Throgmorton wants to make city a better place to live and work

By Shristi Shrestha
Journal Staff

May 01, 2008 03:36 pm

— Quay Throgmorton believes that his experience as a public service provider and small business owner can be an asset to the Commerce City Council.
“If elected mayor, I promise to serve all the citizens of Commerce and work diligently to help make Commerce a great place to live and work,” said Throgmorton.
He served as a member to the Commerce City Council from 2003-05 and he currently serves on the Hunt County Appraisal District Board of Directors. He is the owner of HRC Realty and one of the co-owners of 1124 Main, a clothing store opened in 2007.
“I was previously on the City Council. When I came to know about the retirement of the city manager, Bill Shipp, I thought city needed someone experienced. I thought it was the right time for me to run for mayor,” said Throgmorton.
The five key components his campaign features to make Commerce a better place to live and work are fiscal responsibility, property taxes, attracting new businesses and retention of current businesses, infrastructure improvements and community development.
“Commerce has the higher taxes than any city Hunt County. This is not right, we really need to work on lowering taxes,” said Throgmorton.
Under fiscal responsibility he would like to ensure the city is a good steward of citizens’ money and make decisions for a better future. He would like to have a goal of lowering property taxes and act upon it. He would also like to bring in new manufacturing and retail to complement existing businesses.
Street improvements and looking to the future of the water and waste water systems is another goal, as well as improving parks, developing a downtown plaza and continuing to work with university to meet common goals.
“Our sidewalks and public library need to be worked on,” he said.
Finances, street repair, water pipeline repair and replacement, are all in his short and long-term goals for Commerce.
“We have quite a bit of debt as a city that we have taken in over the period of five years. We need spend that money wisely,” said Throgmorton. “Keeping a strong financial position is very crucial to the city. We should manage expenses not only for next year but also for the future.”
In addition to his experience on the City Council, he believes that being in business that has taught him how to budget wisely and spend where necessary. He thinks this will also help him as a mayor.
Born in New Jersey in 1971, Throgmorton grew up in Plano. After that he went to Texas A&M University in College Station to pursue his college degree. He came to Commerce in fall of 1993 and has been living in Hunt County and the Commerce area since 1993. Throgmorton graduated in 1995 from East Texas State University, now Texas A&M-Commerce, with a degree in business administration, along with minors in real estate and history. He has been married to his wife Paige for four years and they have an 18-month-old son, Evan, born in 2006.
Go to www.CommerceTexas.com for more information on Throgmorton’s plans as mayor.

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