Houston council chooses Buzard

HOUSTON — It only took the Houston City Council 20 minutes Monday to choose Ralph Buzard to fill the vacant Council Seat B. The council didn’t need a whole lot of time to deliberate either, as Buzard was the only candidate to apply. His election was unanimous.

“I’ve seen where these guys need some help,” Buzard said about why he put his name in the hat for the seat.

Buzard’s appointment is the second of the year for the Houston council. In mid-March, the council selected Paul Stout to fill the seat left vacant when former mayor Steve Frost resigned. In Houston, the mayor also sits on the council. Also at that meeting, the council chose Sandy McDonald to take over as mayor. Buzard was the other applicant for the council seat at that time.

In his comments at the end of the Monday’s meeting, Buzard said he intends to run for the seat when it comes up for election. He won’t have to wait long, as the seat is open this fall.

Buzard said he hopes to work with the other council members and plans to set aside his personality to work for the city. He said councils can cease to function when members bicker.

A six-year resident of Houston, Buzard cited as relevant experience six years he served on the city council of Petersburg.

“Many, many times I have voted in favor of something I was not in favor of,” Buzard said of his time on that council.

He was speaking to a quality he said he hopes to bring to the council — an ability to set aside his personal agenda and work for what’s good for the city rather than what’s good for himself. Areas of particular concern are police and fire service and road upkeep.

“I would really like to see the city get their own road grader,” he said, adding he’ll have to look into where the money to buy and maintain it would come from.

Buzard, who served on Houston’s sales tax committee, also said he’d like to help the council encourage more public participation, though he hopes residents would turn out more often than not to make positive or constructive comments.

“The town’s had enough negative things, we don’t need any more,” he said.

Buzard fills the seat vacated by Carla Hendrix, who resigned April 14 citing a growing workload on the council and her need to focus on her home Web design business and her family.

Frost, in his resignation, cited bickering among council members and an inability, in that hostile climate, to accomplish goals and objectives for the city.