Candidates for County Commissioners/Judge

1 – Serving on the court, what would your guiding principles be?

My Faith, and the principles embodied in the State of Texas and U S Constitutions.

2 – Please describe your philosophy on taxpayer-funded debt.

Conservative stewardship of our budget resources, while maintaining the commitments that are relied on by county residents.

3 – How would you define the role of government?

Limited.

4 – What are your thoughts on the current pay of county employees and pay raises (how often, how much, how is a raise applied – across the board or merit-based)?

Currently we have a system that is in need of change. The county has a committee working on proposals to present to the court. We will evaluate their proposal.

5 – In regards to the July 4th flood, tell us what you think of the local response? What should be the focus for the rebuilding efforts?

The County legal does not allow me to address part 1of this question at this time. I currently serve on Kerr EDC securing the grants for home and business recovery restoration, the riparian recovery group charged with restoring the river basin, and the river flood warning group.

6 – Should the county use tax dollars for economic development “incentives” to corporations? What about tax abatements? Please explain why or why not.

Absolute No. New business should not be on the backs of our current tax payers.

7 – What are your thoughts on water infrastructure & availability and the current level of development in the county?

Serving 8 years in leadership at Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District, and now a member of Commissioner Court, I have a deep understanding of the rules and authority of each entity and will apply that firsthand knowledge to making sure we have a level of development appropriate to protecting our valuable water resources.

8 – Battery Energy Storage Systems, solar farms, data centers, and bitcoin mining have been controversial issues in the Hill Country, what are your thoughts about them?

Totally opposed. I am working with the State Fire Marshal office and making progress towards a plan to discourage their presence in the county. I presented and had a Resolution passed in court to reflect our
position.

9 – Has there been anything during the COVID pandemic and the government’s response to it that you would change? If so, what?

I was not in office but was not in agreement with any of the policies forced on our public. Never approved of the shot for my family.

10 – What are your thoughts on term limits?

Definite Yes.

1 – Serving on the court, what would your guiding principles be?

The commissioner’ s court must maintain fiscal discipline while circumscribing its role within the authority granted by the voters. The Commissioner’s court is an elected body that serves all members of Kerr County but represents the values of those by whom it was elected. Those values include, but are not limited to, Christian values, Constitutional principles, and the Republican party platform.

2 – Please describe your philosophy on taxpayer-funded debt.

Government should not live beyond its means. At a federal level, debt (bonds) serves a dual purpose of funding government and an expanding the monetary supply. While there is an extensive debate as to the merits of federal debt, local debt only serves the purpose of expanding government at the expense of saddling the taxpayers with future obligations. While there may be rare occasions where taxpayers choose to accept a debt to settle an immediate crisis, the better solution will always be long term planning and proper budgeting.

3 – How would you define the role of government?

As outlined in the declaration of independence, the purpose of government is to protect our inalienable
God-given rights. The role of government should be to provide services as directed, and within the means offered, by the electorate. Government serves a role of public trust and works for the people, not the other way around.

4 – What are your thoughts on the current pay of county employees and pay raises (how often, how much, how is a raise applied – across the board or merit-based)?

In many sectors of our local government pay is quite reasonable. While it is understandable that everyon would like a raise, salary increases should be limited to what is necessary to attract and keep employees and should not increase faster than local private sector salaries/wages.

We need to do the hard work of Merit based wage increases rather than across the board raises. With
proper guidelines, benchmarks, and discussion between department heads, this should be a process that can be included in the yearly budget process. If mid to large size employers can do this, a county with less than 400 employees and a budget of 64million should be able to handle this as well.

5 – In regards to the July 4th flood, tell us what you think of the local response? What should be the focus for the rebuilding efforts?

An emergency coordinator should have been on duty at all times, as expected and required. Regarding the emergency declaration, there was no need to wait for the judge to return prior to a declaration enactment. In the absence of the judge the senior member of the commissioner’s court is allowed to step in as judge pro-temp. While these lapses may not have affected the flood response, they do show the lackadaisical attitude held by the county leadership prior to the flood.

