Denton Chamber of Commerce held a forum for City Council candidates and incumbents to address business owners and community members with their plans, promises and reassurances to the business industry if elected May 4.
With the start of early voting on April 22, it was a forum with a few surprises late Tuesday afternoon, not as many laughs as the Denton League of Women Voters forum last week and a short, tense exchange toward the end.
While the Place 5 and 6 candidates have been engaged and active, Mayor Gerard Hudspeth, who’s running for reelection, has taken the lead in his race, at least in campaigning.
Hudspeth’s latest finance reports show that he has spent nearly $10,000 on his reelection campaign in the past 30 days and more than $30,000 in total so far. One of his challengers, high school teacher Lucas Wedgeworth, did not attend the past two community voter forums, and has not filed a campaign finance report for the past 30 days.
Hudspeth’s other challenger, Stephen Dillenberg, missed the 4:30 p.m. opening statements at Tuesday’s forum. He also didn’t have a 30-day campaign finance report available on the city’s website.
Dillenberg pointed out that the country has strayed from free-market capitalism with a conscious ideal and used some of his 2-minute response times to discuss a conspiracy theory. He indicated that he was willing to address these types of issues in Denton through lawsuits if elected, a claim attorneys appreciate but one that Hudspeth has argued against on the dais, in work sessions and on the campaign trail.
Place 5 incumbent Brandon Chase McGee, who has raised $23,325 in donations, found himself defending the fair-chance hiring ordinance he introduced two years ago on the campaign trail.
“[There is a] false dichotomy that you must be pro-employer and pro-employee,” McGee said. “You can do both.”
Though it would remove the criminal background question from employment applications, McGee didn’t go so far as to call for its immediate passage since he had agreed earlier this year to give the chamber until after the May election to develop an alternative “second-chance hiring program.”
“We’ve discussed the process and potential programs with DFW second-chance hiring firms and companies currently engaged in second-chance hiring,” Erin Carter, president of the Denton Chamber of Commerce, said in a Tuesday email to the Denton Record-Chronicle. “There are several considerations on the table at this time to ensure justice-involved individuals are given the best opportunity to seek and retain employment in Denton.”
McGee’s failure to fulfill a campaign promise before seeking reelection hasn’t settled well with his constituents who support the proposed ordinance. Several local and student grassroots organizations, such as Decriminalize Denton, Denton Bail Fund and UNT Mueve, joined Denton Worker as part of a Fair Chance Coalition and released a statement and distributed a flyer demanding its passage.
The April 6 flyer begins in large lettering, “Council member Brandon McGee SOLD US OUT to the Chamber of Commerce.”
On Tuesday afternoon, McGee stressed that he supports the fair-chance hiring initiative — along with a council majority — until the May election. He promised to advocate for those with or without jobs and has promised in the past that passing the ordinance would expand Denton’s businesses’ options for job seekers.
The chamber addressed the proposed fair-chance hiring ordinance in the prepared questions sent to the council candidates before Tuesday’s forum: “What is the City’s responsibility in regulating business while upholding the free enterprise system?”
Other questions from the chamber included how to foster continued growth and attract new businesses; challenges Denton faces in terms of economic development; and how they aligned with the chamber’s mission to advocate, educate and collaborate.
Lilyan Prado Carrillo, running for the Place 6 seat, has been the only one to call for the ordinance’s immediate appearance for a council vote.
Carrillo, who calls herself a learner, a listener and accessible, has raised $12,554 in donations, according to her latest campaign finance filing.
Representation was an important issue for Carrillo, who stressed that 25% of Hispanic people in Denton need it not only on the council but also at the Chamber of Commerce, especially given the language barrier that affects those in the community. She stressed the need for smart growth, looking at infill development and leveraging impact fees for community needs.
Jill Jester, who’s also seeking the Place 6 seat, promised to bring positive energy back to local government and claimed it is important to partner with the chamber and local businesses, such as Peterbilt, which also brings more businesses, like Peterbilt’s suppliers.
Jester, a former chair of the chamber, stressed that her job as a real estate attorney makes her an ideal candidate for collaboration and finding common ground to address city issues. She’s also a member of the Denton Economic Development Partnership Board and the Denton Black Chamber of Commerce.
“Whatever our personal belief, we’re making the best decision on behalf of the citizens because we are called to lead in this position,” Jester said. “We are called to make hard decisions sometimes. And there may be an instance where it’s not a popular decision but because of the information you have received, perhaps in a closed session, it’s up to you to educate your constituents, to advocate for them and persuade them to understand why you’re making the decision that you are.”
Recent campaign finance filings show that Jester has raised $12,400 in donations.
McGee’s challenger for Place 5, Erica Garland, a human resources executive, said that they need to find a balance between regulation and the free market but wasn’t supportive of the proposed fair-chance hiring ordinance, calling it an unnecessary obstacle for businesses.
“Everybody agrees that second chances are needed,” Garland said.
Garland has raised more than $18,221, according to her recent campaign finance filing.
During his response times, Hudspeth, who has raised $31,025 in donations, mentioned the projects he has completed as mayor, the experience he has garnered as a longtime representative and why he doesn’t like candidates being identified by their job titles.
“I think that’s divisive,” Hudspeth said. “I don’t want to say, ‘Hey, I work in legal. You work over here. This is what color my collar is.’ I don’t want to divide our city. I want to unite it.”
On his Jan. 17 application for the ballot, Hudspeth lists his occupation as sales. According to Freeit Data Solutions, Hudspeth is the Austin-based IT company’s state and local government business leader, focusing on state and local government, developing businesses and leveraging relationships on the corporate side. He has been working for the company since February 2022, according to Hudspeth’s LinkedIn page.
“What attracted me to Freeit are the solutions and services they offer specifically to municipalities and government agencies,” Hudspeth wrote in a Q&A with Freeit Data Solutions.
Hudspeth stressed that Denton businesses make the best decisions for themselves, and that government shouldn’t be making it more difficult with unneeded regulations to retain and entice businesses to the community.
“This crap is what separates people, and it’s not good for business,” Hudspeth said. “… I’m not trying to be divisive. That’s not the answer. That’s not Denton.”