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Plano Sponsors Town Hall/Reception for Collin County Judge Elect Keith Self
Posted: November 27, 2006
Plano residents have a unique opportunity to meet Collin County Judge Elect Keith Self at a Town Hall Community Reception sponsored by the City of Plano, Wednesday, November 29, 7pm, Davis Library Programming Room, 7501-B Independence Parkway.
Judge Elect Self will be visiting several Collin County cities to network with residents garnering ideas and opinions. “I offered to come to each city in whatever venue the mayor thought best, to stand before those citizens who want to hear more from me and to let me hear from them,” said Judge Elect Self. “I believe that open government is vital to representing the citizens and I intend to continue to seek out citizen inputs. I look forward to a lively discussion with those citizens of Plano who join us on November 29.”
Judge Elect Self takes the reins of office from long-time County Judge Ron Harris, a familiar face to Plano residents through his service on the Plano City Council and his decade-plus of service as Collin County Judge.
The County Judge is the presiding officer of the County Commissioners Court and has duties that include the adoption and administration of a budget and the assessment and collection of property taxes from the citizenry to pay for the services funded in the budget. Those county services include provision of county courts, jails, hospitals, health services, country road, bridge, dam and other infrastructure maintenance.
“Our rapid country growth requires a nimble, responsive county government in order to stay ahead of that growth while recognizing that our cities are in various stages of development,” said Judge Elect Self. “I will work to focus our county spending on those core county functions that serve all our citizens.”
Included in his 5-point action plan are plans to freeze salaries and terminate longevity pay for the Collin County Commissioners’ Court; Reduce the Collin County property tax rate by at least 4 percent; Move Commissioner Court open sessions to a larger facility, encouraging increased citizen input; Meet with Collin County mayors and station/regional transportation officials to move the county transportation infrastructure into the 21st century.
Collin County Judge Elect Self is a fifth-generation Texan and U. S. Military Academy at West Point graduate. He was an Army officer for 25 years, holding service, among others, as a Ranger and Green Beret, retiring from active duty in 1999. His service included several years of joint assignments integrating Army, Navy Air Force and Marines at the U. S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt; U. S. European Command, Germany; Pentagon; National Security Council and NATO military staff in Belgium. He was recalled to active duty in 2002-03 for service in Afghanistan and Qatar, serving in the Plans and Policy Directorate, U. S. Central Command on General Tommy Franks’ staff planning the invasion of Iraq.
He is a graduate of the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College and holds a Masters degree in International Relations. He and wife Tracy reside in McKinney.
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