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Guadalupe County Commissioner

Michael Carpenter Guadalupe County Commisioner

Selected Links from This Episode

Connect with Michael Carpenter

Notable Quotes from the Interview

  • “There’s two ways to run a campaign unopposed or scared. And so you put the work in no matter what.”
  • “In the rural portions, there’s a lot of age exemption that’s out there. In the urbanized portions, we have, as we know, a lot of retired military and a lot of those retired military are partially or fully disabled, and that that drives what they pay in property tax.”
  • “I got to the mayor’s chair was incredibly strong leadership, people that put their hearts and souls into making their community a better place. And so I was I was the beneficiary of all of that work that came before me.”
  • “If spent more time listening, and hearing each other things can be accomplished.”
  • “If the legislature funds the school districts to a higher level than what the school districts have to get from local property taxes, falls, that’s a delicate balance.”
  • “The fact is of the money that’s required to run the state to run the school districts, the taxing authorities that have to produce at the local level and in response to the demands of the people that live there.”
  • “The one salient difference between being involved in a city and a county is that a Home Rule city in the state of Texas can largely do anything that it wants to accept what the state has said they may not do.”
  • “The seven years ago, I was blessed by the people of Schertz to be allowed to serve was the greatest education of my life.”
  • “One of the most important things that you can do in a leadership position is not to try to act important to speculate.”
  • “The capabilities of the FBI and the ATF and the Texas Rangers, the feed on the street, the frontline folks, is far better than what it’s portrayed as on television. They are far more capable than we can even imagine.”
  • ●       “I feel like there is a big disconnect from the community and our local officials, when it comes to voting.”
  • “The tactical execution of a campaign is mathematical and scientific.”
  • “The two things that need to be largest on your political signs are your name and the name of the office that you’re running for’”
  • “I wish that I knew more when I entered the mayor’s office than I did. Because the learning curve is so extraordinary more about what the whole thing just how it works.”
  • “The worst thing, and I don’t want to speak in absolutes, but nearly perhaps the worst thing that a newly elected person or any put anybody in a leadership position can bring to that job is an abundance of ignorance and arrogance at once.”

People Mentioned

Meet Michael Carpenter and His Journeys towards Politics

“One of the most important things that you can do in a leadership position is not to try to act important or speculate.”

There are many reasons why people go into politics. Some people want to make the world a better place, and some want to be famous. And there are many different types of politicians: good and evil. If you wish to become a good politician or a bad politician, if you have some background in the subject of politics, it is good for you. In Politics, to be successful, you need to be intelligent and shrewd. You might have seen that even uneducated people can become politicians. The way I see it, there are two main reasons why people get into politics: they want fame or money. I think most people who go into politics do so because they want money and fame – although many don’t realize it when they start!

Michael Carpenter

Michael Carpenter was elected to begin his first term in the Commissioner’s Court on November 3rd, 2020. He is the 8th mayor of Schertz, Texas, and has served as President of Region 7 of the Texas Municipal League. Michael is married to Melissa, who has been his wife for 27 years, and they have two sons.

The County Judge

“The county judge is first of equals, or first among equals, and the chairman of the meetings.”

In Texas, there are four commissioners’ districts per county, and each elects its own county commissioner’s court. The County Judge, who presides over the Commissioners Court, is chosen at large by voters from across the county and is given the same voting rights as the other commissioners. They are the organization in charge of allocating finances for every county function, including county jails, courts for both criminal and civil matters, and the construction and upkeep of roads and bridges. The number of early voting locations that can be operated is affected by how they jointly hire and fund the county election officers. In Texas, county governments are creations of and answerable to the state government. Thus, the Governor recently issued an order limiting the number of drop boxes each county may use for the direct return of mail-in ballots. That is meant to be, and is, a burden in Democratic-leaning urban counties where it is difficult to get across town due to parking, traffic, and other issues.

Except for education, which continues to be governed by the state, counties in Texas now have their distinct authority to administer the law. Texas counties can exercise such powers relatively successfully because most of them are located in rural or semi-rural areas with few people, but if they were made more reliant upon

Why leaders should practice servant leadership

Servant leadership is a person who assumes the role of a leader as an act of service to others. They have a dedication to the welfare of others and are free from greed, hatred, and self-gratification. For instance: Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and many more great men and women. They were not born with power. However, some people may believe that they had a better platform than others, but in reality, they did not desire anything except to serve humanity.

In the episode, Michael Carpenter notes that he began practicing servant leadership in kindergarten, which aided him in his quest for leadership. Life is a never-ending adventure, but the best part about it is that we get to travel through it together. It’s remarkable how little we understand about life and how little we can envision. As a result, life is more joyful for us than it would be if we were all alone. It’s critical to pursue your dreams, just like Michael Carpenter did when, despite a demanding schedule and against the advice of his beloved wife of 27 years, he campaigned for office. Despite his first loss against the incumbent, he never gave up.

“Actually, whatever the correct age ages for kindergarten, I was not held back, not in kindergarten. It was a lesson of servant leadership. Right? Oh, you’re President and then you serve everybody else in the room.”

Property taxes in Texas

Property tax in Texas is high because the average appraisal value of the property is becoming high. It means that each year, property owners in Texas are coming through an increase in their home’s value. So that, the percentage of their property taxes may not increase, but the bill’s price will increase. Resale value can rise due to several factors such as the education levels of the population around you, market conditions, and housing trends, among others.

To sum up, it is also essential to keep both ends of the spectrum in mind when practicing servant leadership, just like Michael Carpenter. We should remember that although, for many people, making a career choice to be a politician is only about themselves, some genuinely want to contribute to the welfare of others in need. The option they make is their way of serving those not at their level of power and popularity. If they are contented with this fact and do not merely seek profit and personal gains in their political career, they will stand out as an example of good leaders.

 “The distribution and use of those tax dollars is not necessarily roughly proportional.”

In today’s episode of Local Politics, we’re delighted to have newly elected Guadalupe County Commissioner Michael Carpenter on board. He is joining us to discuss his journey in politics, how it all started, his responsibilities as a County Commissioner, the property tax issue, what he’s learned from interacting with other elected officials, and much more.

Please enjoy!

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