UNT student campaigns for Denton City Council seat

by Candice Bernd of North Texas Daily

There has never been a college student on the Denton City Council. With three higher-education institutions in the city, there has never been a student representative of the more than 46,000 students that reside here.

As general studies senior Andrew Teeter, aka "Teets," continues to run his grassroots campaign for a seat in District 3, he faces many challengers, most with the money to buy extravagant campaign items to market themselves.

Teeter is running his campaign on makeshift signs and banners, the Internet and knowledge of the nature of the city to ignore the needs of the student population. As a former school bus driver and a substitute teacher for Denton ISD, he is truly interested in education and wants to literally "take back the streets" by seeing to it that students get the things they need, like parking and bike lanes across the city.

The vacant lot on Fry Street is becoming a great concern to students and alumni. Teeter wants to end the argument between United Equities and the city and turn the lot into a park for students and the community to host events.

"Developers and appraisers have plagued small business by over-appraising property values," Teeter said. "The empty lot threatens neighboring lots, at which point eminent domain is applicable."

As an activist, he helped organize the largest political march on the NT campus, getting students involved in politics in larger numbers and in a way that they never had before. He also helped organize a free speech coalition of several student organizations and individuals that successfully pressured the administration to change the free speech zone policy on the campus. The policy is currently being rewritten.

He hopes to have a hand in changing the free speech policy for city council meetings. The current policy designates that you sign up a week in advance to speak. This is an inconvenience to many residents with pressing concerns, and unnecessarily regulates our first amendment right.

Racism, sadly enough, has become another issue within the city. According to an article in the Denton Record-Chronicle, Cirilo Pedroza quit his job as manger of three recreation centers because he could no longer support the department's direction, saying that his bosses pressured him for years to fire Bobby Givens, a black man who has worked at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center for about 20 years, without cause.

Teeter speaks out in support of Givens and against these types of injustices.

He has lived in District 3 for four years, residing at various times in the dorms, "Concrete City," Thomas Street and now Fry Street. He has engaged in civil disobedience on Fry Street, standing up to police misconduct as he witnessed total strangers being wrongfully arrested, making a high sacrifice for justice and doing the right thing - even if it meant going to jail.

It is sad that the lowest demographic to turn out to vote is the 18- to 24-year-old age group. Teeter will be tabling on campus near the eagle statue today and all of next week to register students to vote in an attempt to change that. You can find out more about Teeter's platform by joining the Facebook group "Vote Andrew Teeter, City Council District 3." Take back the streets. Vote for Teets.