McKinney Councilman Don Day announces bid for re-election

McKinney Councilman Don Day's love for his city can be seen virtually anywhere there is commerce. To continue his goal of making the city "the best it can be," the Navy veteran and local business developer announced his bid for reelection Wednesday.

"Being on [the] council is mostly work, so enjoyment has little to do with it; however, seeing our city grow and prosper is a real pleasure," Day said. "Change is hard. Changing the culture at City Hall is hard work. Balancing the needs of our business with the needs of our residential areas is difficult. A lot of what we do is to educate the public on how to grow an economically viable city. We are making progress, but it tends to come with blood, sweat and tears."

Although his efforts as a politician span three-and-a-half years, the owner of DFA Development has been a part of McKinney's revitalization efforts since the mid-90s. Upon his arrival in McKinney, Day saw potential in the historic downtown area and began renovating many of its dilapidated structures. To date, Day's company has renovated 28 buildings on and around the square.

"McKinney was dead. You could fire a cannon down the street and you wouldn't hit a soul," Day said in an interview with the McKinney Courier-Gazette last October. "About a third of the buildings were boarded up and falling in, and another third were just locked up. But there was a lot of historic charm; it had a lot of potential. And the prices were reasonable."

After noticing an imbalance in its tax base, Day said he took it upon himself to run for office. Foreseeing the possibility of the imbalance falling short in terms of helping support local schools and basic services like water, fire protection and police, Day said he saw a need for reform.

"We were adding rooftops but not businesses," Day said. "We must have businesses to also pay property taxes to have a long term sustainable city. In addition, fewer businesses mean fewer jobs."

When he joined the council, approximately 20 percent of the city's property taxes were paid by businesses. Ideally, that figure would be 50 percent, Day said.

Since then, McKinney has improved that rate by attracting new business developments like Baylor Hospital, Traxxas Corporation, Wistron Corporation, Encore Wire, Ratheon and Emerson Corporation, as well as putting a program in place to finish the abandoned Gateway Hotel structure at Highway 121 and U.S. 75.

All of these have the potential to bring more than 1,000 new jobs to McKinney, Day said. Thanks to the current council making economic development a priority, paid business property taxes has increased to 34 percent, he said

"I am running for re-election to finish that job," Day said. "We are considered one of the best places to live in America and that did not happen by chance. It took decades of work and that work continues and I want to do what I can to keep it moving forward."

Day has received the city of McKinney's annual award for the Best Preservation of a Commercial Historic Building on three separate occasions. In 2007, he was awarded the McKinney Main Street's "Partner of the Year Award" and was named a "Good Samaritan of the Year" by the Samaritan Inn. He was also made a lifetime member of the McKinney Boys & Girls Club the following year, and in 2009 received the McKinney Convention and Convention Bureau award of the year.

"Every year, council balanced the city budget without raising taxes," Day said in a release. "McKinney grew economically, creating jobs for our citizens and increasing our tax base to continue funding quality education for our children."

From the beginning, Day said he believed the key to success on the square was entertainment in the form of food service, a vision made evident in the eateries Day partially such as Rick's Chophouse, Sauce on the Square and Grotto. Of the 20 restaurants on the square, about two-thirds of them also offer live music on various nights.

However, Day said the council has more work to do. This includes laying the groundwork for future development in the downtown area - particularly, the site of the former county courthouse on South Kentucky St. and the addition of other entertainment venues - as well as other developments along Highway 5, around Craig Ranch, at the Gateway site, in the northwest quadrant of the city and around the future Outer Loop.

"I am especially interested in continued growth in our historic downtown where I have worked and lived for the past 17 years," Day said. "McKinney is my home and I want to see it continue to grow and prosper."

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