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Matt Shaheen Saturday announced his candidacy for
Collin County Commissioner representing the
residents of Precinct 1.
He spoke with several people over the summer about
running for the commissioner position. He had
several different people approach him about it and
he said he even did some praying on it. And around
the end of summer he decided that it was something
he wanted to do.
March 4 is the Republican Party primary.
Phyllis Cole is the incumbent in the current
position and looks to run again.
Shaheen kicked his campaign off Dec. 1 and even had
a float that announced his candidacy in the Plano
Children’s Christmas Parade. Attendees of the
campaign kick-off donated $700 to the Deployed
Soldiers Family Foundation, which supports military
families with loved-ones deployed overseas.
Shaheen said last Monday was the first day to file
for the primary, so it is still open, but as of
right now only Cole and he are in it.
“She will have been in office for two decades,”
Shaheen said. “There is a sense of self
entitlement people take on when they are in office
too long.”
Shaheen pointed out that over the years, the
commissioners voted themselves longevity bonuses,
“inappropriate” salary raises and a car
allowance on the backs of Collin County citizens. He
said the county government needs to be more
accessible to the citizens. City councils all do
their meetings in the evenings so that citizens can
go to them, but the county does theirs in the middle
of the day and a citizen would have to take a day
off work to go to it.
One way to increase the accessibility is through
term limits at the county level, an issue Shaheen is
for. He said that there are cities in Collin County
that have term limits, Frisco and Plano, and they
work well. Nationally there is a move for term
limits and it is time for that to happen, he said.
He wants to keep a positive campaign and said he is
respectful of what Cole has done for the county.
“I appreciate her service, and I respect anyone
that serves in a public position in the community or
in their country,” he said.
But, he said it is time for a change and his career
has molded him into what the county needs. He said
the he helps people and businesses run more
efficiently through technology. He said he wants to
use his nineteen years of experience as a technology
and consulting executive to bring leading business
practices to county government to deliver more
efficient, less expensive government to the
citizens.
He said that his confidence in his technological
know-how helps him when facing an 18-year incumbent.
He considers it an advantage to him that Cole has
been in the position for so long. He said that one
has to think about all of the technological changes
that have occurred over the last two decades that
she has been in office.
“There
has been a lot of change and technology advances
that I have intimate knowledge of,” he said. “I
can bring the knowledge that can make county
government more efficient.”
Shaheen has a worked in public service before.
Appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the State Board of
Social workers, he chairs the Board’s Professional
Development Committee and also serves on the Ethics
Committee.
Shaheen said he is actively involved in the
Republican Party, helping to found the Ronald Reagan
Conservative Society and serves as the society’s
founding Chairman. He also serves as GOP Chair for
Precinct 34 and Election Judge and is a past Board
Secretary of the Collin County Republican Men’s
Club.
Shaheen served as the Chairman of the Plano
Community Relations Committee and as a Commissioner
of the Plano Transition and Revitalization
Commission. He also serves on the Finance Committee
of the Colonial PGA Golf Committee.
For comments on this story contact Zachary Markovic
at zmarkovic@acnpapers.com.
Read this story and more online at www.scntx.com.
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