H AY S C O U N T Y
Voters Guide 2018 In an effort to keep our readers informed of all the local elections, The Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch have submitted questionnaires to candidates running for city, county and state office. Early voting begins Oct. 22 and ends on Nov. 2. Election day is Nov. 6. See page 4 for all of the Hays County voting sites. State Representative, District 45 KEN STRANGE - R What is the most pressing issue your district faces and how do you plan on addressing it? Protecting our quality of life as our population grows is very important. That will require a state representative who can successfully provide legislative leadership and funding to upgrade our roads, improve our schools and public safety, and protect our water and natural resources. As a 14year emergency medical service director and 10-year school board trustee, I have worked on modernizing emergency communications and improving school safety throughout our area. As your representative, I will draw on this background to fight for our local priorities in the legislature and partner with community leaders to protect our quality of life. How should the state approach fixing its education system? Fixing education in Texas begins with overhauling our broken school finance system to provide a high level of school funding that is less reliant on local property taxes. As a 10-year school board trustee, I understand how state education policies impact our students and teachers at the local level, and will focus on prioritizing more resources for classroom education, improving accountability systems, securing the future of Pre-K initiatives, competitive pay for our teachers, and reducing the role of high stakes testing to place more emphasis on learning instead of training students to take standardized tests. Should the state consider more groundwater regulations in the future? Why or why not? Yes. Our groundwater is a precious resource. As president of the Wimberley ISD school board, I authored our board’s resolution of support for the community’s efforts to pass important “Save Our Wells” legislation to protect the local control of our groundwater from outside special interests. The quality of our water supply, rivers and streams is a community issue, not a partisan one. What do you bring to the table your opponent doesn’t? I have a deep knowledge of local issues and priorities. Over the past two decades, I have directed a non-profit 911 EMS service, served as a school board trustee and president, and was twice voted Community Volunteer and Civic Leader of the Year. I helped our community recover from devastating floods, modernized our emergency communications, and made our schools safer. My opponent moved here less than two years ago and did not even cast a vote in this district until less than a year ago. I believe our representative needs a stronger understanding of our district, its priorities and needs. Does Texas government have a problem with partisan politics? How do you plan to work across the aisle? As an emergency services director, I have spent my career serving our neighbors in their times of greatest need. I am running for representative to advance the issues and priorities that matter to our community: better roads, safer schools, improving education, protecting groundwater, and sound fiscal policies that can reduce property taxes. That is why I have the overwhelming support of our local elected and civic leaders of both parties, including former Democratic State Rep. Patrick Rose and current Republican State Rep. Jason Isaac.
ERIN ZWIENER - D What is the most pressing issue your district faces and how do you plan on addressing it? Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation, and healthcare costs are skyrocketing for everyone. No one should be bankrupted by illness. The best thing Texas can do to improve health coverage and reduce costs is expand Medicaid. Right now a large portion of the population are unable to pay for necessary health care. When they are unable to pay, those costs are passed on to patients who can. This makes health care costs rise. Expanding Medicaid will bring in $6 billion of federal funding, cover 1.5 million Texans (10,000 in this district),
and drive down health costs for all Texans. How should the state approach fixing its education system? Our school finance system is based on outdated formulas that are almost three decades old. Furthermore, these formulas have resulted in the state share of public education steadily decreasing and local property taxes carrying more and more of the burden. This both jeopardizes the quality of our children’s education and makes it less and less affordable for average folks to live here in Texas. I will work to overhaul our funding formulas, commit more state funding, and relieve the property tax burden. I will also work to end shame and blame testing and teaching to the test. Should the state consider more groundwater regulations in the future? Why or why not? “More regulations” is the wrong way to think about it, but we do need to revamp our groundwater protection standards. The twin threats of development and climate change are straining our aquifers, and right now we have a disparate network of groundwater conservation districts that only cover portions of the state. Some of these are underfunded (notably the Hays-Trinity Groundwater Conservation District), and they all struggle with the authority to take proactive action. We need to give our groundwater conservation districts more authority and move from the “Rule of Capture” (essentially, if you can reach the water, it’s yours) to publicly owned groundwater. What do you bring to the table your opponent doesn’t? My background is in natural resource conservation, and I worked for collaborative nonprofits to restore habitat, protect public safety, and bolster the local economy. Collaboration meant that it was my job to sit down with people from all walks of life—loggers, environmentalists, firefighters, ranchers—and ask folks to put aside their agendas and focus on their values. We’d build trust and use those relationships to