After nearly a year-long break from public service, Joe McCourry has decided to get back in the game. The former two-term Place 3 council member intends to run for mayor this year.

McCourry, commander of the Holley-Riddle American Legion Post 21, said he’s had a chance to step back and take a look at city government from a different viewpoint - as Joe Citizen.

“Do we have room for further improvement? I think we do, and I would like to be the one to continue to better our services as a city,” he said. “I think we’ve got to look at our city as a whole, and see if can we do things more efficiently.”

McCourry’s platform includes a focus on maintaining a low tax rate.

“In these tough times, we don’t want to go back and have to increase taxes,” he said. “I want to continue the downward pressure on taxes because The Colony has one of the highest tax rates in the Metroplex. But I still want to be able to improve our infrastructure and continue to make those things work better for the public.”

Regarding transportation issues, McCourry says he wants the city to manage construction such that residents endure the least amount of inconvenience.

“Before I left office last year, one of the things I really pushed for … was that we would not tear up so many roads in town at one time, hindering our citizens from getting around town,” McCourry said.

The city has “big projects” on the books, he said. For example, there was talk about working on Paige Road and North Colony Boulevard at the same time, a course of action McCourry says he strongly opposed.

“Now that FM 423 is being delayed to 2010 or 2011, we now have time to get North Colony 90 percent to 95 percent done before they start tearing up the road on 423. It’s up to the leaders in government to watch that carefully, and not to funnel traffic through residential areas,” McCourry said.

He was The Colony’s Place 3 council member from 2002-2008, which represents the city’s east and south sides of town. As the mayor pro tem in 2002, he also served three months as interim mayor before the election of Mayor John Dillard.

McCourry served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps, and touts his involvement in The Colony’s American Legion Post.

“I think that as commander of the Legion, pulling people together, our legion post has performed above and beyond other Legion posts in Texas, and probably in a lot of the country,” he said. “We’ve won awards and we’re just a little over 3 years old. We started the Sons of the Legion since I’ve been the commander, and (this month) we’re holding the first meeting to form an Auxiliary. We have a membership that is active and dedicated to supporting not only our veterans overseas on active duty but also our veterans who have served and are at the VA hospitals. That makes us a post that draws members.”

McCourry also served with Dillard on the State Highway 121 Task Force to negotiate benefits for The Colony “because we knew we were going to end up with a toll road,” he said.

“I would just like to state that I’ve been there, and that my record shows that I’m a leader that listens. I listen to what our public has to say and will continue that into the future,” McCourry said.

Candidate packets are available at the city secretary’s office. Filing for municipal elections begins Feb. 7 and continues through 5 p.m. March 9. Election Day is May 9.