The disaster caught everyone off guard in scale and impact. The community, state, and nation pulled together to aid in the recovery aftermath. While our local government deserves credit for their role in the recovery, it should be remembered that this was their job. The entire county pulled together along with others from around the country; it is our community that is strong and deserves the credit for our magnificent response.

In the aftermath, our government should have insisted upon keeping the cypress trees, as well as the mulch. A few questions amongst the public would have flushed out the interest and the demand; a deeper understanding of contract drafting and negotiation would have made it happen.

The focus on the rebuilding efforts should restoring our region, not reimagining it. While a flood warning system should be a priority, we also need to focus on cleaning and dredging our lakes. When silt builds up behind a dam, it weakens the dam. If we don’t do maintenance as needed, we will lose our dams and our lakes. The county should support any effort to get people safely back into their homes.

6 – Should the county use tax dollars for economic development “incentives” to corporations? What about tax abatements? Please explain why or why not.

Economic development incentives should only be used to revitalize areas of our community that already exist and are depressed/distressed (TIRZ). This method should be a last resort and should not be used to create new communities.

Ultimately, our county is a magnet community. Developers should pay their own way.

Regarding corporate incentives or tax abatements, which industry should we be trying to attract? It’s great to say XYZ Corp is going to bring in jobs, but is a lack of jobs an issue we are having in the Hill Country? Do we need to “attract” a new winery? Corporate welfare should be limited to specific purposes that help our region meet our long-term goals and needs. If given out, it is imperative that it be conditioned on specific metrics. We should never subsidize competition against our hometown businesses and industries, without an understanding of what we are destroying.

7 – What are your thoughts on water infrastructure & availability and the current level of development in the county?

Water is a critical resource in this region. Water restrictions reflect poor planning. The Trinity Aquifer is the size of a Great Lake, and the Edwards Aquifer underlies dozens of counties. There are two levers to manage water: production and storage. If we can increase production through strategic wells placed into the lower trinity, that will help our region. If we don’t have the capacity to draw water, we need to consider expanding storage solutions, such as reservoirs. Abandoned strip mines are often repurposed into reservoirs. These are long term solutions, but if we don’t have a plan in place soon, we’ll either continue with increasing water restrictions, or stifle growth and quality of life.

8 – Battery Energy Storage Systems, solar farms, data centers, and bitcoin mining have been controversial issues in the Hill Country, what are your thoughts about them?

BESS plants present a significant risk to our region: fire risks, fallout damage to equipment, and the
inability to hold the owners responsible for a catastrophe. Worse still if not connected to a power source, they are used to arbitrage electricity from night rate consumption to daytime sales. Ultimately this will drive electrical costs up in our community as we artificially increase demand in non-peak hours.

Regarding solar farms, they create extreme temperatures which kill the soil underneath the panels and require far more maintenance than most people realize. Solar farms need to be cleaned with water or chemicals on a regular basis, lest their production capacity be seriously degraded.

Regarding windmills, just say no. These monstrosities have a limited lifespan, do little to provide sustainable energy, and result in the mass deaths of birds, raptors, and bats.

Bitcoin Mining Data centers draw significant energy without provided tangible benefits to the community. While we may not be able to stop them, we certainly should not subsidize them.

9 – Has there been anything during the COVID pandemic and the government’s response to it that you would change? If so, what?

Yes. Everything. Never have I seen a government more panicked by the flu than in 2020. More deaths
were caused by the response than by the disease. We needed strong politicians who were unafraid to speak the truth and calm people down; instead, we had a government that reveled in the panic. Rob Kelly’s idiotic shutdown cost lives and livelihoods, destroyed businesses, and families.

America is a strong country and a beacon of freedom. We should never make decisions based on pseudo-science or panic. I don’t believe the COVID shut down was legal or justified.

If faced with a similar situation, I will trust the judgment of the citizens and business owners to assess their own risks and comfort levels. However, I will also stand up to businesses that choose to discriminate against public with mask mandates or vaccination requirements. If you invite the public into your business, you invite all the public.