develop innovative solutions that were consistent with everyone’s values. Texans have more in common than what divides us, and I bring experience in uniting folks to make progress toward common goals. Does Texas government have a problem with partisan politics? How do you plan to work across the aisle? Yes, every branch of the Texas government has been held by the Republican party for over 20 years. This has allowed extremism to fester, pushed the parties apart, and brought in a group of legislators who prioritize divisive issues (like the Bathroom Bill and the “Show Me Your Papers” Bill) over key issues like healthcare and education. I will stand firm against these divisive individuals while coming to the table with reasonable folks from both parties. Conserving our natural resources and public education both provide great opportunities to work across the aisle. I’ll use my collaboration experience to help build trust and develop innovative solutions. What was the last book you read? Ratf**ked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America’s Democracy. This book about the concerted effort by Republicans to control state legislatures for the 2011 redistricting both confirmed and renewed my commitment to an independent redistricting process. Right the Texas Legislature draws district lines for US Congress and the state legislative seats. They have never drawn them fairly, regardless which party was in power, and right now Hays County is sliced up in a way that confuses voters and reduces their voting power. We have another redistricting coming up in 2011, and I’d like a fair and independent process instead the districts being drawn yet again to maximize partisan power.
Where do you stand on how the county has managed its budget and debt in recent years? N/A
Hays County Judge
Where do you feel the county can improve in its service to residents? Although a lot of work has been done, the County could improve service: Many crimes in our community are connected to drugs, alcohol, and mental illness. By improving existing programs and developing new programs we can help rehabilitate these citizens providing an opportunity to once again be productive members of our community. Streamline our justice system from our officers on the streets to our district judges and everything in between. Working with departments and elected officials, we can become more effective and efficient in our duties to provide justice and high levels of public safety while making fiscally responsible decisions.
RUBEN BECERRA - D Aside from roads and infrastructure, what is the biggest issue your precinct faces and how do you plan to fix it, if elected? The Citizens of Hays County are being crippled with debt- property taxes are rising faster than paychecks can keep pace. Folks are having a hard time paying their bills while we continue to give huge tax breaks to large companies that do not need them. These “deals” get put on local resident’s backs. We can do better. But, they don’t want to hear from us. They Gerrymander to pick their voters in order to stay in power. They’ve tried to silence our voices at every turn. They tried to get rid of Judge Hernandez’s office – JP 1-2, while innocent people wait in jail to see a judge.
What do you bring to the table your opponent doesn’t? N/A Where do you feel the county can improve in its service to residents? Hays County needs to do a better job of conducting elections. We need to make sure that every vote is counted. We must have open and transparent policies and procedures in place for conducting elections. We need to strengthen our disaster preparedness response and not bury or stop reports on how to improve our emergency system because it might make the county look bad. The county can improve services to residents by simply focusing more on the services we are charged with providing and not let politics be the guide of the day. What was the last book you read? Leaders Eat Last, by Simon Sinek
WILL CONLEY - R Aside from roads and infrastructure, what is the biggest issue your precinct faces and how do you plan to fix it, if elected? We live in the fastest growing county in America, and with that comes a tremendous number of opportunities for our citizens and for business. However, this unprecedented growth stretches our service capacity and strains our infrastructure, our natural resources, and other elements of our community. As a successful small business owner and former County Commissioner, my experience, relationships, and knowledge will allow me to continue working with all stakeholders and jurisdictions to maintain high levels of public safety, our geographic and cultural diversity, and to develop infrastructure that keeps us safe, mobile, and protects our natural resources. Where do you stand on how the county has managed its budget and debt in recent years? We made major investments in roads, emergency communications, and parks and conservation projects to bring Hays County into the modern era. While voter approved bond debt financed these projects, good financial planning and leveraging millions of dollars in state and federal funds has allowed us to reduce tax rates to a 20 year low, enact a tax freeze for all senior citizens, accelerate reduction in debt payments, and increase county savings to historic highs. We are running the county’s finances similar to a growing and successful business, and that is why our bond rating is the highest it has ever been. What do you bring to the table your opponent doesn’t? I have a proven record of leading our government locally and regionally, and can turn ideas from constituents and stakeholders into tangible assets and programs that benefit all citizens. As Precinct 3 Commissioner and leader of most of our regional organizations, I have a deep understanding of how to embrace our geographic and cultural differences and lead accordingly. I am a successful small business owner, formally educated with a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in business from Texas State University, and have attained thousands of hours of on the job training and continued education on local government policy.
