A public statement from Laura Fillault, candidate for The Woodlands Township, position 7

Yes, I am qualified to be a Township Director.

A Township Director needs to understand our budget. When my ability to understand and handle a multi-million dollar budget is questioned because of motherhood, I can’t help but have a little chuckle. A budget isn’t just addition and subtraction but also line items of revenues and expenditures. When creating and managing a Township, there is a difference between the needs of the community and the wants of the community. Much like our budgets at home, we put our dollars towards the true needs, and then we work through the perceived needs and wants.

Township Needs: We need to pay off our debts. We need to pay our employees. We need to maintain our amenities per the covenants, etcetera.

Township Perceived needs: We need Metro-style bus service across The Woodlands. We need to give $600,000 to help fund a customs facility at the Conroe Airport. We need to keep the water taxis because some people still ride them.

Township Wants: We’d like to bring in a new Olympic-sized pool. We’d like to build a permanent ice skating facility. And so forth.

A Township Director must identify and prioritize needs over wants and use our tax dollars effectively to ensure our community remains safe and an enjoyable place to live. Since 2012, with the addition of Directors Gordy Bunch and John McMullan, we’ve seen our property tax rate reduced significantly while our service levels remain high. As a Township Director, I will work closely with all my board colleagues to maintain this good stewardship of our tax dollars.

A Township Director also needs to be a proven leader. During the first half of this year, I worked with other leaders in our community to fight against the Woodlands Parkway Extension bond. I listened to gain understanding of the issues, I analyzed the information at hand, I evaluated the potential outcomes, and then I went before the public and explained why the extension, and thus the bond, wasn’t good for The Woodlands. In my career as a management consultant, my job was to lead clients through the process of changing the way they did their work. When we lived in Sugar Land, within three years of joining, I became the Secretary on the Board of Directors for the Fort Bend Junior Service League. I also became the theater director for our church. I was asked to lead because I demonstrated the traits necessary of a leader: I did my homework, understood the issues or tasks at hand and people trusted me to lead effectively.

Finally, a Township Director should be aware of what’s going on in our state and national government because they have an impact on our community. Along with being a wife and full-time mom, I am a political commentator for NRA News and other online radio shows, commenting on state and national politics. I attend national political conferences yearly, including Redstate and CPAC. I am actively involved in local, state and national politics. In other words, I pay attention to what’s going on and I work to educate others.

I have spent the past months visiting with my neighbors here in The Woodlands. You’ve shared what you think is working, what isn’t working and what you would like to see changed. I am committed to continue advocating for us, The Woodlands residents, working to keep our community safe, our quality of living high and our business environment robust. All of this combined makes me more than qualified to be part of the new generation of leadership on The Woodlands Township Board of Directors.

LAURA FILLAULT