10 – What are your thoughts on term limits?

I believe in term limits if they are applied to all office holders; otherwise, a few politicians will game the
system for themselves. Personally, I believe politics should not be a career, but a public service.

I would like to affect change in our government and help strengthen our party to select good successors; 8 years on the commissioner’s court should be more than enough time for an individual to implement changes.

There is a reason why military officers are promoted up or out.

1 – Serving on the court, what would your guiding principles be?

First and foremost, I am a Christian and a Constitutional Conservative. I am guided by His Word and read the Bible daily, My church, Hosanna Lutheran, did a Bible study on the “Red-Letter Challenge” in 2019 that called me to serve and in 2021 led me to run for county commissioner.

I am a proud member of the Republican Party, and I fully support their stated priorities. I am pro life, pro 2nd amendment and a leader in election integrity. I believe in honesty and transparency, and I am committed to keeping my constituents informed via my opening comments in commissioners court, by holding town hall meetings at least twice a year, and by frequently sending out email updates or posting on Facebook. I believe in being responsive to constituents and I carry my county cell phone pretty much everywhere, even on weekends. If I don’t answer the phone (usually because I am in a meeting or on my other phone), I will return your call the same day.

2 – Please describe your philosophy on taxpayer-funded debt.

In general, I am opposed to debt. I worked hard over the course of my engineering career and managed our personal finances such that my wife and I have been debt free for more than 2 decades.

I believe taxpayer funded debt should be minimized, but there are cases when large capital improvements are required which cannot be paid from annual revenues or from the reserve balance. So, taxpayer funded debt is occasionally necessary, but must be judiciously managed, and total debt should never exceed annual revenue. This has been the case for Kerr County where our current total debt (principal balance) is just under $31 million ($38 million including the interest to full terms) vs. current annual revenue of $51 million. The main problem is that long-term taxpayer debt shifts the financial burden from current to future generations and too much debt undermines economic stability and leads to higher taxes to service the debt.

3 – How would you define the role of government?

As an administrative subdivision of the state government, the primary role of county government is to carry out responsibilities mandated by the Texas Constitution and legislature and to oversee public safety, maintain county roads, conduct elections, and provide essential administrative services (e.g. property tax collection, voter registration, record keeping, document filing, floodplain building permits, etc.). Judicial responsibilities are also managed as part of county government.

4 – What are your thoughts on the current pay of county employees and pay raises (how often, how much, how is a raise applied – across the board or merit-based)?

Last year the county hired Werling Associates, Inc. to conduct a compensation survey (base pay plan design) to compare Kerr County employees’ compensation with the employees of comparable-sized counties and cities in our region. It showed that most of our junior staff are paid below the market average, while more senior staff, professionals, sheriff’s senior staff and our court-related positions tend to be a bit above the average base pay.

I am a big advocate of merit-based pay, however it is difficult to administer in a private sector company and nearly impossible to fairly administer in county government. This is due to our lack of a single executive in charge and due to having numerous elected officials serving as department heads. While we can control their budget, we cannot control how they manage personnel. Performance management is fundamental to merit-based pay. However, our department heads, especially elected officials, have been inconsistent and lacking in setting individual performance objectives and in completing employee appraisals tied to agreed objectives and performance expectations. We have talked about the need for better performance management, but it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. Our first step towards merit-based pay would be to do away with our “step” compensation system and replace it with pay ranges for each position which would do away with automatic step increases every three years. It would help if we had a strong judge having experience with performance management in private companies of comparable size.

I agree with reviewing employee compensation each year as part of our budget process. However, I voted against the 5% and subsequent 4% across the board raises we gave out the first two years I served on the court. I felt that these were too generous considering the difficulties taxpayers faced due to inflation and low economic growth at that time. Even this past fiscal year, I proposed a lower 1% increase during the budget discussions, but as there was no support, I voted to approve the 2% increase, which was still lower than current inflation rates.