Should the county do more to help spur economic development and how can that be accomplished? I am proud to be one of the original founders of the Greater San Marcos Partnership. Through this organization we have developed plans and strategies on what type of job growth and future investment would best benefit all citizens of Hays County. This work has helped land thousands of new jobs in our community
giving citizens more options for their personal careers and for their families. We will continue to work on all forms of businesses and maintain an environment within our community in which businesses of all sizes and backgrounds can flourish. What was the last book you read? “Water in Texas” written by my good friend, Dr. Andrew Sansom.
Hays County Clerk ELAINE HANSON CARDENAS - D Should the county clerk be a non-partisan position? Why or why not? The county clerk should be hired, not elected. It is a non-partisan position. The clerk has no law-making authority. Nevertheless, it is an important executive position that requires managerial skills, along with technical knowledge of data collection, management and dissemination. As threats to data security become increasingly more common, the job requires someone who has a relevant college education and experience leading teams responsible for complex data management, including data security. The clerk must be able to advocate for staff at the Commissioners Court and to work effectively with data users and suppliers at the local, state and federal levels. What do you bring to the table your opponent doesn’t? I am an experienced senior executive with the qualifications needed to modernize the office and address the challenges ahead, which include our county’s rapid growth and threats to our data security. I have decades of experience leading teams for national research firms, including Gallup. In my last job as Vice President of Surveys at DRC, I led a team of 200 IT experts who were responsible for managing one of the largest databases in the world for the Department of Defense. I also have an MBA and a PhD, with training in data collection, analysis and reporting. We need a credible executive in this leadership position. What is the biggest challenge your office faces today? In addition to addressing the challenges posed by the rapid growth of our county, the threat of data breaches, and the technical complexities of modernization, our clerk also needs to make our elections a priority. Our county lost more than 1800 ballots in 2016! Ensuring a fair elections process with unique identifiers on all ballots and images of all ballots is essential. We should also strive to make voting easier for our residents from registering to vote through casting a ballot. As Vice Chair of the Elections Commission, the clerk is in a position to ensure oversight of the elections. What was the last book you read? The last book I read was Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Bully Pulpit, which contrasts the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, and examines their use of the press. It’s interesting because of the inevitable parallels with our own time. They dealt with many of the same challenges we face, including income disparities and obstructive politics, yet led a cultural transformation that increased economic opportunities and social justice, putting in place some of the regulatory apparatus our current politicians seek to dismantle. I enjoyed thinking about Trump’s use of Twitter and dislike of the media in contrast to Roosevelt’s enthusiasm for the press.
LIZ Q GONZALEZ - R Should the county clerk be a non-partisan position? Why or why not? The County Clerk should be non-partisan because the position is mandated by state statutes and has no authoritative power. The Clerk in Commissioners’ Court takes the minutes and attests to proceedings held in open court. The Clerk in Court will take fees and fine moneys and issue Letters or other documents pertaining to the Orders that are filed. The Clerk as the Registrar will file and issue Certified Copies of Birth and Death Records. And issue and file Marriage Licenses. The Clerk will also file land records, which include Deeds, Deeds of Trust, Military Discharges (DD214’s),
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