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John Anthony Brown: The Woodlands Township Candidate

Please note that Hello Woodlands is an unbiased, nonpartisan news source that does not endorse or support only one party or candidate. We do not accept or receive advertising or funding from any candidate, party or group.

Hello Woodlands gave the opportunity to candidates running for The Woodlands Township Board of Directors to complete a written interview including the same 7 questions. View candidate’s responses to our questions, if provided.

Each position has a two-year term, is an unpaid volunteer position, and is elected at-large by voters in The Woodlands Township in both Montgomery County and Harris County. The election is scheduled for November 8, 2022. Voters must be registered to vote for The Woodlands election.

THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS – 2022 CANDIDATE

John Anthony Brown is running for the Township Board Position 3.

John Anthony Brown

1. Share your background. What originally brought you to The Woodlands?

I was born and raised in Philadelphia, working in both the Real Estate and clinical trial contracts industry for over 8 years. But, after having our daughter in 2007 I gave serious thought about schools for her when the time came. The public school system is not the best, so we thought about Texas. We visited my cousin every year in League City, TX and decided to move into an apartment close to them in 2010. Once we figured out where to finally move to, The Woodlands was the obvious choice. We used to go to the Pavilion to attend concerts before we ever moved here, heard about how safe the community was and the variety of schools The Woodlands had to offer. That’s when I knew this was going to be home.

2. Why do you enjoy living (and working, if applicable) in The Woodlands?

In my opinion it is the best place to raise a family. It’s one of the safest places to live, so many amenities fit for everyone, and so many people are involved within the community. Being able to live and work here makes it fell like utopia. Our Woodlands philosophy of live, work, and pray is evident on the ability to have all amenities inside your community. I enjoy working for Huntsman because we are always active in giving back to the community. Working for such a generous company, located in The Woodlands allows me to work, live, and give back more frequently and immediately.  

3. How have you served and/or how do you currently serve and contribute to our community?

I began my community service upon my arrival in The Woodlands. I was elected to the Alden Bridge Village association in 2011 and still serve as an area representative. I ran a charity golf tournament benefiting the Village Associations charity, volunteered for many outreach programs for Interfaith and the Montgomery County Food bank through Huntsman, assisted with mucking homes during Harvey and have been mentoring students and scouts with any Township questions. A snapshot is below.

  • 2019 – Leadership Montgomery County Graduate
  • 2016 – Present – Treasurer, The Woodlands Township Board of Directors
  • 2016 – Present – Vice Chairman, Visit The Woodlands
  • 2015 – Nominated Volunteer of the Year
  • 2011 – Present – Alden Bridge Village Association Area Representative

Also served on The Woodlands Township Design Standards Committee for 4 years, as well a myriad of Township committees, such as Budget Task Force, Audit and Investment Committee, Law Enforcement advisory Committee and Economic task force.

John Anthony Brown

4. What motivates you to run for The Woodlands Township Board of Directors?

Service to my community is my only motivation. I enjoy being with the community and helping with their questions and problems. Nothing feels better than being able to resolve an issue and knowing you helped.

There are a few more projects I’d like to see completed for our community, which I believe will have a lasting impact. For example, one being the Performing Arts Center, working with partners to rejuvenate our shopping centers, and lead the vision for the next 15 years.

