(FORT BEND COUNTY) - Fort Bend Commissioners Court Pct. 4 candidate Ray Aguilar says he has grown tired of the political divide in the county and if elected he wants to focus on getting work done.
“I am sick and tired of the division…there are so many words going on but there is nothing getting done,” said Aguilar. “I am sick and tired of the agendas, and I am just ready for the people to get what they need and get the work done instead of just talking about it.”
Aguilar, a Republican, will face Democrat Dexter McCoy in the November mid-term elections. The winner will replace current Pct. 4 Commissioner Ken DeMerchant, who took office in 2018.
Aguilar says the focus needs to be on the responsibilities of Commissioners Court rather than the politics.
“Commissioners’ responsibilities are mobility and drainage – your roads and your flooding, your tax dollars, public safety – those are the main things that are the responsibility of the commissioners,” he said.
Aguilar says he is concerned by what he perceives as a decreasing morale of county employees and plans to make that a priority if elected.
“The morale is horrible,” he said. “It didn’t use to be like that, people were proud to work for the county.”
Aguilar says he wants to focus on promoting from within and “paying current employees instead of getting new employees.”
“Who better to solve a problem than the person doing the job?” he said.
He is also concerned about the ongoing need for deputies at the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office.
“Right now the biggest problems is pay,” he said. “It’s not just with the Sheriff’s Office, it’s across the board. The Sheriff’s Office is losing deputies to Sugar Land and other counties because they are being paid more with better benefits.”
Aguilar was born in Fifth Ward in Houston but has lived in Fort Bend County for 39 years, has been married for 31 years and has 28-year-old twin daughters. He was in hospitality for 20 years and also worked in marketing and public relations. He currently consulting in customer relations and does leadership training.
Aguilar has dedicated almost his entire life to volunteering with various organizations, a priority he learned from his parents.
“When I was 10, my dad would take me to the VFW and I would help out, I still do,” he said. “When I was a little kid he would ask, ‘Did you say your prayers?’ and I would say yes sir. Then he would say ‘Who did you help today?’”
He has volunteered for Meals on Wheels for 32 years in Houston and Fort Bend County, 20 years for Women’s Center, Children with Disabilities, local school districts and more.
“It has nothing to do with politics,” he said. “It is just doing the right thing.”
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