You are here: Home >> Round Rock/Pflugerville >> People >> Pflugerville's Mayor pro tem and Round Rock council member

Pflugerville's Mayor pro tem and Round Rock council member

Attention: open in a new window.

Wednesday, 07 November 2007

Bruce Wood, Mayor pro tem, Pflugerville

Bruce Wood moved to Pflugerville in 1984, but it was not until more than 20 years later that he became a council member. In what he calls the “racetrack election of ’05,” he ran for office with the endorsement of Pflugerville Pfamilies Pfirst, a group he helped found. His opponent, who was also an incumbent, supported the opening of a racetrack, a business Wood felt would destroy the city’s character.

Wood won the election, the racetrack never came to Pflugerville, and he is now near the end of his three-year term. He does not plan to run for council again.

“I feel like we made major improvements on the economic forefront, but that will be for the future to judge. I did not get into this for a legacy. If I did, I would seek re-election.”

Q. What are your priorities as a council member?

A. My priorities right now are bookkeeping issues. We have taken care of a lot of the ordinances. I want to be disciplined on fiscal spending. One of my goals is to make sure we have a strong staff. There has been some disappointment on that end. The city should be able to run on autopilot if it had the staff it needs. We need to make sure the city manager knows the council’s goals and can follow through with them. Then there is not much for the council to do.

Q. What is the most difficult decision you have made as a council member?

A. One of the most difficult decisions deals with the New Sweden Development that just went through. We also made a contract that gives a million gallons of water per day for 30 years and got very little in return. Some of us council members disputed whether that was necessary. We were told it would support development down Kelly Lane toward 130. The landowner does not see that need. Mayor Cat Callen held economic development as the reason we needed it, but no one could prove that to us. We only have 15-million gallons a day, so we are giving 1/15 of what we have. Those are two things I regret.

Q. What will be some important issues the city faces in the near future?

A. We will be facing a bond vote on probably $30 million next spring for a city, library and recreation facilities. We know we are already behind on the rec facility. At the city hall we have reached maturity and need to move into a larger space. I think the fuss about where to locate city hall has largely come from a small group of downtown business owners. If I owned a business there, I would probably feel the same way. But downtown does not have the blueprint space we need to build a city hall that could leverage the economic base.

Employment: American Physicians Insurance
Education: Bachelor’s in accounting, University of Texas
Family: Married, a son and daughter
Contact information: 990-4363, council2@cityofpflugerville.com

Rufus Honeycutt, Council member, Round Rock

Rufus Honeycutt gained an appreciation for Central Texas while visiting his grandparents in Temple. It was not until after he served with the U.S. Marine Corps, worked with IBM at NASA and then traveled with the same employer around the world that he moved to Round Rock in 1992.

At that time, Honeycutt had an easy commute to IBM in Austin. Traffic has become heavier since then, causing him to question if he wanted to stay. However, in the end, he said he has become too attached to the community and the people who live here to make him want to move.

After serving since 2005 as a council member, he has announced plans to seek a second term at the May 2008 election.

Q. What are your priorities as a council member?

A. I would say quality of life. Transportation is important and we have a master plan. We are working on updating that, but my passion is quality of life. Road-building is not that interesting.

Q. Why did you run for office as a council member?

A. Back when I first ran for office, I wanted to focus on quality of life issues. That is why the downtown issue is so important. I am from Baytown where they ruined their downtown by bringing Interstate 10 right through the middle of it and they have never been able to rebuild. It has had a real impact on the city. You need to have the history of downtown. It is kind of the homestead where people can always go. We have a lot of smart guys on council who know all about economic development. I think we need a mixture, but everyone on council has a common vision. No one has an agenda. There are no arguments. Everyone has a can-do attitude that wants to find what is best for Round Rock.

Q. What is your favorite area in Round Rock?

A. I like to go to the Veterans Park by Sam Bass Theatre. It’s in the city, but it does not have the flavor of being in the city. There are ducks, kids and the monuments.

Q. What is the most difficult decision you have made as a council member?

A. That’s a hard question because everything is done with the vision in mind. The council’s vision is for Round Rock to be a place where people can live, their children can grow up and receive a good education, find jobs and work here. We’re getting there. We have health care and our [higher] education is getting better. We have good jobs here. You can grow your career here. We need some more cultural things. At some point we need a theater. We need things that will get more retirees and then we will have the whole life cycle.

Q. What will be some important issues the city faces in the near future?

A. I think the redevelopment of downtown will be important. We will take the southwest downtown plan and incorporate into a larger plan. We have got to get it first on the drawing board. I think the city is getting ready to do that here pretty soon. We will get that west side rec center completed. One big project will be getting Creek Bend and tying it to Wyoming Springs. We will have to work with the county on that. All of this I think will be on the front burner.