The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

My name is Joseph Hannan. I'm seeking the opportunity to earn your vote for Bridge City Council place 6; number one on the ballot. I would like to use this opportunity to tell you a little about myself, my reason for running, and the changes that I would like to see occur in the way our great city is operated.

I live my life based on a simple hierarchy: God, family and my career. Where does serving my community fall within these three categories? My answer is simple. It’s within the third. Some of you might think that seems low on my priority list. Without God and family, I am nothing. I cannot even begin to think about accomplishing my goals in life without the first two. Everyone was created with a purpose in mind, something greater than yourself. It wasn’t until recently I discovered mine. Serve others. In the words of the great Martin Luther King Jr., “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.”

I am married to a beautiful woman with a caring heart. She has taught me more about being a good husband and father than she will ever know. We have two daughters and a son on the way this May. We have lived in Bridge City for the past seven years. We attend Bridgepoint Fellowship church here in Bridge City. I serve on the prep team and the grounds keeping crew. I also volunteer my time helping out at the Bridge City/Orangefield Ministerial Alliance. I feel obligated to tell you what a blessing this organization is to our community. If you are looking for somewhere to donate your time or money locally, there isn’t a more worthy cause.

I am a lifelong resident of Orange County.

I attended West Orange Stark high school where I graduated in the top 20 students of my class in 2001.

From there, I went on to further my education at Lamar University.

In 2006, I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing.

For the past 12 years, I have been in the Retail Management field.

Most recently I spent the last seven years as the store manager at Marshalls in Beaumont.

I inherited a store with annual loss of $225,000 the prior year and sales volume of a little over 5 million dollars.

When I left the company a few months ago, loss was less than 1 percent and sales volume had grown to over 9 million dollars.

The store saw four consecutive years of double digit comparative sales increase and loss percentage at or below 1%.

The bottom line is that I know how to run a business, drive profit, and reduce expenses.

Currently, I am a district manager for Dollar General company.

I oversee the operation of 12 stores in the Southeast Texas area and supervise nearly one hundred employees.

Running a city is a lot like running a successful business.

You must spend less money than you bring in, manage your budget, and monitor productivity.

These very basic functions are vital to the successful operation of a small town like Bridge city.

I bring a lot to the table in that regard.

I first got involved in city council meetings about two years ago during the brown water saga that plagued the city for YEARS prior unresolved.

I was never affected by the brown water problem in my neighborhood like the majority of our town.

However, we had a totally different problem at our home off FM 408.

The water being sent into homes was corrosive.

I went through three washing machines, a dishwasher, and a water heater in less than two years.

After doing my homework, I discovered that the city had failed to follow proper protocol when purchasing a water filtration system without the knowledge or consent of the TCEQ. It was at this point that I reached out to Erin Brockovich and her water quality expert partner Bob Bowcock for help.

A short time later, Bowcock flew into town, met with city officials and spoke at the council meeting that evening.

He played an integral role in getting our water quality issues resolved.

This task was accomplished absolutely free of charge.

There was no lawsuit involved and I received nothing in return from Brockovich or Bowcock.

They simply wanted to help, as did I. I have no ulterior motives for running for this position other than being a voice for the citizens I represent.

I have no ties to anyone on the current council.

When it’s time to vote on a topic, I will consider two things: what is the right thing to do and what do the people I serve want to see happen.

My top three priorities if elected are:

• Improved resolution rate of citizen's concerns and complaints
• Fiscal accountability
• Transparency – your questions will be answered honestly and timely. If I do not know the answer I guarantee you I will find it and get back to you.

So in closing, I am not going to ask for your vote due to my public service experience because I haven’t held a position before. But what I do offer is exactly what this great city needs: a candidate with a backbone, one who understands what this position is about, and the candidate with the will to lead; not follow.