We recommend in the race for Allen City Council, Place 1

Allen voters have a choice between two leading candidates for City Council Place 1 who appear to genuinely care about the health of their city. Mike Schaeffer is the stronger candidate.

Schaeffer is a 25-year resident of Allen who has served his community in both important and mundane positions, from the 2010 Allen census committee to the chairman of the board of the Economic Development Corporation. He tells a compelling story about complaining of city bureaucracy to former Mayor Steve Terrell before he knew who Terrell was. He said Terrell convinced him to be part of the solution to his own complaints, and he’s been serving Allen almost continually since then.

Schaeffer, 49, is self-employed and describes himself as a serial entrepreneur. He brings a practical, pro-business mindset to issues facing the city.

He opposes the creation of a permanent no-new-revenue taxation standard, which, he said, delayed the hiring of two firefighters recently and kept the city from investing for the future. Schaeffer is running to replace Daren Meis, a former council member who was part of a bloc pushing for a NNR tax rate.The NNR campaign has “really set Allen back a couple of years,” Schaeffer said. Allen already has the second-lowest tax rate among major cities in Collin County.

Schaeffer favors more density and workforce housing to support the city’s economic development goals.

Schaeffer’s opponent, Dave Scott, 60, is a retired law enforcement officer who moved to Allen from California almost four years ago. He told us public service is in his blood, and he has gotten involved with his homeowners association. He was also a founding member of an activist organization called We the People Allen, which supported Meis’ bloc. In our candidate interview, Scott distanced from that group, saying he was no longer a member.

Scott seems to genuinely care about his newly adopted home, but he lacks Schaeffer’s detailed knowledge of city operations. Schaeffer knows the players in Allen and the policy levers to lift the city toward a better future. He’s the clear choice.

IT entrepreneur Esrar Razvi, 38, is also running.

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