Williamson County Commissioner Precinct Three candidates

Williamson County Commissioner Precinct Three candidates

Thursday, 03 July 2008

Valerie Covey, Republican (incumbent)

• Lived in Precinct Three: In Georgetown for 14 years
• Hometown: Pleasanton, Texas

• Career background: Licensed CPA for more than 20 years, commissioner since 2006
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in accounting, University of Texas
• Contact: 943-3370 or comm3@wilco.org

Q. What do you feel is the role of a county commissioner?

A. There are four county commissioners and one county judge. Five serve on the Commissioners Court and are really the executive board of the county. There are certain things that the Texas Legislature has given us as duties. Primarily they oversee county business, like the budget. The county as a whole is responsible for law and order through the sheriff’s office and the jail. We let all the contracts. The commissioners vote on all contracts and all money spent and received. Obviously, building roads and bridges through bond elections or general funds are different things we do. The financial decisions that we make each week are very important, I believe.

Q. What is your main priority?

A. Countywide transportation is the biggest issue. As I go talk to people, that is what I hear. They are [not only] concerned about the traffic and growth that has already occurred, but also with what is anticipated. I think planning ahead, looking at how we can plan for the future growth that is inevitable and how we can get ahead of it as much as we can is one of my major issues. Obviously, open government is important to me. Communicating with the constituents is important, and I have worked to improve our communications. We have improved our website, and it is now very informative. The county just did the countywide website. It communicates the issues to the people who are interested. The hardest part of this job is trying to communicate and let the people know what is going on. It is very important for me to do that.

Q. What experience do you have that will serve you well in this role?

A. My role as a commissioner and my background as a CPA go hand in hand. I have noticed that skills I have developed over the years as a CPA, both in audit and tax, have come into play on being able to analyze both financial and other decisions that we have. I serve on several boards and committees; one is the audit committee and one is the investment committee. That is my background. I believe that in the week-to-week, day-to-day decisions that we make, those skills I have developed over time help with that. I look at it as trying to bring a business background to government.

---

Gregory Windham, Democrat

• Lived in Precinct Three: In Georgetown for nine years
• Hometown: Austin

• Career background: Texas Attorney General’s office child support division in Arlington, real estate broker
• Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Texas
• Contact: 507-2900, greg@17homes.com or www.standourground.com

Q. What do you feel is the role of a county commissioner?

A. I think county commissioner is probably the most important elected local position. [The commissioners] set the tax rate, which is huge for those who live in Williamson County. The most important thing they do is manage the county budget that is collected from the taxes. They fund all county projects, anything you see in Williamson County, the commissioners fund that and run it. They have a lot of responsibilities to manage the road bonds and the construction of the roads — or the deconstruction of the roads is how I put it.

Q. What is your main priority?

A. My No. 1 priority is to eliminate what I consider soulless decisions that are being made by the current Commissioners Court. If you take a look at some of the decisions that they have made over the last year, [for instance] the decision to enter into an agreement with Corrections Corporation of America to basically imprison innocent children in T. Don Hutto [Residential Center] — I do not think that the county should be in any way in an intergovernmental contract that allows the immigration department to imprison children that have not been charged of any crime. For us to be a facilitator of that and to make a profit in that, I think we have blood on our hands almost. I think it needs to be stopped immediately.
No. 2 is the continual destruction of our countryside. They are dirtying our streams. I think the [Trans-Texas Corridor] and toll roads in general are against our way of life. My great grandparents found a way to get across this state, even if it was in a covered wagon. We can find a way to get across without destroying more of our environment.

Q. What experience do you have that will serve you well in this role?

A. When I got to the University of Texas, I studied government extensively. I worked at the state Senate. Owning my own business for the last 10 years [has been good experience]. What is important about the county commissioner’s job is that you have to be able to manage this budget.
I want people to know I am a conservative, states’ rights Democrat. There are not very many left, and a lot of people don’t even know what that is. I like old values and new visions for practical matters. I want to bring a voice into the Democratic Party that does not polarize so many people. States’ rights mean that the state has the ultimate control.

---

James Atwell Andrews, Libertarian

• Lived in Precinct Three: In Jarrell for six years
• Hometown: Houston ?

• Career background: Information technology for Guaranty Bank, some construction experience
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, Texas A&M University
• Contact: 818-6315, jdat747@yahoo.com or www.freewebs.com/jamesandrews

Q. What do you feel is the role of a county commissioner?

A. County commissioner plans the development of the county by providing infrastructure like roads, utilities, drainage and some guidelines for developments. Counties have a bigger picture — integrating the cities into the county. Obviously, they’re involved in being in tune with the state plans for state highways, like the Trans-Texas Corridor.

Q. What is your main priority?

A. My biggest priority is to streamline county government, to make it as efficient as possible, give the citizens the most bang for the buck. That’s step one — to look at ways to save money. I think there’s some big ones on the table that they’ve done, like I heard the county commissioners approved a $4 million study on widening Hwy. 29. That would not be the kind of thing that I would support.
I think they have people in there complaining and begging them to expand Williams Drive a little bit to accommodate the traffic out there in Sun City. They haven’t done anything with that. They’re spending their money doing something people aren’t asking for, like Hwy. 29. It’s simple. Just listen to the people. Save yourself $4 million.

Q. What experience do you have that will serve you well in this role?

A. I would say one thing recent is I built my house from scratch. I did most of the work myself. I also acted as general contractor. I did work with the county on getting permits for the septic system and things like that. I just kind of know some of the red tape.
Also, most of my work experience has been on government contracts. For example, I worked for NASA in Houston. I have a perspective on the whole concept of the government trend to outsource everything. In other words, government employees don’t actually do anything anymore. I mean they are mostly overseers, and most of their real project work is doled out to contractors. I am not completely convinced that that is the most cost-effective way to run a government. They’ve been doing that for a while, and I haven’t seen taxes go down. They are doing bigger and better things, but [they need] to at least experiment with bringing projects back and giving them back to county employees. At least make sure that they’re fully utilized.