Kristi Weaver Pena

Kristi Weaver Pena

Education

High school

Nimitz High School

Personal

Profession

Office manager and dental assistant

Contact

Personal website

Kristi Weaver Pena was a candidate for mayor of Irving in Texas. She was defeated in the general election on May 6, 2017.

Biography

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Pena studied applied sciences at Tarrant County Community College and religion and psychology at North Lake College. Her professional experience includes work as an office manager and dental assistant. Pena has also served as the president of the Nimitz High School PTA, the treasurer of the Nimitz Booster Club, the chair of the Irving Independent School District's District Improvement Committee, and a member of the Irving ISD's Strategic Improvement Committee.

Elections

2017

See also: Municipal elections in Irving, Texas (2017)

The city of Irving, Texas, held an election for mayor and city council on May 6, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was February 17, 2017.

Mayor Beth Van Duyne opted not to run for re-election in 2017. The city council seats for Places 3 and 5 were up for election. Rick Stopfer defeated Kristi Weaver Pena, Elvia Espino, and J.C. Gonzalez in the general election for mayor of Irving.

Mayor of Irving, General Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Rick Stopfer	67.48%	6,795
Kristi Weaver Pena	19.70%	1,984
Elvia Espino	8.98%	904
J.C. Gonzalez	3.83%	386
Total Votes		10,069
Source: Dallas County Elections, "2017 Joint Election," accessed June 9, 2017

Campaign themes

2017

Pena's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“	South Irving The talk is done! Our citizens that live in the southern part of Irving have waited patiently to see one of the many plans proposed come to fruition. And still they wait. No more plans, no more designs, let's get to work. All of the money that we have wasted on plans and designs could be better spent on incentives for developers and businesses. Irving has already acknowledged the fact that much of the land available in South Irving is over-priced because of the developer we hired so we must first incentivize private developers to invest in South Irving. I intend to make this a priority and work with City Staff, developers, and anyone who will talk with me about investing in my Irving, home. Apartments There are places for apartments and places that no one wants to see apartments. My goal is to make sure that we don't overstep on the number of apartments in Irving and that the ones we do build are complimentary to our great city. This ties back to my desire to see South Irving developed because we will need population in order to support commercial growth. WE currently have a TOD that surrounds the TRE and developing that area as a TOD would mean apartments of the right kind. Corporate growth The financial backbone of Irving rests in North Irving. We have been blessed with leadership and staff that has brought us major corporate growth mostly in North Irving. When I think about North Irving 15 years ago and what it is today, I am totally amazed. I pledge to devote resources and my time to continue the work of my predecessors to seek out and retain the giants of the corporate world. Irving's future is inextricably tied to our corporate citizens. Approximately 70% of our budget is supported by taxes from these corporations. Looking at that figure puts the importance of corporate growth in perspective. Taxes Corporate growth means keeping taxes low. Keeping taxes low is another of my areas on which to concentrate. I pledge to keep the budget as trim as possible and to vote to keep your taxes from being raised. We have many areas in Irving that are in need of repair or rebuilding. That is the way of 'things' that wear out. I want to see that Irving is brought back to excellent condition, but I want to see this done without raising taxes. I believe with the right planning and the right budget, we can accomplish all that needs to be done. One Irving Despite claims to the contrary, Irving is a culturally UNITED city. There are those who would say we are divided or try to play us against one another. I challenge that Idea. I believe the people of Irving work and play well together. I want to make sure that we continue to work and play well whether one lives in the north or the south or the east or the west. The Homeless Many people in Irving do not realize how prevalent the problem of homelessness is in Irving. Since Dallas closed one shelter and tore down 'tent city,' our numbers of homeless have increased dramatically. We have a church in Downtown Irving that regularly feeds 150 men and women in that area alone. Begging on the streets and even in some establishments has increased substantially. The City had to call out Hazmat to clean up downtown parks because of human waste. Ask yourself, 'How safe are our parks for our children?' I see this as a monster problem if it is not contained very quickly. I am NOT championing a City owned homeless shelter. But, we cannot ignore the situation either. I don't think the City spending MILLIONS of your dollars every year on a shelter would make the City a good steward of your money. Does this make me heartless? Not in the least. We must find solutions to this problem outside using City tax money, solutions that possibly could include the City expediting and coordinating work between the various organizations, churches and individuals that are currently not organized. As Mayor, I will develop dialog that will help everyone to play a part and work together.	”
—Kristi Pena's campaign website, (2017)

See also

Irving, Texas	Texas	Municipal government	Other local coverage

External links

Suggest a link

• Irving Mayor and City Council
• Campaign website
• Social media
  • Facebook
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