John Roemer for Brazos County Tax Assessor-Collector
Honest
Qualified
Soldier
Leader
Compassionate
Citizen
Campaign focus: FAIRNESS
I will meet with any individual or group, before or after the election, to discuss the improvement of fairness in the assessment and collection of property taxes. I will attempt to make property appraisals as fair and uniform as possible. The tax office under my supervision would be run with the utmost courtesy toward the tax paying public.
Why I'm Running:
The position is a good fit for me, since I am a lifelong student of economics, ethics and history. I have a longstanding interest and involvement with real estate, taxes, property rights, fairness and liberty.
Background:
My name is John Roemer, I'm the Libertarian Party Candidate for Brazos County Tax Assessor-Collector. I was born and raised in Houston and have lived in Bryan since 1985. My education consists of an Agricultural Economics degree from Texas A&M with real estate and land appraisal courses. I received an MBA from the University of North Dakota while serving on active duty in the US military, where I served over 10 years as an Air Force Officer. With 30 years experience with computers, I bring a valuable skill set to a tax office. My work with computers has included computer programing, overseeing large military contracts and management of computer personnel, and network administrator where I provided Internet and e-mail access and WEB servers. I'm married to wife Jerri and have 4 step-children. Currently I'm retired from TX Cooperative Extension, I'm an active member St Joseph Catholic Church, and volunteer weekly at Habitat for Humanity.
Political Beliefs:
Taxes should be collected in a fair, equable and compassionate manner
Governments should respect the sanctity of private property
Taxes are the people's money first and should be collected with that in mind
Government should be a protector of peoples rights, not a transgressor
Taxes should be used only for legitimate government functions
Our government should be a lot smaller
Individual liberty/freedom and personal responsibility should be the foundation of our political system
More government results in more compulsion and less freedom
Government officials should uphold their oath of office and obey our constitution
Free markets with peaceful, voluntary exchange and choice, works better than government coercion
The rule of law over the rule of man
Issues to address:
More information on the tax apprisal process needs to be provided to voters. There is a wealth of information on line, but very little information on the property tax process for Brazos County. This shortcoming needs to be addressed to better serve the tax paying public. If I am elected I will institute a series of WEB sites called For Your Information. Some of the topics covered would include: How are taxes assessed (is there a formula), Who actually assesses taxes and how are they selected, Are Appraisal Board members selected or voted in, How often are property taxes reassessed, What are special exemptions (Homestead, Age, Disability), How do I find appraised values of like properties.
