SANAUS is coming, are we ready?

Hays County is growing fast, and the math is not subtle. Population has climbed steadily for more than a decade, with major gains in recent years.

Growth can be a gift or a bill. Roads, water, and storm readiness decide which one we get.

What a County Judge can actually do in Texas

Not vibes. Actual levers.

• Run Commissioners Court and set the agenda for county policy and execution.

• Lead the county budget plus capital planning and contracts for infrastructure, facilities, and services.

• Serve as the county director of emergency management, coordinating preparedness and response across the whole county.

• Build and enforce partnerships with cities, school districts, TxDOT, CAMPO, state agencies, and utilities, then fund the plan through budgets and formal agreements.

Reality check

The County Judge cannot unilaterally redesign Interstate 35, override city zoning, or magically create water.

The job is leadership, budgets, coordination, and measurable delivery.

Topic 1: Mobility and Road Safety

Hays sits on the Interstate 35 corridor and we all live in the consequences. TxDOT is moving major Interstate 35 work into new phases in 2026, and that ripples straight into Hays commutes and cut through traffic.

Locally, Hays County has already invested heavily in mobility projects, including a county road bond program and multiple projects on county and state roadway systems.

We also have a hard lesson in public trust: a district judge ruled the 440 million road bond approved by voters was void due to a Texas Open Meetings Act notice issue. That is not an infrastructure problem, that is a governance problem that becomes an infrastructure problem.

My commitments, within county authority

1. Deliver projects with clean process and clean paperwork
   Infrastructure dies in court when the process is sloppy. Public notice, real public input, and a documented decision trail every time.

2. Use data to rank projects and publish the rankings
   Crash history, congestion, school zones, emergency response routes, freight routes, and growth pressure. Then show the public the list, the scoring, and the schedule.

3. Fix connectivity, not just widen everything
   The SH 45 gap and related connectors are part of the regional conversation, with formal county planning activity already underway. 
   The county role is to align funding, right of way strategy, and interlocal coordination so city projects, county projects, and TxDOT projects do not fight each other.

4. Run the road program like a capital program, not a rumor
   Clear milestones, monthly updates, budget to actual tracking, and a public dashboard.

Topic 2: Water Security for Growth

If you want to talk about growth, talk about water. The Texas Water Development Board published Hays County water supply planning resources in 2024, and the broader region is under real drought stress.

In 2025, Edwards Aquifer restrictions reached the most severe stage for the first time, driven by historically low levels. That is a warning light for every growing community nearby, including ours.

Cities manage their utilities, groundwater districts manage pumping rules, and the county still has a major responsibility: do not approve growth patterns that fail basic water reality.

My commitments, within county authority

1. Water reality checks for county actions in unincorporated areas
   When county decisions touch subdivision patterns, roads, drainage, and public facilities, water availability and drought resilience must be part of the standard review, not an afterthought.

2. Partner with water entities, then fund the parts the county controls
   Groundwater conservation districts and regional planning groups do the technical work. The county can support monitoring, data transparency, and interlocal coordination that keeps residents informed and reduces surprises.

3. County facilities should lead by example
   Conservation retrofits, smart irrigation controls, leak detection, and reuse where feasible, because government should not lecture residents while wasting water in its own buildings.

4. Plan for drought like it is normal, because it is
   The region is already living through extended drought conditions. The county emergency management role includes planning for second order impacts: heat, wildfire risk, and resource strain.

Topic 3: Flood, Storm, and Disaster Resilience

Hill Country floods are not hypothetical. Local governments are actively pursuing flood mitigation, flood modeling, and defensive projects, including significant work in and around San Marcos.

The County Judge is the county director of emergency management under Texas law. That role is not ceremonial. It is planning, coordination, training, and execution when the sky turns black.

My commitments, within county authority

1. Countywide warning and coordination that actually works
   Expand flood and severe weather alerting, coordinate with cities, and make sure residents get clear guidance fast, not a confusing pile of alerts.

2. Low water crossings and high risk segments get treated like life safety infrastructure
   Inventory, prioritize, and harden the worst locations with signage, sensors where appropriate, and rapid closure protocols.

3. Pre staged response, not improvised response
   Contracts, staging locations, mutual aid agreements, and annual exercises that include cities, ESDs, and key partners.

4. Aggressively pursue mitigation funding
   State and federal programs exist for mitigation and recovery, including disaster related funding streams. The county should be organized and ready to apply, match, and execute.

Bottom line

Hays County can either manage growth with infrastructure that keeps families safe and the economy moving, or we can pretend traffic, water, and flooding are somebody else’s problem until the invoice shows up.

As County Judge, I will focus the court on what the position can directly deliver: budgets that match priorities, contracts that produce results, emergency management that is trained and ready, and public process that does not collapse under basic scrutiny.