Note that I have personally declined all three salary increases since being sworn in, so my salary remains the same as when I started. I ran for office to serve the people and make a positive difference. I didn’t need the money, though it does compensate me for diesel and wear and tear on my truck (I have put a lot of miles on it since taking up this position) and it allows me to be more generous in my charitable and political giving.

5 – In regards to the July 4th flood, tell us what you think of the local response? What should be the focus for the rebuilding efforts?

There were many good things and certainly areas needing improvement. As the county is facing lawsuits related to flood response, I am unable to say more in writing.

The main need now is for financial assistance both for residents and for businesses. Businesses are particularly suffering as the primary source of financial assistance is through SBA which results in another loan (even if it is low interest). These loans must be repaid and for many businesses would be on top of existing loans, which would be crushing to their financial viability. What they really need is some type of loan forgiveness, which rumor has it, our President may consider.

6 – Should the county use tax dollars for economic development “incentives” to corporations? What about tax abatements? Please explain why or why not.

No. I am opposed to government subsidies and tax abatements. If a business is not viable without these incentives, I don’t want them in Kerr County. I have voted against all the tax abatements that have come before the court since being elected.

7 – What are your thoughts on water infrastructure & availability and the current level of development in the county?

I am glad that Kerrville has surface water rights and their ASR system. Kerrville (half of the county population) takes 80% of its water from the Guadalupe River. I understand that they may need to improve their water treatment process to ensure their water quality is consistently within approved standards. If Kerrville did not take most of its water from the river and inject water into the aquifer, we would have already been faced with severe water shortages and many dry wells. Note that the county does not have any surface water rights so even if we wanted to replicate the Kerrville ASR system, we would not be able to. Hence, my preference for additional residential development in Kerr County is within the Kerrville city limits, where water, power and sewer services are available. Note also that I do not support the expansion of the Kerrville ETJ and I am personally very happy that I live in the unincorporated area of the county.

As a petroleum engineer, I fully understand geology and water movement through our aquifers. I have reviewed Kerr County’s geology and understand that it is highly variable and partially compartmentalized. The aquifers in east Kerr County have lower permeability and are slower to recharge than the aquifers in central Kerr County, even though they are all somewhat connected. As a result, I believe that overdevelopment in conjunction with an extended drought will eventually result in severe water shortages.

Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District is the government body having responsibility for managing our groundwater. The commissioners’ court has no authority over groundwater or surface water. However, I do believe that HGCD have done a good job of managing our groundwater by restricting future development to only one exempt well per 10 acres. They would need legislative approval to put any further restrictions on groundwater. When developers used to come to the commissioners’ court to obtain approval to subdivide their property (they no longer have to obtain our approval), I always encouraged them to utilize water conservation methods, such as rainwater capture, and minimal irrigated landscaping. I am concerned enough that last year I installed a 30,000-gallon rainwater storage system for my own home.

8 – Battery Energy Storage Systems, solar farms, data centers, and bitcoin mining have been controversial issues in the Hill Country, what are your thoughts about them?

I am opposed to all government subsidies for wind and solar energy. Thanks to the federal subsidies, grants and loans which fund up to 70% of the capital cost of these facilities, Texas has become overly reliant on unreliable energy which created the need for BESS facilities that are subsidized similarly to wind and solar energy. However, BESS facilities are far worse due to their history of thermal runaway fires which release hazardous toxins and threaten the safety of our communities due to the high risk of wildfires in our semi-arid hill country. There are further concerns about the eventual disposal or recycling of the lithium-ion batteries as well as the fact that most of the batteries and control equipment components are manufactured in China, our stated enemy. Due to the lack of regulation and oversight of BESS, and their remote control, they present a serious threat to our energy grid security should an adversary carry out a cyberattack.

No one in Kerr County has done more in the fight against BESS than I have in terms of forming and leading (as President) our chapter 391 SRPC. If you want to know more, visit our website at www.HCESRPC.com. My opponent was an advocate of BESS in his role as a former director of LCRA. Before he stepped down last June, I asked him to use his influence as a director to get LCRA to coordinate the planning for BESS development in our HCESRPC territory (Kerr and Kendall Counties). He either did nothing or was unsuccessful. Ask him.

