Back to Voter Guide
Candidates
Matt Irvine
Birdia Johnson
Vicki Byrd
Issues
1. Energy efficiency, weatherization, and resilience
2. Mitigating human-caused climate change
3. Renewable energy and protecting against winter storm price gouging
4. Expanding recycling and food composting access
5. Regional park at the former Gibbons Creek mine lands
Survey Responses
1. Energy efficiency, weatherization, and resilience
Question: Weatherizing homes and buildings to be more energy efficient can make our neighborhoods more resilient against inclement weather, reduce pollution that harms our health, and save residents money on utility bills. Increased energy efficiency could also help prevent future outages from severe weather. Do you support creating municipal policies that will hold our commercial and residential buildings to the highest energy and water efficiency standards and increase weatherization in order to eliminate climate and air pollution impacts from buildings?
| Matt Irvine Birdia Johnson Vicki Byrd |
Yes No Response Yes |
Question: As a Council Member, how would you work to help increase weatherization and energy efficiency in the community, especially for lower-income residents and people impacted by the February winter storm?
Matt Irvine:
Currently the city offers grants for solar and energy efficiency upgrades. The funding could be increased, and an information campaign could be launched to inform residents (specifically) of lower-income areas about these grants and assist in filling out the required paperwork to win the grant.
Birdia Johnson:
No response.
Vicki Byrd:
Team up with foundations that favor high environmental practices and connect it to the needs of the community.
2. Mitigating human-caused climate change
Question: Do you believe the City of Denton should prioritize solutions to mitigate human-caused climate change and make Denton more resilient against the impacts of climate change and inclement weather?
| Matt Irvine Birdia Johnson Vicki Byrd |
Yes No Response Yes |
Question: What will you do to reduce climate emissions in Denton and to make the city more resilient, such as investing in local community solar or weatherizing power plants, against the effects of climate change and extreme weather?
Matt Irvine:
With the recent winter storm, it is clear that Denton seemed okay, but due to ERCOT demand we had to shed load. We need to find a way forward with a better deal with ERCOT, or ditch ERCOT by going solo or connecting to the national grid.
Birdia Johnson:
No response.
Vicki Byrd:
Work with City Administrators to analyze the highest producers and propose grants to assist those producers to execute a plan of action for relief.
3. Renewable energy and protecting against winter storm price gouging
Question: Will you ensure Denton keeps its commitment to using 100% renewable energy (wind, solar, and battery storage) and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels for energy and heating?
| Matt Irvine Birdia Johnson Vicki Byrd |
Yes No Response Yes |
Question: Denton Municipal Electric paid over $200 million to ERCOT due to price gouging during the February winter storm while many residents were without power or potable water. What will you do to protect DME ratepayers from excessive charges from the February storm?
Matt Irvine:
I support the DME lawsuit against ERCOT to prevent the additional uplift charges. Unfortunately to my understanding, the city has already paid the $200 million. Going forward, we in Denton cannot be good stewards of our electrical investment and management while other cities and operators fail to invest in theirs to only allow ERCOT to dictate to us to shed load to cover other areas. Its an unfair burden to the citizens of Denton.
Birdia Johnson:
No response.
Vicki Byrd:
One possible notion is to set up a fund to assist homeowners up to 200.00 to cover excessive billing during that time.
4. Expanding recycling and food composting access
Question: Hundreds of Denton residents have written to the City Council in support of policies that would reduce solid waste by expanding recycling access and addressing food waste. Do you support creating solutions that would bring universal access to recycling and food composting to businesses and residences?
| Matt Irvine Birdia Johnson Vicki Byrd |
No No Response Yes |
Question: How will you work to ensure that the city reduces its solid waste and increase recycling access over the long term?
Matt Irvine:
Unfortunately, only so much ever gets recycled. While I’m not opposed to expanded recycling and food composting access, I think it would be wiser to streamline what we do recycle, and invest in a waste-to-energy facility with a top of the line filter system. This adds to our energy portfolio, and reduces the need to keep expanding our landfill.
Birdia Johnson:
No response.
Vicki Byrd:
I will rely on previous attempts to increase recycling efforts to see if it is a viable plan to restart the program.
5. Regional park at the former Gibbons Creek mine lands
Question: Will you support the creation of a regional park at the Gibbons Creek former mine lands that protects Texas wildlife and history while promoting local economic development and healthier communities?
| Matt Irvine Birdia Johnson Vicki Byrd |
Yes No Response Yes |
Question: Additional comments you may have on question 5
Matt Irvine:
With it being decommissioned, we need to find a good partner to offload this to. Due to it’s distance from Denton, Denton residents won’t get to enjoy it, so we should make sure who looks over what comes next for the area are good stewards of it.
Birdia Johnson:
No response.
Vicki Byrd:
Can you eat the fish from the lake?
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