Hughson re-elected to third term as mayor

San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson says she’s looking forward to continuing her work for the people of San Marcos after her successful re-election bid.

Hughson was voted to a third term Tuesday. She claimed 62.76% of the vote, winning re-election with 11,101 votes to challenger and former Mayor John Thomaides’ 6,587.

Hughson said receiving the community’s support is gratifying.

“We have a lot we need to do,” Hughson said. “We’ve got economic development. I think we’re on the verge of some really good stuff coming to town because we’ve got those spec buildings. There are a number of spec buildings. We did incentives for some but not for some others … We have not made the short list of some opportunities because we didn’t have space ready to go. So, now we’re going to have space ready to go and I think that we’re going to be rocking and rolling in the future. We’re going to be able to bring jobs and more tax base to our city. So, that’s what I’m looking at,  providing property tax relief through growth.”

Hughson said there’s much work that needs to be done in the community, citing the two-year slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I won’t say we’re over covid but we’re certainly coming out and covid is in our rearview mirror,” Hughson said. “We have the city finances are rebounding — Hotel tax, sales tax, etc. We’ve got that $18 million in American Rescue Plan funding that we’re going to use to help a lot of businesses and a lot of residents. There’s still a lot of work to do. There’s still a lot of need in our community. We just got to keep working to see how we can help people.”

Regarding ARPA money, Hughson said she’s excited about funding being used for housing rehabilitation.

“We talk about affordable housing and everybody thinks we’re talking about building new houses,” Hughson said. “... But, for a lot of people, the most affordable house, or home, they have is the one that they’re in. However, if you’re in your 80s and your roof is leaking and you can’t afford to fix it, that’s a serious problem in a lot of different ways. So, we’d rather save the houses, help the people that are in them, instead of letting that house go to rack and ruin and then it doesn’t have much value.”

She also stated that she’d like to see different types of homes in San Marcos as the city continues to grow.

“We do need to deal with the growth. We’ve got people here that need jobs. We have people that need a place to live and we certainly have the housing coming,” Hughson said. “I would really like to see some of the options that we put in our land development code come in and different types of housings — cottage courts and this, that and the other.

“So, I would love to see some builders bring in some of these other housing types,” Hughson added. “I would like to see somebody come in with cottage courts. I’d like to see some families living in a semicircle with a small playground in the middle. That would be great.”

Hughson stated that San Marcos is a popular town and the city has to ensure that there are enough services for everyone.

“I want to make sure that we are positioned for growth, that we’re ready to go,” Hughson said. “We’ve got our transportation master plan and the downtown master plan is coming along. We’re going to get our [comprehensive] plan finished either at the end of this year or early next year … I think the comprehensive plan, that’s huge, that's to guide us for the next however many years and so I’m just really excited about the future of San Marcos. We’ve just got to manage the growth and make sure it’s not detrimental.”

Hughson begins her third two-year term as Mayor of San Marcos when the votes are canvassed and she’s sworn in on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. inside City Hall, 630 E. Hopkins St.