Q&A with Spring Hill Ward 1 Candidates: Teri Mai

What is your public service experience?

A year or so after I graduated high school , I worked as a secretary for the Harris County (Houston, Texas) Juvenile Probation Department. This was a really interesting job and I worked with some wonderful people, but my opportunities for advancement were limited by my lack of a college degree. I believe I was there about 3 years (approximately 1976 – 1979).

I worked for the Fort Bend Regional Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (Rosenberg, Texas) as a substance abuse counselor for about 2 years (approximately 1988-1989). This, too, was a wonderful job, that I loved deeply because of the services we provided to the community, but the requirement to work nights became increasingly difficult due to lack of access to dependable evening child care.

More recently, when I moved to Spring Hill, I worked for the United States Small Business Administration (October 2020 through May 2022) in the Office of Disaster Assistance. It was a wonderful job and I loved the work I did – assisting people who lost homes and businesses during natural disasters. I thought it was going to be the job I retired from. Sadly, I found out in May of 2022 that I had been hired under COVID funding and when the funding ended, so did my job.

What is your private sector experience?

Most of my private sector experience has been in the legal field. I worked as a legal secretary for more than 20 years at various law firms in the City of Houston, which led me to make the decision to go to law school in 2011 after my daughter was grown and on her own. After passing the Florida Bar, my areas of practice have included: Estate Planning and Probate, Business Planning and Real Estate, Personal Injury, and now I work for Morgan and Morgan in the multi-district litigation department. A shameless plug for my employer – Morgan and Morgan is the largest plaintiff’s law firm in the United States, and it is a great law firm to work for and we have some really amazing lawyers and support staff. I truly cannot say enough good about the firm. I have an application for admission to the Tennessee Bar pending.

What are the biggest needs or top concerns for your ward?

The biggest needs and concerns for Ward 1 pretty much track the needs and concerns of all the Wards – we need to have the infrastructure in place to maintain the quality of life for our current residents, while planning for future growth. I keep hearing from residents and from some current and former BOMA members that the city has been allowed to grow beyond its capacity to provide basic services (water, sewer and roads) for the future growth already in the works. I want to make sure we have the infrastructure in place to handle any additional growth ... before it happens.

One more thing. I can’t let this opportunity go by without mentioning a couple of projects I really want to work on – a new library and a new community center. These are not infrastructure and they aren’t the kind of projects people show up at BOMA meetings to talk about, but I think we should. A new library would be an amazing addition to Spring Hill. New and expanded facilities could provide many opportunities for our community to come together to learn and grow – classes for children and adults, book clubs, historic societies, after school tutoring, and so much more! And a new community center – the events that could be hosted there! We could have a local community theater company perform plays, maybe we could have an improv class or a comedy class, our children could have their dance, cheer, and music recitals there, as well as their own community theater; our visual artists could provide art classes and host art exhibits, maybe there could even be a banquet hall that the city could use to host fundraising events, or we could rent out for community groups to use. Maybe it could include a recreational facility – for community sporting events and exercise classes. If I get elected to BOMA, this is what I want to work on. I would love for these two projects to be my legacy.

What is your take on continued private development within the city?

I’ve heard it said by many that, in this world you are either growing or dying. However, unfettered growth may be more dangerous to a city than not growing. I believe BOMA needs to work with private industry (developers, realtors, business leaders, etc.) to make strategic plans for future growth. I believe the City of Spring Hill owes it to our existing residents and businesses to make sure basic services are available before allowing for additional growth. The City owes it to our existing residents and businesses to work to grow our economy. I am certain that managing growth is a balancing act, and I am certain that BOMA has made and will continue to make mis-steps along the way. The important thing is that we work together for the good of the entire City, not just developers, not just business leaders, and not just the residents. We all need each other to make Spring Hill the best city it can be.

What do you think the city needs to be doing to improve its infrastructure (power, water, roads, etc.)?

The current BOMA has plans in place to increase our water supply and to expand our wastewater capacity. From what I have learned so far, these are good plans and I believe we should move forward with these plans as expeditiously as possible. The more difficult problem is roads, for so many reasons. These projects are costly and long term and require coordinating with State and Federal agencies as well as developers, all of whom can and should be contributing to make our roads better. We are all aware of the problem with traffic congestion on Main Street, especially in the historic downtown area. I have heard of a couple of options being discussed, but need more information and input before I can offer a well-thought-out solution. I do hope I am able to be part of the solution to ending the congestion that currently exists.

Which mayoral candidate are you supporting?

We have some really great candidates for Mayor this election cycle. Isn’t it wonder that we have choices – not only for mayor, but for alderman as well. Each candidate brings their own energy, experience and expertise to the table. I am happy to say that I believe all of the candidates want to work to make Spring Hill a better city for us all.

If elected, how would you work alongside a mayoral candidate who you did not support?

So, here’s the thing about elections - when there is more than one candidate running for an office, not everyone can be a winner. Again, isn’t it wonderful that we have choices this year! I expect that all who win a seat on BOMA, myself included, will be gracious enough to work with the rest of BOMA for the good of the City of Spring Hill, so that Spring Hill is the best it can be, now and in the future. I think we owe that to the people who take their time to vote.