Interview: Curtis Rath, McKinney City Council candidate

by Staff of McKinneyNews.net

McKinney’s upcoming city council election (May 9) finds no less than three contestants vying for the council’s At-Large seat. McKinneyNews.net sat down with each candidate – Curtis Rath, David Brooks, and current District 1 council member, Gilda Garza -- in an effort to divine who these candidates are not necessarily as politicians, but as thinking human beings capable (hopefully) of contending with nuance and ambiguity.

McKinneyNews.net is under the opinion that the best questions, i.e., those that elicit something of substance pertaining to one’s character and intellectual capabilities, are questions least expected. After all, presumably anyone can make a good impression with enough preparation and rehearsal. (Remember, Skinner, with relative ease, trained pigeons to play Ping-Pong.)

While the questions generally follow the same trajectory, McKinneyNews.net did not hesitate to deviate from the prearranged script when candidate answers warranted a follow-up question (or two).

McKinneyNews.net explicitly does not endorse political candidates. In deference to the alphabet, Garza’s and Rath’s responses will follow Brooks’ interview on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

McKinneyNews.Net: What do you do with your time?

Rath: I’m the Business Development Director for J Rettenmaier, a privately held German company involved with transforming abundant renewable resources into useful materials. (Rath went into exquisite scientific detail about fiber. Apparently Rettenmaier introduces oat hulls into many foods as a way to add bulk and consistency to a variety of foods.)

McKinneyNews.Net: Erich Fromm said, “One cannot be deeply responsive to the world without being saddened very often.” What saddens you?

Rath: It’s almost good timing. What I’m doing -- I’m visiting different people around McKinney and I met a gentleman today, Pastor Rock. He’s a black man and he’s involved in a ministry. Although I’ve lived here 19 years, I’m pretty ignorant of what goes on, on the east side of McKinney. I met Pastor Rock today and he took me on a drive. This guy is working on his Ph.D. He showed me a video of apartments on the east side with water leaks -- deplorable conditions. This guy’s been fighting with the owner of the property and with the federal government to get this place cleaned up. A lot of people know about this, but nothing seems to be getting done. I would think that our federal government would be more responsive to meeting the needs of poor people in this community.

McKinneyNews.Net: You haven’t hesitated to vociferously distinguish your right-wing ideological sentiments from your left-wing brethren as a regular blogger on McKinneyNews.net. Is there room in your heart for the accommodation of opposing political opinion?

Rath: Absolutely. What I appreciate the most, what I’ve enjoyed the most about writing the blogs are the debates and the challenges from people who don’t share my philosophy. I think that you try to illicit, that you try to say things in a provocative manner to get a dialogue going.

McKinneyNews.Net: Research shows minds are seldom changed via debate.

Rath: I think that our differences are such that we’re not going to change each other’s minds. I don’t think that we need to. It’s fun for me. It helps me in delving into issues that I believe in, so that I understand issues more.

McKinneyNews.Net: But you’re not amenable to change, right?

Rath: No, I think I’m very open to change. I always think that we can do things smarter in a more efficient manner.

McKinneyNews.Net: McKinneyNews.net realizes global warming is beyond the purview of city council decisions. But then again, council members certainly must grapple with issues pertaining to ecology and conservation. So, with this huge prelude, what’s your take on global warming?

Rath: I believe in green technology. I believe we need to conserve our resources. I work for a company -- our tenant is based upon utilization of renewable resources. I think global warming is a ploy to get people excited about doing the right thing. I think it’s a very complex issue, not a simple issue. It’s not black and white. Like I said, conserving and sustainability -- I think those are important things that we don’t need the excuse of global warming to be doing these things.

McKinneyNews.Net: How do you know – or does one know – one is or is not in possession of the truth?

Rath: (Sighs. Nods head.) Like I said, conserving, and sustainability -- I think those are important things that we don’t need the excuse of global warming to be doing that.

McKinneyNews.Net: What makes a great leader?

Rath: I think it has to do with character -- somebody who’s willing to stand for his beliefs when they’re not very popular.

McKinneyNews.Net: Who’s your hero?

Rath: My hero is Ronald Regan. When he was elected president he was mocked, made fun of and ridiculed. [The press] hammered the guy. I think that he had a core belief system and he had this belief – solid conservative principles – and he stuck with it. And now historians are considering him to be one of the best presidents ever.

McKinneyNews.Net: What role does past experience play in one’s perception of reality and one’s notion of truth?

Rath: Growing up and living in a military family, I moved a lot. I went to 13 different schools including living in North Africa and Germany before I graduated high school. So I got to see a lot of things that most people never get a chance to see. I loved it.

McKinneyNews.Net: I know you have said that your experience in the business world has helped prepare you for a position on City Council. What do you think your greatest strength is and can you give us a concrete example of how you have used this strength in business?

Rath: I’m in sales. I’m not the president; I’m a sales manager. But most of my activities are dealing with people that I don’t control and don’t manage – people I’m trying to sell. I’m not a traditional salesman, I’m not going to try to talk anybody into doing anything – I can’t talk anybody into buying my products. What I need to do is understand what their needs are. With a lot of different people and interests, I listen to their needs and I find solutions. There’s a mythological hero personality profile I took somewhere and I’m magician. I interpreted the magician as somebody who creates solutions, creates alternatives. I feel like I’m very creative. I don’t like to look at things one way.

McKinneyNews.Net: How would you apply this as a member of council?

Rath: (Laughs.) I think I’m ideally suited from a temperament standpoint. I don’t have preconceived ideas about what we should do. I think everybody needs a voice.

McKinneyNews.Net: What are three critical issues that our city faces?

Rath: More business development to create more jobs to reduce the tax burden on residents. Second is quality of life. There’s a unique small town feel to McKinney that attracted my family and I think most people to McKinney. I want to keep the open spaces and the trees. We like to see the trees, the parks, the libraries, the culture, and the arts. Number three would be a voice for the people. I’m looking for ways to get more people involved in the community. I’m not coming with any preconceived ideas or preferences. I don’t have a business interest in the community. I’m only doing this because I want to help the people. I know it sounds stupid and clichéd, but that’s how I feel.

McKinneyNews.Net: How would you recommend that the city address these issues?

Rath: We need jobs in this town. I lost two jobs in the span of a year and it was a very, very tough time. Secondly, we need to have a broader tax base. Right now, McKinney is sitting at about a 20-percent contribution from commercial and industrial and 80 percent of its taxes are coming from residential taxes. It probably should be closer to 40 from the commercial/industrial side and 60 percent from the residential. I’m going to decrease the tax burden on the residents.

McKinneyNews.Net: Is indigent health care an issue in Collin County?

Rath: I am going to look into the idea of health care more closely. At this point, it’s a complex issue and I need to look at it more deeply.

McKinneyNews.Net: Do you think a developer such as mayoral candidate George Fuller – or maybe a guy like downtown developer, Don Day -- should run for city council? Some might say there’s a rather huge conflict of interest.

Rath: (Smiles) I think that Don and George are very successful businessmen. I think they’re both very accomplished individuals. And I think both of them sincerely believe they can transfer that over to city. I think it’s kind of irrelevant what I think about them. I don’t think it’s meaningful.

McKinneyNews.Net: What annoys you most about politicians?

Rath: Something happens to people when they’re in office. They become narcissistic – not all of them – but it seems to happen. Office and entitlements, they think those things are owed to them. Those people were voted to serve the people and somehow that gets turned around with the people serving them. This goes for both Democrats and Republicans.