Civic engagement

I became disgusted with the actions of City Council in 2019 over the firing of Mike Humpal as city administtrator. That's when I became interested in taking a more direct role in the government of our city.

I've beem a member of City Council since January 2023. In that time, I've worked hard to bring stability and leadership to the city. I serve as Council liaison to the Airport Advisory Board and the Planning and Zoning Commission, and am a member of the Charter Commission and the board of the Fairmont Economic Development Authority.

I've made enemies along the way, and those enemies have a radically different view of Council's role and how the city should be run. They attack me because I don't go along with them.

A man is known by the enemies he makes. Look at mine, and you will know me.

Personal life

I've lived in Fairmont for 25 years. I moved here on Christmas Day 2001 from Houston, where I was born and raised, because I needed a change of scenery. Boy, did I get one! I still have family in Houston; my father and sister still live there.

In my copious free time, I do a lot of work in the world of computing. I've managed an open-source programming project, been a principal developer for a client for the Second Life virtual world, and work to preserve historic IBM mainframe software. I own a large collection of unusual computer systems, well beyond the common garden variety PC.

I've been a ham radio operator for more than 50 years, and ham radio has been the gateway to much of the rest of my life. I've held my current callsign, K5ZC, since 1977.

When I'm not in front of a computer or a radio, I can be found tinkering on my fun car, shooting at a local range, or enjoying Renaissance festivals.

I'm a licensed private pilot and sport pilot flight instructor. In the past, I've owned an airplane that I kept out at the Fairmont airport.

And yes, I was famous for a costume I made to resemble those from the movie TRON for a 2004 science fiction convention's costume contest. I really am the Tron Guy you may have seen around the Internet.

Career

My entire career has been in the world of computing. I've worked on large IBM mainframe systems, small embedded controls that you wouldn't know had a computer inside them, and everything in between. If it's a computer, I've probably worked on it.

These days, I'm a principal software engineer managing the University of Texas at Austin's financial and student records mainframe system, working remotely from my dining room table with a team based mostly in Austin.

Volunteering

Over my adult life, I've spent a lot of time working as a volunteer to serve the public good. That started not long after I got my first ham radio license, when I would volunteer to provide communications for special events. I've served in a number of different roles in ham radio organziations to provide coordination services, including several years as leader of both state organizations in Texas and Minnesota and national bodies.

Outside of ham radio, I spent 17 years as a volunteer EMT and paramedic, working on the street to save lives. I also served for several years as lead organizer and EMS coordinator of the Houston Moonlight Bicycle Ramble, a mass bike ride through the streets of Houston that started at 2 AM.

I have held a certification from the National Association of Parliamentarians as a Professional Registered Parliamentarian, and served a number of organizations in that capacity, as well as bringing that knowledge to the organizations I lead.

My open source software work has been done in no small part to return to the community some of what it has given to us all.