His campaign might have just officially launched last month when he filed the paperwork, but Matthew Thomas said a run for the Roswell City Council has been on his mind for about two years.
“That’s when I really started paying attention,” said Thomas, who is now making a bid to represent Ward 3 on the council. He and Matthew Chappell are squaring off for the seat held by Jeanine Corn Best, who opted not to seek reelection.
A 38-year-old Navy veteran, husband and father of two, Thomas said he soon became concerned with the city’s finances and how council meetings often veer off topic.
“To me, they weren’t as focused as they should have been on what they needed to be on the actual issues with Roswell,” he explained.
Initially from west Texas, Thomas spent seven and a half years doing Naval intelligence work while stationed in Washington, D.C., Monterey, California, and Hawaii.
He moved to Roswell about 12 years ago. He now works in the oil and gas industry as a corrosion specialist.
During his tenure in the Navy and his current position, Thomas said he has developed a keen attention to detail, along with experience managing budgets and familiarity with state and federal government regulations.
“That attention to detail, I think, will carry over really well,” he explained.
For Thomas, the budget and the management of it are a central focus. He says that he often hears from city councilors that the city does not have the money for certain expenses.
“You know a city has to have money to run. That is just the way it is. We can acquire funds, but we have to be able to responsibly use those funds, maintain those funds and direct them where needed,” Thomas stated.
Aside from budgetary matters, Thomas, the PTO president at his children’s school and who volunteers as a coach with the Roswell Youth Soccer Association, says upgrades to infrastructure and finding more activities for children are issues he wants the city to make headway on.
“I would like to help build the community around here: children’s activities, parks, stuff like that. Anything to make people want to move to Roswell, raise a family, stay in Roswell,” Thomas said.
Municipal, school board, and soil and conservation district elections in Roswell, Dexter, Hagerman and Lake Arthur are on Nov. 7. Mail ballots will start to get mailed to registered voters who request one starting Oct. 10. They must be returned to the Chaves County Clerk’s Office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Early in-person voting will begin Oct. 10 at the clerk’s office before expanding to other locations.
