Incumbent Mayor Bob Dubey will face off against former Richardson Council member Amir Omar and Alan North, owner and CEO of KetoMed Nutraceuticals, who both provide alternate views of what Richardson could be.
Debating the Future
Key battle lines were drawn at the University of Texas at Dallas when its student government hosted a mayoral debate between Dubey and Omar on April 2. The candidates spent an hour discussing their hopes for Richardson, how the city could grow and help businesses, and how recent council decisions that favored auto dealerships fell out of line with the city plan.Noticeably absent was candidate North. In the comment section of a local news blog post, North said that he had RSVP'd for the event and messaged a student named Aidan Boyd multiple times about coming to speak at the debate only to be met with silence. North connected this to his previous absence at the Richardson Area Democrats forum and what he calls a “shadow government” that operates Richardson elections. A UT Dallas student government spokesperson said that their invitation was open to all three candidates, but North did not respond in time.
It didn't take long before the subject of auto dealers came up. Dubey faced concerns over his support for a pair of special car lot permits in Richardson’s urban areas.
The first special permit was granted in a 4-3 vote by the City Council to Clay Cooley Volkswagen of Richardson during a September, meeting. The dealership was seeking to expand its operations by constructing a new body shop. The second permit came in October when the Council unanimously agreed to allow Autosavvy, a salvage car dealership, to operate at the eastern entrance to Richardson on the corner of Arapaho Road and Greenville Avenue until 2029. This area is also currently in the process of being redeveloped into a transit-oriented development.
Ed Hicks, general manager of Clay Cooley Volkswagen, said that he had worked diligently by speaking to Volkswagen leadership twice, to get an innovative design approved that was intended to match the “edgy and eclectic” energy of the Interurban district. Comprised of historical landmarks, residential areas and new developments near the rail line that runs north and south through town, Richardson's Interurban district has long been a focal point of the city's future development.
Hicks said that Volkswagen had given him special permission to paint the buildings a dull gray, light blue, and “rusty” orange to fit the aesthetic of the area, as well as have a mural created by a Dallas-based artist on one of the buildings. Hicks said that the content of the mural could be anything; he just wanted to make sure it looked good for those riding by it on the nearby DART rail.
Interurban Promise
At the Sept. 23 meeting, several residents and small business owners expressed their frustrations and doubts over how allowing the auto dealer to expand, regardless of the building design, fit within the vision they had been promised.A representative from Four Bullets Brewery on Interurban Street told the council, “We are afraid that this proposal will kill us and what you have already worked so hard on. We need you to keep the original vision of Interurban alive.” But Dubey’s response was that while this was a challenging situation, the city would have to recognize that Clay Cooley as a business had come through and invested in Richardson, so granting them a special permit was only right and permitted the city to avoid any vacant buildings.
The October council meeting brought discussion on a different dealer to the forefront. Autosavvy on Arapaho Road doesn't fit in with what Omar feels the city should be welcoming. Although Dubey said welcoming the used car lot was good business, his opponent saw it differently.
“If the mayor’s idea of a wonderful economic development deal is a salvaged car lot on the most prestigious corner of Richardson… if he thinks that getting that revenue is so important to our budget, then it shows you a pretty clear difference between the two of us because I would have said no,” Omar said.
Omar added that, in his view, having the car lot in that spot, even if only for five years, would still affect Richardson because that would be five years in which people decide whether Richardson is where they want to have a business or buy a home. According to Omar, a second car lot that was approved with community opposition only showed a disconnect between the city council and the residents of Richardson.
Dubey said that during his tenure the city of Richardson was able to greatly increase its developments and begin community projects like a unique health and wellness village known as The Nest while sticking to the city plan. He explained that a key part of leadership was flexibility and that not every situation could be solved by simply referring to the preestablished city plan.
We reached out to Omar and Dubey with questions of our own. Dubey didn’t respond, but Omar did. Omar said that he felt the distinction between him and Dubey was incredibly severe even if they agreed on issues such as support for increased developments and DART. Omar said that it boiled down to his drive and willingness to be an active leader, while Dubey focused on the passive and ceremonial roles of the office.
“You can count on me being the kind of mayor that will actually actively try to go and help us recruit companies to come to Richardson versus clasping our hands and hoping that the next company is going to choose Richardson,” Omar said. “And I think the way that I'll be able to do that differently than the mayor is aside from being more proactive than he is.”
