Gelbman: Will put residents first

By Itamar Gelbman

Flower Mound friends and neighbors,

In the last few weeks, I was asked about my previous tenure on Council and how will it be different than a future one. I served on the Council between 2015 and 2017. When I ran for Council, I promised to fight an Eminent Domain action that started before I was elected, and I did so once I was in office. I also promised to be the resident’s advocate. And I was.

In my previous tenure, I was fighting solely against the other Council members who were heavily supported by the developers. In addition to stopping the Eminent Domain acquisition, I was able to stop two subsidized low-income apartment projects from being developed in the Town. This didn’t come without the other four Council members and the former Mayor attacking me in every single venue and way they could, from trying to manufacture criminal charges against me, to removing my daughter from the Girl Scouts, and to continuously berating me with fake Op-Eds both in local newspapers and online articles. What they did not understand about me, my family are Holocaust survivors who all served in the Armed Forces, and we don’t believe in quitting, we don’t believe in giving up, and we will fight for our neighbors, the residents, for the right thing until the day we die. And if we need to go down with our ship, we do so, but we never retreat and we never abandon our community.

So, what’s the difference between then and now?

The answer is amazingly simple, the Council members.

In the last three years, Flower Mound residents have noticed what the developers are doing to our Town and have elected some of the greatest Council members we could have. Our current Council members are truly representatives of our residents, they are standing by our Master Plan and SMART Growth, and are true stewards of our finances. For example, last year was the first time in over a decade that we paid down on the Town’s debt.

I can tell you upfront, I know I will have times I will disagree with the Council member’s votes (as I have done so in the past), but I can assure you of one thing: the current Council is a “Putting Residents First” Council, and I would be humbled and honored to join Sandeep, Ann, Jim, and Ben leading our Town for a long-term sustainable future where residents come first and our Town’s Master Plan and SMART Growth will not look like swiss cheese.

All Denton County residents vote at the Flower Mound Senior Center located at 2701 W. Windsor Dr, Flower Mound.

May 28^th 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
May 29^th 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
June 1^st 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM

All Tarrant County residents vote at the REC of Grapevine located at 1175 Municipal Way, Grapevine.

May 28^th 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
May 29^th 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
May 30^th 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
June 1^st 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM

And Runoff election day is Saturday, June 5^th from 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM

I ask for your support and vote so we can continue “Putting Residents First.”