District 4 has found its first candidate for the Port Arthur City Council.

Greg Richard has filed to run for the seat presently held by Harold Doucet, who also serves as mayor pro tem. Doucet announced last week he would not run for re-election to any seat.

Richard, who has an engineering background, is pushing for labor and environmental compliance as well as drainage management in Port Arthur.

He believes employers should meet Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requirements for hiring minorities and should hire residents of Port Arthur, and he wants to work with the city council to establish a local environmental compliance office.

“When the TCEQ [Texas Commission on Environmental Quality] fines these companies, the city doesn’t see any money,” he said.

Richard’s goal for drainage management is to work with entities such as council, Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management and Jefferson County Drainage District 7 to create a comprehensive plan.

Richard graduated from Lincoln High School in 1977 and earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace and mechanical engineering from the University of Tennesee in 1983. Among other jobs, Richard has served as an engineer for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Boeing, Siemens Energy and National Oilwell Varco.