5. What are 5 things that you want voters to know about you (personal, points, views, experience, etc.)?

  1. I have always looked at issues objectively and used factual data to come to an independent informed conclusion. I believe I have earned a reputation within the community of being a man of integrity and upstanding character.
  2. Local governments, especially ours, is made up of complex contracts, managed/owned by multiple jurisdictions and entities, which requires a lot of in-depth knowledge. My experience as a board of director, along with multiple committees, for the last 6 years have placed me in a position to know many of the details of how our community operates, both from a government and residential standpoint, which is paramount.
  3. Through my faith as a Latter Day Saint (LDS), I live my life through service and caring for everyone, regardless of their views, political standpoint, or any contradictory standpoint to my own they may have. This has served me well by being able to listen to resident concerns and working with all people to resolve issues.
  4. Since I have been elected, the tax rate has dropped form 23 cents to the historically low 18.5 cents, refinanced and paid off a total of over 70 million dollars saving the residents over 8 million dollars’ worth of interest, all while improving our world class amenities, like Texas Tree ventures, adding the Creekside Park community center, improving the Bear Branch Recreational center and implementing the Bike-Pedestrian master plan. It’s truly remarkable that we can do this, but because our proper financial planning and healthy reserves it allows us use cash, instead of going out for bonds.
  5. Economic Development in the next 10-15 years will be critical to our community. As Montgomery County grows, we will need to stay competitive with our surrounding areas to keep Hotel and Sales Tax dollars here. 52% of our revenues come from Hotel and Sales tax, so it is a critical area to focus on if we want to keep our taxes low. I am fit and have the experience to lead us through these times. These types of things is why I was endorsed by the Houston Association of Realtors.

6. If elected, what would your top 3 priorities as a Township Board of Director? How would you work to impact/shape the future of The Woodlands?

  1. Economic Development – As previously mentioned, Economic development will be critical to being able to continue to have low taxes. It will also foster a rejuvenation to some of our older shopping centers. I would like to work with our partners in bringing a world class Performing Arts Center here, work with The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership in bringing in some larger companies, and the possibility of making our community more attractive to some larger sports events.
  2. Mobility – Mobility is a complex issue and requires lots of discussions. The first thing is to be open to any ideas, discuss the pros and cons and work on a plan that is beneficial to the surrounding areas. There are two modes of public transportation, our Woodlands Express and the Woodlands Trolley’s. The acquisition of the trolleys opens the door to many options of moving people further around the community, not just around Town Center.
  3. Public Safety – Supporting our first responders has always been paramount. Providing the necessary support and equipment to enable them to do their jobs safely and effectively has always been a priority. During my tenure we have provided the Fire Department a second set of bunker gear, cancer screening access, new fire trucks and enhanced responder vehicles making our Fire Department an ISO 1 rated fire department. An ISO 1 means the department has met the highest requirements. For homeowners and businesses that have fire insurance that use the ISO ratings, the higher a department’s rating the lower premiums will be. The rating could drop businesses insurance rates about 3 percent with homeowners saving about 1 percent. There are approximately 30,000 fire departments in the country with an ISO rating, less than 1% of which are rated as a class 1. For these reasons I was endorsed by the Unified Firefighters f The Woodlands. For our sheriff’s department we have provided vehicles, enhanced accessories, such as scanners, and any other support. We also advocate and provide additional support to our constables office for the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) because our children are very important.

7. Would you like to share any other words or message to The Woodlands community?

During my tenure we (as a board) guided our Township to the best financial position in its history, and my experience can keep us there and even improve. Although I have served this community since first moving here 11 years ago, I feel I have l have more to offer and can keep this community on track financially, while looking forward responsibly on how to manage our budget.

My character and integrity are unyielding, and I will always be an independent thinker and objectively look at all issues facing our community, without favoritism or guided by special interests.

We need to be inclusive of all ideas, from all community partners, and think in the best interests of our community.

We are One Woodlands.

Learn more about John Anthony Brown:

Visit the Hello Woodlands 2022 Election Guide for The Woodlands Township Board of Directors Candidates to view all candidates, interviews, and voting information here.

Please visit the November 2022 Election section on The Woodlands Township’s website for additional information about the November 8, 2022 election at https://www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov/1521/November-2022-Election.

Please note that Hello Woodlands is an unbiased, nonpartisan news source that does not support only one party or candidate. We do not accept or receive advertising or funding from any candidate, party or group. We believe in providing the community with educational information, credible facts, thoroughly researched topics and articles, and to be

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