George for Denton

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"I'm a Dentonite through and through, I couldn’t be more thrilled to support George Ferrie for City Council. Being a Denton High School and two-time UNT grad, an adjunct professor, and a small business owner, my roots here run deep. Growing up in Denton tuned me in early to the power and comfort of community. I love this town because we know who we are, we care for our neighbors, and we hold onto hope for a bright future. I support George because they will protect the heart of Denton while seeking input from those neighbors often left out of the conversation. They bring a rare balance to public service: the empathy to listen deeply and the toughness to fight like hell to get things done. I can’t wait to cast my vote for them!"

Go George Go!

Welcome to the ... let's get to work!

Yesterday, my opponent shared a post expressing frustration over Denton's affordable housing crisis. She rightly pointed out that our city has handed out too many tax incentives for developments at 80% Area Median Income (AMI), which is simply not affordable for many working families. I completely agree with her on that point. In fact, as she points out, I am the one who originally said it publicly.

She further agreed with my statement that I want teachers, home health aides, and single parents to be able to live comfortably. However, it is deeply frustrating to watch someone use my own advocacy as a talking point, while simultaneously trying to blame me for systemic city failures that I have no legal authority to control.

My opponent pointed to my volunteer role as the Board President of the Denton Affordable Housing Corporation (DAHC) as evidence that I have failed to change the system. This demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of how housing in Denton actually works.

There is a common misconception, which my opponent either shares or is exploiting, that the Denton Affordable Housing Corporation (DAHC) and the Denton Housing Authority (DHA) are the same entity. They are entirely different (view graphic below).

I am a community volunteer at a non-profit. I do not have the unilateral power to hand out or deny city tax incentives for wealthy developers. That power lies strictly with the City Council. The very body we are both running to join.

During a recent candidate forum, my opponent stated that affordable housing is just a "buzzword people throw around local elections" and that "no one understands what it means."

I had to politely remind her the next day at a forum that it is a concrete, data-driven metric defined by HUD: Spending no more than 30% of a household's income on rent or mortgage and utilities. It is not a buzzword; it is a vital standard for our community's survival, and our leaders need to know the definition of the crisis they are trying to solve.

While I may not have had a vote on the council to stop those bad tax incentives, I have used my capacity as a citizen and volunteer to shape the very changes my opponent is now referencing.

I regularly meet with Denton's Director of Community Services and the Housing Programs Manager to review the data and bring forward the conversations I am having in our neighborhoods.

I publicly advocated before the City Council to finally remove planning and zoning barriers to genuine affordable housing.

I successfully pushed to streamline city applications to cut down on unnecessary pre-development costs. When city departments force developers to continuously spend money on engineers reworking easy fixes that could have been handled in a simple meeting, those massive costs get passed directly onto the developer, who has to make tough choices about how to keep their project affordable. Fixing this pipeline directly creates real affordability.

It takes actual work to move the needle. My opponent highlights her position on the Planning and Zoning Commission to claim she knows how to deliver for working families. Yet, she has served on that commission for less than one year.

Most importantly, when city staff finally brought forward the very affordability changes I (and many other citizens, non-profits, and city staff) worked so hard to help get created, my opponent was absent from the meeting. Denton deserves better than good intentions without results. We deserve leaders who understand the issues, respect the facts, and actually show up to cast their vote when it matters most.

Early voting is June 1st-June 9th, and Election Day is June 13th. I would be honored to earn your vote and represent your voice on Denton City Council, At-Large Place 5.

Learn more at georgefordenton.com