COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Jacob Randolph is one of three candidates running for the Mayor of College Station in November. His opponents are John Nichols and Rick Robison.
Randolph, 24, is the youngest of the candidates running in the Mayor's race. However, he said that he believes his age is a key difference that will make him a more desirable candidate compared to his opponents.
Below are some of the questions we asked Randolph, including the answers he provided in our interview with him at The Brew Coffeehouse.
Question:
"What was that thought? What was that split decision where you were like, I wanna run for Mayor?"
Answer:
"Honestly, it kind of boiled down to looking on the city's website and seeing the requirements, and I was like wow...it's 18. A lot of the elected officials are ages 50-56, upwards of 70. I was like we need to have our generation get some more interest in it."
Question:
"What are some of the shortcomings you've seen in your time here that you'd wanna see if you were elected as Mayor?"
Answer:
"I think there is a lot of shortcomings as far as the public school system with a lot of attention put on Texas A&M. It's the big staple for College Station but it shouldn't be the only thing they focus on."
Question:
"One thing for a lot of people in office is they want to see so much done in their term. They want to see a complete flip of what was previously established. So by the end of your term, what do you want to say you're proud you accomplished?"
Answer:
"I want to at least put forward a plan, it doesn't have to be immediate. Maybe a 10-20 year plan where we really take a deep look at maybe the infrastructure."
Question:
"Is there another issue that's just overarching in your campaign?"
Answer:
"I think just city planning and city management. We keep seeing this upward growth and eventually, we're going to run out of space. We need to plan to use the plan more efficiently."
Question:
"I would say it is growing. I think we both agree the traffic is pretty bad right now. How would you address that...?"
Answer:
"I think if we can start using that land more efficiently, we can maybe start seeing more business centers on the outlying parts of neighborhoods where, maybe, everyone doesn't have to drive 10-15 minutes across town to get to HEB or what not."
Question:
"I think the job of the Mayor is two-fold. One, you want to bring decisions before the city council and the city in the best interests of the city but also, the job of the mayor is to work with the other council members. So at the end of the day, even if you disagree with your other councilmembers, are you willing to come to a consensus for the better good of the city?"
Answer:
"Of course, I've seen a lot. Councilmember Cunha, now she has really been like the opposite end of the spectrum from a lot of the other councilmembers, and I really like that ambition. I like being able to hear that opposing point where you can see what the different ideas...what kind of compromise that is."
Question:
"As someone who hasn't run for public office before and doesn't have experience on that end, what do you bring to the table that voters should look out for come November?"
Answer:
"...I think, maybe, a different perspective and definitely coming from a younger generation just being able to connect with a lot of the students coming into town."
Question:
"Break down for me what it means to be running at such a young age."
Answer:
"So, one of the things I was actually thinking about pretty recently was local government, you learn nothing about it in school. A lot of on the job, moving, kind-of like moving forward, trying to learn everything."