Conley, Becerra address voters at LWV debate

The League of Women Voters (LWV) of Hays County, a nonpartisan political organization that encourages active voter participation, held the first of  two debates they have planned in San Marcos for this election season last Thursday at the San Marcos Activity Center.

Hays County Judge candidates Ruben Becerra and Will Conley were the first to face off in the debate.

Conley opened the debate by referring to his experience as a Hays County commissioner and knowledge about issues facing Hays County.

“We’re going to have all kinds of opportunities, but there are going to be challenges with those and I think my experience and my knowledge of this county makes me the best qualified candidate for the job,” Conley said.

Becerra’s opening remarks focused on the county’s debt and rising property tax values facing Hays County residents. 

“I am running because the citizens of Hays County are crippled with debt, our property taxes are rising faster than our paychecks,” Becerra said. “Many people have hard times paying their bills and we continue to give huge tax breaks to large outfits in spite of the needs to our citizens.”

Debate moderator and retired local attorney Kaylene Ray posed the question to the candidates, “What measures do you support to sustain sufficient water supply throughout the county for the foreseeable future?”

“There is no direct authority given to county governments in managing water supplies; in the state of Texas that authority is given to groundwater districts,” Conley said. “But as I think many of you know, there comes a time where your county government, in most cases as your most local official, needs to stand up and needs to fight for what is right and wrong against special interest that is coming in to rape and pillage our community.”

Conley also brought up his work with Save Our Wells, a grassroots group of property owners that have fought Houston-based firm Electro Purification’s request to draw roughly one billion gallons of water per year from the Trinity Aquifer, and the resulting passing of House Bill 3405 –  by State Representative Jason Isaac in February of 2015, that placed the unprotected areas of the Trinity Aquifer in Hays County under the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District.

Becerra took a critical stance of the accomplishments that Hays County had achieved in water conservation though saying, “We have failed to do the job that is necessary to protect the water that is there.

“We need to work on generating resources to incentivize developments where our resources can sustain them,” Becerra said. “Those kinds of decisions on conservation and efficient planning and shared use and working diligently with municipalities are a key component to what we need to do to move forward, because  we are turning into a desert and we should design accordingly.” 

Ray then asked the candidates about their positions on providing incentives for new developments or businesses.

Becerra talked about the county’s debt and how dealing out incentives to large companies exacerbates that total if not done diligently.

“We are at $2,227 in debt (per resident). We are saddled with this crazy crippling debt, property values are going up continuously, which means our taxes keep going up,” Becerra said. “So incentivizing development to me is a very sharp thing to deal with and it shouldn’t be dealt with nilly-willy… I want to be mindful and useful with your tax dollars, not just dole them out”

“I’m that guy that likes to slice that nickel down the middle and make it spend like two dimes.”

Conley rebutted Becerra’s assertions of rising property taxes and fiscal irresponsibility. 

“Let’s make a few things clear,” Conley said, “first and foremost savings in this county has never been finer. The credit rate – just like a credit score – has never been higher than it is today. The average homeowner pays less than a $1,000 a year for all county services… We have done this while investing in our community, with voter approval on our transportation system, on parks and on conservation. We have managed those programs well under anything we ever told people that we could do.”

Conley also defended the tax incentives deals that the Hays County Commissioners Court struck during his time.

“The incentives? We never give your county money to anyone else. Under the right conditions, we let employers keep more of their money for creating things like higher-quality jobs and paying taxes to our school district and infrastructure,” Conley said. “I’m very proud of those deals.”

Ray then opened the floor for questions from the audience. Becerra and Conley fielded questions about emergency preparedness in Hays County, tax abatements and whether they would accept paper ballots after the 1,800 missing votes that occurred during the November 2016 election – Becerra backed voting centers that provide paper receipts as did Conley, but neither supported paper ballots.

Conley also fielded a question from the audience about a previous dispute with former Hays County Judge Liz Sumter, where he told her “Quite frankly what you are asking is none of your business,” and “[expletive], lady I don’t have to stop talking for any case in this point in time.” The man asking the question inquired whether Conley would hold respect for the position of county judge after that exchange.

“I’ve been under a microscope and under the public eye since I was 26 years old. I have been through thousands of public meetings, hearings here in Hays County and throughout this region,” Conley said. “That particular 60 second incident in my 14 years of service is something that I apologize for, my bad… But that was really an argument between an official of the court and myself about attacking a county employee and that employee being able to stay with the county. Most people don’t get that from that 30 second video.”

The LWV will host an additional debate with candidates from the city of San Marcos council races on Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the San Marcos Activity Center.