Home builder George Fuller announces bid for mayor

By Brandi Hart
McKinneyUpdate.com

Created at 10 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2009

Local home builder George Fuller is hoping people embrace him as a candidate for mayor in May as he is hoping to ensure the residents' interests are represented.

Fuller opted to run for office after a group of prominent residents asked him to run for mayor against former council members Thad Helsley and Brian Loughmiller, Fuller said. "I have a vested interest in McKinney in that I've been developing and building in MCKinney for the last eight years," Fuller said.

He owns George C. Fuller Custom Homes and has lived in McKinney since 1994. He has been building homes since 1991 and has built homes in McKinney, Fairview, Dallas, Plano, Frisco, De Soto, Celina, Coppell, and Richardson.

Fuller differs from his two fellow mayoral candidates because he doesn't have political experience in the city, which he views is a positive thing as he can approach voting on city issues with a fresh approach, Fuller said.

"I have no allegiances or alliances as the other candidates have," Fuller said.

Since he is currently building homes in the Adriatica development in Stonebridge Fuller said he would still express his opinion on the issue but wouldn't actually cast a vote on issues pertaining to the Adriatica, as that would only be the appropriate thing to do.

He also does not think the council should talk about any development issues in closed sessions unless it will directly jeopardize the city's competitiveness for a project with a neighboring city in Collin County, Fuller said. He feels the council should continue to discuss personnel issues in closed session, but should open the subject of development projects and other issues to the public in an open meeting.

"Why do we need to have a closed session? I think it reduces the council's accountability to the general public when the council discusses issues in closed session that don't have to be discussed in closed session," Fuller said. "We need to let the residents know what the council members are saying. They shouldn't say anything behind a closed door that they wouldn't say in an open session."

He is also questioning how some members of boards can legally vote on issues at the city when more than half of the board members work for companies that either own or rent facilities on city owned property, such as airport hangars, he said.

"When almost everyone who is voting on the board has a vested interest in the airport how can it be a fair vote?" Fuller asked.

The council can legally meet in a closed session to discuss real estate matters, economic development projects, and personnel issues of employees, and talk to counsel concerning law suits.

Fuller has also built a home where a ministry is located east of State Highway 5 and south of the Collin County Regional Airport in southeast McKinney. He feels that the city needs to ensure that the residents who live near the airport are considered as the airport expands in the future, Fuller said.

"Some of the things we really need to do is we need to be sensitive to how big of a role we want the airport to play in McKinney's development.We need to be sensitive to how it impacts life in McKinney. It could be a very positive aspect of our city but I think we need to be sensitive to the people who live near the airport," Fuller said.

Fuller is married to singer Maylee Thomas and the couple have four children. The Fullers also own and operate the charity the Love Life Foundation with former McKinney based artist Carrie Garner and Rosemary Thomas, which raises money to support local non-profit organizations such as the Samaritan Inn. Fuller also plays guitar in his wife's band and the Fullers live in the Eldorado subdivision in McKinney, Fuller said.

Continual efforts in late December 2008 to reach Helsley via his office phone at A. M. Scott Real Estate for an interview as to why he is running for mayor and what his goals are were unsuccessful.

Fuller's campaign manager is Jana Condren.

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