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30 | NEWS | Community Impact Newspaper • Round Rock/Pflugerville/Hutto Edition 2012 ELECTION COVERAGE Williamson County district attorney Ken Crain, D Q. Why are you running for district attorney? A. I saw the opportunity to perform some public service. I was paying attention to the Michael Morton case, and quite frankly got angry. ... It made me think that I could do a lot better, and Williamson County citizens deserved a lot better. Q. What makes you the best candidate for the position? A. I think that I’ve got a lot of experience in Williamson County and the justice system. I’ve been a lawyer since November 1984. I was a prosecutor in Williamson County prosecuting misdemeanor cases for Billy Ray Stubblefield in 1985 and ’86. I’ve been in private practice doing criminal defense work and family law cases since 1986. Q. What experience would you bring to the job? A. I’ve been a prosecutor, and I’ve been a defense attorney. I think having seen things from both sides gives you a little bit better perspective. I’ve had clients before who were put in terrible positions where they might have been guilty of something. ... Having been a defense attorney and a prosecutor, it gives me a better perspective. Q. What will be your first order of business if elected? A. Well, the first order of business would be getting ready to take the oath of office on Jan. 1. I’ve had a private practice for 26 years, and I would have to transfer my cases to somebody else or shut down my business and hopefully take a little time off. Round Rock ISD board of trustees Place 2 Charles Chadwell Q. Why are you running for the Round Rock ISD board of trustees? A. I am running for re-election to continue the progress of the last few years and expand the accomplishments of RRISD. The district enjoys steady growth because new families are attracted to the area and want quality schools. I want to continue serving as a trustee and to provide guidance for economic development in the area. RRISD and the surrounding businesses have a history of collaboration. Q. What qualifications would you bring to the position? A. After being on the RRISD board for over four years, I have developed a deep understanding of what is required to oversee a successful school district. Every year I have exceeded the number of training hours required by law and have voluntarily attended education seminars and conferences across the state and in Washington, D.C. Before joining the board of trustees, I was on a bond study committee and active with the PTA at my sons’ schools. Q. What do you see as major priorities for RRISD in the coming years? A. There are two topics that impede local control: school finance and high-stakes testing. I am in favor of accountability and testing students to measure their progress, but the current STAAR and [end of course] requirements are proving to be counterproductive. Regarding school finance, this board will need to continue being fiscally responsible so we can manage financial challenges as they arise. Jana Duty, R A. As a wife, mother and now as a grandmother, I want to make sure that Williamson County remains a safe and secure place to live, work and raise a family. I believe the people of Williamson County deserve a district attorney with a proven record. A. I have a proven track record of prosecuting misdemeanor and felony crimes in Williamson County as the county attorney for the past eight years. I’m proud to have the endorsements of the Williamson County Sheriff’s Association, the Cedar Park Police Association, the Austin Police Association [and more]. A. I have served as the elected Williamson County attorney since 2005. During that time, I have more than doubled the amount of protective orders for victims of family violence and brought in expert attorneys to represent Child Protective Services so that vulnerable children get the best representation possible. A. One of the first things I will do is create a true open discovery policy which will help prevent another Michael Morton case from ever happening again. I will also seek justice for victims of family violence. Victims of crime deserve better. Terence McCann A. I believe school board members should represent the values of all members in the community: the students, parents and taxpayers. My values represent the broader fiscal conservative values of the Round Rock school district. I intend to bring those conservative values to the school board and keep the board accountable to the taxpayer. A. I am a certified public accountant (CPA) with more than 23 years of accounting and management experience. I was raised in the Round Rock school district, graduating from Westwood High School in 1984. I have experienced the excellence and growth of the district as a student, parent and taxpayer. A. Managing the moderate growth experienced in the past couple of years while prudently planning for a return to higher growth rates will be very challenging. Over the past two years, the district growth has slowed with total enrollment at elementary schools declining. The district has significant areas that are not growing, while some areas are growing rapidly. Pflugerville City Council Place 2 Tom Anker Q. Why are you running for City Council? A. I am running for City Council out of a sense of community service to a city that has provided a wonderful environment in which to raise a family. There are no issues facing our city that cannot be handled through proper management of resources and prioritization of those resources. I will continue to be part of a council that respects the tax rate and continues to investigate more efficient ways to maximize the services to our city. Q. What is the biggest issue facing Pflugerville? A. Our city remains on the cusp of extraordinary residential and commercial growth. How we navigate through the process of that growth, from short-term and long-range, will affect the future of Pflugerville and determine how we define “quality of life.” Q. What makes you a good fit for Pflugerville City Council? A. As a member of the Board of Adjustment for a few years and the Planning and Zoning