Interview: Clyde Picht, Fort Worth mayoral candidate

by Steve Smith of West and Clear

Clyde Picht, the former Fort Worth City Council representative and current mayoral candidate, is not exactly Mayor Mike Moncrief’s biggest fan. The homepage of his website says it all. Underneath the “ImPicht Moncrief” headline, he lists his campaign platform: return ethics to local government, decentralize government to better serve the people, bring public safety and environmental quality to Barnett Shale, return the public to the process of government and fix suburban streets before they become impassable.

Below are Picht’s answers to West and Clear’s email with a few questions about his campaign:

West and Clear: What is your position on urban gas drilling? Do you believe the current ordinance offers enough protections? Do you believe that injection wells can be safely operated in the city? If not, do you have a position on disposal of wastewater from the fracking process?

Picht: I favor urban drilling but the ordinance is inadequate in addressing public safety and environmental issues. I frankly don’t know that much about injection wells but there have been instances of blowouts in rural areas so I am concerned about them and the potential damage to water tables and such in the urban setting. Nobody knows much about the problems concerning that fracking wastewater. We do know it is a proprietary formulation containing toxic ingredients and disposal should be a big concern. Another issue to be concerned about is the total water usage. With each well consuming an average 3M gallons of water for fracking and a potential for 7000 wells, that’s 21B gallons of fracking water gone to total waste. There needs to be a recycling and recovery effort.

West and Clear: What is your position on tax incentives and special tax districts being used to entice businesses to relocate and/or expand in Fort Worth? In a few cases, these incentives have gone to businesses (Cabela’s for example) which can more than afford to operate without them, thus costing the City much needed tax revenue. Will you continue this practice?

Picht: I have not favored tax incentives to bring in new business. The best reasons for business to move to Fort Worth are: educated work force, transportation hubs, low cost of doing business, and low cost of living for employees so you don’t have to pay them so much. All the aforementioned exist without tax breaks except that as neighborhoods deteriorate they become less than attractive for new resident workers. By increasing the effort to improve our residential stock we will still be an attractive destination for business.

West and Clear: What is your position on the development of commuter and light rail in Fort Worth?

Picht: We don’t have the mass to support mass transit so we must realize that any commuter or light rail will require being subsidized by the taxpayers. If the taxpayers want to pay extra for the fun of riding a trolley, etc, that’s okay as long as they have an opportunity to vote on it knowing what they are paying for.

West and Clear: What do you believe is the most important city issue that you want to address if elected?

Picht: All issues are important. We collect substantial taxes to provide a range of services. We are not doing a good job on street maintenance, storm water runoff and drainage, controlling spending, contracting for services, prioritizing the expense of government, providing services commensurate with growth, and guaranteeing our residents an ethical and honest political leadership.

West and Clear: Why should people vote for you?

Picht: Because my education, experience and integrity are superior to the others, especially our unethical, conflicted, dishonest incumbent mayor.