Groves’ Borne speaks on Ward 1 seat
Published 1:40 pm Tuesday, December 4, 2018
GROVES — Electrician and business owner Chris Borne is ready to settle in to his new role as Groves Ward 1 councilmember.
Borne, 39, was named successor in a 3-to-1 vote last week to the seat vacated by voters’ recall of councilmember Cross Coburn. Borne will serve the remainder of Coburn’s unexpired term, which is just less than one year.
Borne said in a recent interview that he has been considering running for a seat on City Council for a few years but for the past 10 years has lived in the Ward 2 area of the city. He only recently moved to the Ward 1 area, he said.
“There was an opening (on the council) and I felt like anyone who wanted to be involved could put their name in the hat for that,” Borne said.
And he did.
While he doesn’t attend the City Council meetings on a regular basis, he has, he said, attended some of the more recent ones.
Goals
Borne’s goals include helping address citizens’ concerns such as drainage and roads but at the same time he plans to be realistic as these projects must be budgeted.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day and what people feel is wrong will not be fixed in a day,” he said. “With my background in construction I would like to see an action plan and convince Mr. Sosa to be more visible to show there’s a plan in place and for people to be patient.”
The new councilman said he understands the residents’ frustrations but a major project can’t be done without funding.
As a resident and business owner, he said he would like to see other businesses pop up in the city.
“It’s obviously better for the city, the more businesses we get in here, but it’s tough for a small city to fight against bigger cities that can offer more tax breaks than Groves,” he said. “We really need to sell ourselves as a community to be part of.”
Sought the seat
The city received six letters from people in Ward 1 who were interested in the seat — Borne and his wife Jessica both submitted letters of interest.
The city did not officially solicit letters for the seat and in a Nov. 15 Port Arthur News story, Groves City Manager D. Sosa confirmed that two letters were received and that interested persons could submit a letter to his office, which would be scanned in and turned over to councilmembers for consideration.
Borne said having previously served on the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers No. 479’s executive board, he understands how vacancies are filled. So, when the vacancy came up he asked Ward 3 Councilman Sidney Badon how it would be filled, he said.
Borne also said that yes, he did sign the petition to recall Coburn from the Ward 1 seat and yes, he is a supporter of Mayor Brad Bailey and the two have been friends for quite a while now.
Borne said he would run for election in 2019 when his term as the Ward 1 councilmember expires.
He and his wife Jessica have two girls, ages 12 and 15.
“I am extremely excited and very optimistic to be able to bring my set of skills not only to the council seat but the city so they may stay informed, not that they are going in the wrong direction but to keep them on the right path and go with what’s best for the city,” he said.