Commission for the last five years, I have had the pleasure of working very closely with city staff, businesses and citizens. In addition, I have been a board member of numerous homeowners associations over the last 10 years and have experience in dealing with limited resources while reducing expenses to ensure a successful operating association. Place 7 Pauline Law A. I am passionate about the education of our children; they are our future. I am product of both public and private education; therefore, I understand the importance of providing the best public education, as many families in this current economy cannot afford to provide private education. I will advocate for teachers and students so that the best public education will be provided. A. Although I chose a career in business, my first course of study was education. I was in the classroom instructing the children. Due to my background in education and business, this has provided a unique perspective to see issues from both points of view. I will provide the district with a well-rounded trustee who has the ability to understand the full picture of our community’s needs as a whole. A. Funding curriculum first and making teachers and our children our No. 1 priority. Teachers must have the necessary tools to teach. They should never have to spend their money to provide our children with the basic supplies they need to learn. We must have board members who are fiscally responsible. We have to stop investing in brick and mortar and start investing in our teachers and children. Omar Pena A. I want more for the community. My vision for Pflugerville is for it to be a great place to live, work, shop and eat. I’ve been involved with the Pflugerville Community Development Corp. for the past three years, and we are working on many initiatives to make Pflugerville that kind of utopia. A. I see three major issues facing Pflugerville today: growth, water and taxes. Pflugerville has grown by 200 percent in the past 10 years, and we are dealing with the growing pains. ... The second issue is water. The current agreement between the city and Southwest Water [Co.] expires in April. We have a lot of ground to cover to ensure that our citizens are taken care of. ... Taxation is another important issue for Pflugerville. A. Through the work I’ve done with the PCDC, I’ve come to know the current members of the City Council as well as the city staff. I can leverage those existing relationships to work efficiently and effectively and help move the city forward. Eric Pav A. I have been involved in the school district for a number of years in various volunteer capacities. After attending many board meetings last year, it was apparent the divisiveness was impeding the focus and timeliness of board decisions. Students, educators and taxpayers of this district deserve to have a board that is objective, rational and focused on the priorities the district will be debating. A. I served the district as a member of the bond oversight committee, the school naming committee, citizen’s bond committee and citizen’s boundary committee. I am also an active PTA member. In the community, I served 10 years with my neighborhood [homeowners association] and in various leadership positions with the Boy Scouts of America. I have been a people manager for 16 years leading global organizations from 10 to 300 individuals. A. Major priorities include: remain fiscally responsible with the taxpayer dollar, manage student growth, drive clarity around local processes and policies for mandated state testing (STAAR and EOC), pursue solutions to address state funding shortfalls, ensure that students have access to curriculum and courses that allow for college and career readiness, and maximize local accountability.
David Prout A. I’m running for City Council Place 3 to ensure [the] Windermere district has adequate representation on the council. Having received a nearly $300 water bill has motivated me to engage with our elected officials to fundamentally change how the town is doing things. I love Pflugerville. A. The most important issue facing Pflugerville is the danger of commercial interests over community interests. If chosen, I would seek to link any taxpayer-funded subsidies to business with taxpayers gaining a share in the profits of such ventures. I would seek to end subsidization for speculation where risks are taxpayer-subsidized but profits [are] privatized. A. I am a great fit for City Council due to my passion for consumer and citizen issues. I am not a Realtor, not in construction, not a developer. My campaign is self-funded and not “dialing for dollars.” State House of Representatives District 136 Matt Whittington, L Q. In your opinion, what does it mean for District 136 voters to now have their own area exclusively represented at the state level? A. It’s always nice to have a smaller area to represent our personal views in the Legislature. The old district—District 20—was quite large. A. It’s just a reflection of the large growth in this district— we weren’t awarded it, we earned it. It makes sense along the [US] 183 corridor. Q. What changes can you make to the state’s approach on education that will benefit District 136 families? A. I’m a supporter of vouchers across the board. I’m fortunate enough to live in the Leander school district, which is a good school district. I am confident with vouchers that most of the students in the district would be going to the same schools. A. Take away some of the high-stakes testing for some of these kids. Give back local control so they can decide how to manage their debts and teach their kids. We are running school districts the same way as 60 years ago, and we’ve got to find a new way. impactnews.com • October 2012 | NEWS | 31 A. The closer you can be to your representative, the better off you are. We’re fortunate the Legislature drew a district that encompasses a few [similar] communities. A. Members of Leander ISD recently presented me with a pretty thick packet of unfunded mandates from the state onto the school districts. A lot of those are not related to student achievement, so I’m committed to eliminating those and