure is being strategic about class offerings. It is not practical to offer all courses/programs at all campuses. Nor is it effective to have faculty commuting daily between campuses. We must leverage the resources we have combined with data we have available to find out what classes students need at a given campus and funnel students from other campuses in. Additionally, we need to improve the online offerings, but only in combination with academic advising training and limited self-registration options for online." |
| Place 3 | Larry Wainwright | "The Collin College footprint expands the educational opportunities to students across Collin County. Today, the campus structure allows for many sections of basic classes like Math, English, Science and History. Over 70% of the current student body plan on transferring to a university to complete their baccalaureate degrees, so convenience, timeliness and availability are key to growing our enrollment. The new campus structure will continue to provide the basic classes while structuring occupational classes on campuses where the demand is greatest." |
| Job Readiness: How can the college better prepare students to find jobs and be high performers in the workplace? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Candidate | Response |
| Place 1 | Greg Gomel | "Collin College could better prepare students in their future search for employment by offering a greater variety of job fairs and information sessions. Although the college currently offers many educational events regarding the fields of science, technology, and medicine, I believe Collin could greatly benefit student's knowledge of their chosen fields by covering a wider scope of career disciplines in these events, such as business, education, and the arts. In addition, encourage the students to engage more with their community beyond the classroom." |
| Place 1 | Fred Moses | "First, we must ensure our curriculum meets business and industry needs. Courses offered must meet industry demands. Additionally, expanding our partnerships and collaboration with entities in the business community will assist in job placement. Also, faculty must work with students to ensure they are career driven, with a clear path to success outlined." |
| Place 2 | Jeri Landfair Chambers | "The college must always be looking forward to the demands of the workplace. Having close relationships with business leaders and working together to strategically identify current and future job needs is imperative. Responding to those needs adeptly and expeditiously with high quality classes will prepare students to be high performers in the workplace." |
| Place 2 | Nancy Wurzman | No response |
| Place 3 | Stacey Donald | "Companies want students who can communicate ideas clearly, troubleshoot independently, and present themselves professionally, particularly in speaking and writing. My background is in higher education, specifically in Liberal Arts, and as a teacher of rhetoric/composition, humanities, philosophy, and literature, I have a deep connection to the soft skills employers are looking for. Students need more training, perhaps in the form of a career readiness exit course, that teaches topics like ethics and social media, constructing concise and effective email, and public speaking on the job." |
| Place 3 | Larry Wainwright | "Public/Private partnerships with corporations to educate their employees through the Corporate College, use current employees of neighboring corporations to teach non-credit courses, promote Dual Credit courses in Collin County High Schools, offer Certification classes in fields of demand and stay abreast of future job needs of Collin County corporations. Keeping corporations in Collin County will require a well-educated workforce and Collin College must accept its role of providing an extensive academic, training and certification program." |
| Other Issues: What are the most important issues you think will come before the college in the next few years? What are your views on these issues? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Candidate | Response |
| Place 1 | Greg Gomel | "While all the priorities called out in the Master Plan are important, the one that strikes me as the most pressing is 'Add Workforce and Academic Programs to Align with Projected Collin County Labor Market Needs'. Determining how we're going to maintain focus on scaling Collin College growth to align with where the county is headed while balancing the other initiatives will call for a level of governance that is challenging. By maintaining a focus on this outcome, we'll prepare ourselves for this desired growth." |
| Place 1 | Fred Moses | "Two important issues that will remain a top priority will be overcoming Collin County growth challenges and proper budgeting. First, Collin College must take a strategic approach to meeting the needs of Collin County as it continues to grow. The College must remain focused on meeting the needs of the County, being proactive rather than reactive. Also, proper budgeting will remain a top concern. We must be good stewards of taxpayers dollars, ensuring we are meeting the needs of the students economically and efficiently." |
| Place 2 | Jeri Landfair Chambers | "Collin College Trustees have a responsibility to respond appropriately to the continued growth in Collin County. College trustees have to find a balance in serving both students and taxpayers. Collin College can serve more students through strong partnership with high schools in Collin County. Expanding the high school dual credit offerings and increasing concurrent enrollment is a fantastic way to have high school students graduate with college credits. Another opportunity is to enroll more students identified as socio-economically disadvantaged in dual credit courses." |
| Place 2 | Nancy Wurzman | No response |
| Place 3 | Stacey Donald | "Concealed carry and transgendered bathrooms may continue among the issues facing the college in the near future. My view on fire arms are that they have no place in the college classroom. As an educator, I know you have to challenge students' beliefs in order to stimulate growth and learning. Sometimes that is uncomfortable and frustrating for students. Additionally, sometimes debate between students can become quite heated. We learn to resolve disagreements through debate. These are not instances where carrying a gun will aid in growth. As far as the bathroom: did you wash your hands?" |
| Place 3 | Larry Wainwright | "Growth - with an exploding population in Collin County, will we be up to the challenge of building facilities, hiring appropriate faculty and reach students who can't attend college in a standard format. On-line classes, weekend classes and dual credit high school courses are examples of college outside of the box. What will tomorrow's classroom look like? Funding - state legislators have reduced higher education funding resulting in higher tuition which leads to more student debt that cripples college graduates. Collin College has maintained a very low hourly tuition rate. Can it last?" |
| Priorities: Even though your race is not contested this time, please share with voters your priorities for the next term and how you will address them. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Candidate | Response |
| Place 5 | Raj Menon | "1. Manage and successfully navigate the huge growth spurt we are encountering in Collin county 2. Use resources to grow in a manner that maintains the high quality of education while keeping costs down 3. Stay nimble, innovate, and adapt quickly to the rapidly changing demographics, student needs and aspirations, as well as workforce needs and opportunities 4. Continue to seek legislative support for the 4-year BSN (Nursing) degree program, and 5. Execute the board-approved master plan to expand our footprint, improve accessibility and programs." |
Recent news
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See also
| Collin County, Texas | Texas | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Collin College, "Collin College Trustees Call for Bond Election; Committee Of Community Leaders, Volunteers Will Help Chart Future Course," February 10, 2017
- ↑ Collin College, "2017 Board of Trustees Election, Places 1, 2, 3, and 5," January 2, 2017
- ↑ Collin College, "Collin College Opens Applications for Board of Trustees Vacancy," August 24, 2016
- ↑ Collin College, "Collin College Board Appoints New Trustee to Place 5," October 25, 2016
- ↑ Collin College, "Collin College Bond Passes," May 6, 2017
- ↑ The candidates' answers are reproduced here verbatim, without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ League of Women Voters of Collin County, "Voters Guide," accessed June 30, 2017
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