9 – Has there been anything during the COVID pandemic and the government’s response to it that you would change? If so, what?

I am opposed to all government mandates and opposed both the vaccine and the mask mandates. I opposed the church and school closures as well as the closure of all so-called non-essential businesses. I remain unvaccinated and have lost all trust in big pharma, the CDC and the FDA.

10 – What are your thoughts on term limits?

I support term limits, but don’t see it happening without a convention of states, which has been an uphill battle due to the opposition in many states where representatives see it as a threat to their plans to stay in office indefinitely. I have been a financial supporter of COS for many years in the hope that they will eventually succeed.

1 – Serving on the court, what would your guiding principles be?

1. Fiscal Responsibility: to be a steward of taxpayer dollars.
2. Limited Government: We should provide some services and do them well.
3. Local Control: Stand up for the community right to govern itself.
4. Public Safety and Infrastructure first: Sheriff’s Dept, VFD’s, Road & Bridge

2 – Please describe your philosophy on taxpayer-funded debt.

It should be used very sparingly, responsibly and only when necessary. We must always try to operate within our means. Debt should never become a substitute for sound budgeting.

3 – How would you define the role of government?

To protect individual rights, ensure public safety, provide essential services that people cannot provide for themselves. Freedom, Personal Responsibility, Limited Government.

4 – What are your thoughts on the current pay of county employees and pay raises (how often, how much, how is a raise applied – across the board or merit-based)?

I believe in fair and competitive pay so that we can attract and keep quality staff. Pay raises must be sustainable and cannot jeopardize the county’s ability to protect and serve. Raises must be transparent to the public on how and why the raises are given. There should be market adjustments when understaffed or if the pay is too low. This should be based on strategic analysis and merit based vs. across the board.

5 – In regards to the July 4th flood, tell us what you think of the local response? What should be the focus for the rebuilding efforts?

The local response from our county services was outstanding. Our commissioners did a very good job of response, effort, and transparency based on the catastrophic circumstances placed on them.

6 – Should the county use tax dollars for economic development “incentives” to corporations? What about tax abatements? Please explain why or why not.

I believe taxpayer funds should serve the people and not corporate interests. Incentives should be limited, must be transparent and tied to clear results.

1. Use only when there is a proven return on investment. Jobs, tax base, infrastructure improvements.
2. Performance-based agreements: companies must meet specific benchmarks
3. Clawbacks: if the company does not meet agreed upon promises, then funds must be repaid.

Tax abatements should be rare and strategic, although they can be useful tools for job creation. They should always benefit the county, be earned and strengthen the local economy. I believe economic growth should come from the free market, low taxes, limited government and strong county infrastructure and services.

7 – What are your thoughts on water infrastructure & availability and the current level of development in the county?

The commissioners have limited power and should work closely with the Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District to protect our water supply for future generations.

8 – Battery Energy Storage Systems, solar farms, data centers, and bitcoin mining have been controversial issues in the Hill Country, what are your thoughts about them?

For the BESS projects, we must ensure public safety and minimize fire and environmental risks in rural areas. There should be proof of the strictest safety standards and local oversight. Our taxpayers should not be left responsible for cleanup or emergency costs. Large solar farms would have an impact on our landscape, wildlife and property values. Instead, we should focus on roof-top solar and small-scale systems. Data centers and crypto mining consume enormous amounts of electricity and water, creating a strain on local infrastructure. We should not subsidize these operations or allow them to raise energy costs for our residents. Transparency, accountability and local interests must come first.

9 – Has there been anything during the COVID pandemic and the government’s response to it that you would change? If so, what?

There was too much government overreach such as lockdowns and mandates. Personal responsibility should have been promoted instead of government control. There should have been fewer shutdowns and business closures, along with more targeted economic relief. There could have been more protection of the at-risk populations, along with review of different methods and medications, allowing for personal choice in treatment.

10 – What are your thoughts on term limits?

I believe there should be term limits as it will help facilitate new leadership and ideas. Decisions would be based more on principle rather than trying to just get re-elected.