giving more local control to school districts. Q. The economy in Texas is far better than most areas of the country. What will you do at the state level to ensure it remains vibrant and possibly improve it further? A. The largest issue I have with the economy is transportation. As a Libertarian, it’s hard to say this, but the gas tax would probably need to be increased. Overall, any services that aren’t any direct responsibility of the state, I would scale back. Transportation funding needs to be directed toward transportation. A. I have owned a business for seven years. I know how the free market works, and I know too little regulation is just as bad as too much regulation. What we need is some regulatory certainty to make sure industries in Texas know what regulations there are going to be. We also need a fair [industry] tax structure. Q. What one transportation project that requires state support will you fight for while in office? A. I can say I do not support state-funded high-speed rail between the major cities. I don’t believe in my heart the governments in this state can efficiently run a project of that scale. Matt Stillwell, D A. For the first time ever, we are going to pay more in debt service in the transportation budget than maintenance and construction of new roads. That is not a good indicator for the future. Texas for a long time has neglected to fund its transportation projects, or all its infrastructure. Tony Dale, R A. There’s still work to be done, and I’ve got a record of keeping taxes down and reducing burdensome regulations—not to help business per se, but when you build an environment in which businesses can thrive, it helps provide jobs to families. So, when you’ve got a strong economy, it helps build strong families. A. A lot of people who live in this part of Williamson County work in Austin, and the commute is a disaster—everyone knows it. So I don’t need a traffic study to tell me that’s a problem. It’s critical that all levels of government work together in terms of funding and prioritization. This November, voters will have the opportunity to put America back on the right course, and preserve common-sense conservative leadership for Williamson County. The quality of life we enjoy in central Texas did not happen by accident. Men and Women of exceptional character and abilities continue to step forward to offer themselves for public service. Please get to know them, and remember to vote Republican when you go to the polls. – Bill Fairbrother, Williamson County GOP Chairman For additional information about our great candidates or to get more involved, please visit www.williamsoncountygop.org or call us at 512-863-8481. Paid for by Williamson County GOP and not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. Early Voting is from October 22 to November 2. Election day is November 6 Tony Dale for Texas House, Dist. 136 www.TexansforTonyDale.com • Believes our dollars should be spent in the classroom on students and teacher pay, not bureaucrats or administrators • Will work to balance the Texas budget without raising taxes and will always fi ght to get government out of the way so small businesses can create jobs • Army veteran, conservative leader, devoted husband, father and strong advocate for our growing communities and public education Bob Pemberton, 3rd Court of Appeals, Place 6 www.bobpemberton.com • Strong nine-year record of hard work • Committed to the principle that judges should faithfully and impartially apply the Constitution and laws, not rewrite them • Earned broad, bipartisan support Jeff Rose, 3rd Court of Appeals, Place 2 www.keepjudgerose.com • Former Texas Deputy Attorney General under Greg Abbott • Former State District Judge • Board Certifi ed in Civil Trial Law • Co-founder, Rise School of Austin for preschoolers with developmental delays Scott King for 3rd Court of Appeals, Place 3 www.scottking eld.com • Holds a deep regard for the Constitution and rule of law • Possesses a conservative judicial philosophy • Upholds traditional Texas values and work ethic Jana Duty for District Attorney www.JanaDuty.com • Experienced prosecutor and administrator • Will ensure everyone is treated fairly and evenly under the law, while protecting our families • Endorsed by every law enforcement group making endorsements including Round Rock, Austin, Leander, and Hutto Police Of cer’s Associations and the Williamson County Sheriff’s Association David Puryear, 3rd Court of Appeals, Place 5 www.judgedavidpuryear.com • Ranked most productive appellate court justice in 2011 • Longest serving conservative judge on court, noted for strictly interpreting the law. • Former deputy director in the Attorney General’s Special Crimes Division Tom Maynard for State Bd. of Education, Dist. 10 www.MaynardForTexas.com • Experience as classroom teacher, school board trustee, public school parent and non-profi t executive • Supports accountability, transparency, local control, parental rights and career and technical education • Committed to rigorous, relevant curriculum and to protecting Permanent School Fund • Opposes federal takeover of public education and unfunded mandates John Carter, U.S. House, District 31 www.johncarterforcongress.com • Secretary, House Republican Caucus • Continues to oppose nationalized healthcare and support patient’s choice • Fights to reduce federal spending and make tax cuts permanent
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Page 3 and 4: 821 Grand Avenue Parkway, Ste. 411
Page 5 and 6: 17 Wild Bill’s Liquor at 602 McNe
Page 7 and 8: iMPActS 35 central commerce dr. 2 W
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Page 21 and 22: Food trucks Continued from | 1 gett
Page 23 and 24: neWS uPdAte WilCo fights salamander
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Page 27 and 28: educAtiOn By Korri Kezar Officials
Page 29: Texas’ U.S. Senate 2008 2006 2002
Page 33 and 34: dining Pita Fusion Round Rock resta
Page 35 and 36: cOffee With iMPAct Gary Hoover Aust
Page 37 and 38: Business Texas wine industry grows
Page 39 and 40: ReAl eStAte Market Data On the mark

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