MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Waco mayoral candidates Jim Holmes and David Howard Ponder discuss city development, cost of living, and data centers ahead of the May 2 election.
- The candidates: Incumbent Mayor Jim Holmes and challenger David Howard Ponder are actively campaigning for the Waco mayoral election on May 2.
- A lingering name on the ballot: A third candidate, Aiden Morgan, announced he is dropping out of the race, but his name will remain on the ballot because the withdrawal deadline has passed.
- Tackling the cost of living: Ponder suggests cutting infrastructure spending to lower taxes and tackle debt, while Holmes highlights using tourist tax dollars to fund city improvements like parks and roads.
- Stances on data centers: Ponder says he will side with residents if the popular consensus is against data centers, while Holmes says the city must balance the fast-moving technology industry with keeping the peace in local neighborhoods.
You can watch the full story here:
Two candidates are actively campaigning to serve as the next mayor of Waco ahead of the May 2 election, while a third candidate who dropped out will remain on the ballot.
Incumbent Mayor Jim Holmes and candidate David Howard Ponder shared their priorities and views on future city development, addressing questions from the community.
A third candidate, Aiden Morgan, posted a statement on Facebook announcing he is dropping out of the race. However, because the deadline to withdraw has passed, his name will stay on the ballot and his votes will count, which could still result in a runoff.
Holmes served on the city council for nine years and currently serves as mayor. He is also an investment banker.
Ponder moved to Waco in 2019. He is a former teacher, a current stay-at-home dad, and an Uber driver.
When asked which community is the most underrepresented in Waco and how they plan to help their voices be heard, both candidates offered their perspectives.
"The focus is on the Black and Hispanic communities in town to address the long poverty, institutional poverty that's occurring here and making Waco a difficult place for them to live," David Howard Ponder said.
"We're being very intentional about connecting these new jobs into upskilling the existing poverty level jobs through an initiative called Work site," Jim Holmes said.
The candidates also addressed concerns from residents who feel they are being priced out of Waco.
"The massive amounts of infrastructure spending, I would end. I would pivot to more of a preventive maintenance budget to where we are lowering, not raising taxes, lowering cost of living, you know, let's tackle our debt," Ponder said.
"We spend a lot of money on our park system and that is for the people of Waco to enjoy. We have had the experience of, the lucky experience actually of having tourists come in, spend their money, and create tax dollars for the city to fix our roads, for our cities to improve our parks," Holmes said.
Finally, the candidates shared their stances on data centers being built around Central Texas.
"I'm going to be on the side of the residents in this case if the popular consensus is no to data centers and I'm going to go on board with that," Ponder said.
"The last thing I want is a big company that's making noise and disturbing the peace, coming in next to me. At the same time, we need to look at technology is moving very fast in that industry," Holmes said.
You can see the full interviews with the candidates below:
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