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The San Marcos mayoral campaign is already shaping up with Mayor John Thomaides facing Place 4 Council Member Jane Hughson.

Thomaides, Hughson to square off in November

2018 Elections
Sunday, July 22, 2018

The San Marcos mayoral campaign is already shaping up, with the incumbent and a current council member throwing their hats into the ring.

Place 4 Council Member Jane Hughson issued an announcement Thursday that she intends to run for the mayor’s seat.

“We are fortunate to live in a wonderful city with talented and enthusiastic people. It has been an honor to serve you for over nine years as a city council member,” Hughson said in a press release. “I try to be as careful with taxpayer money as I am with my own,” she continued. “That is why I ask questions of city staff and others with business before the city council. I want to understand how taxpayer money is spent and I want council decisions to be the best for everyone.

“San Marcos has been my home for over 50 years. I love this town and have given much of my last 30 years to public and community service. I have learned so much from that service that I feel I can best represent San Marcos values and lead us into the next decade.”

Hughson has served on the city council from 1996 through 2002 and from 2014 to the present. She was just re-elected to her position last year.

Mayor John Thomaides also announced his candidacy, issuing a press release on Friday that stated his goals and priorities.

“It has been my honor to serve the citizens of our great city for the past 18 months. I understand that each and every day, as a public servant, I must earn your trust. I believe that working together, we can get things done and address the challenges of growth head on,” he said.

Thomaides expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to continue to serve as mayor and asked the community for its continued support.

Thomaides took office in December 2016. Prior to being voted in as mayor, he served five terms on the San Marcos City Council, and each term was chosen as mayor protem. Thomaides is a 25-year San Marcos resident.

Hughsonʼs vision

“What we expect first from the city is basic city services, and we do a very good job of providing those,” Hughson said in response to a question about what she would like to see would like to see happen in city operations and the direction the city is taking. “I want to ensure that we continue the good work.

As far as changes, Hughson said she wants to implement council priorities that were set months ago.

“My priorities are those set by the city council, working with staff, at our Visioning workshop this past January,” she said.

Those priorities include workforce housing, for which the city council has formed an active committee, and public transit, which includes several new buses and an increase in ridership. Hughson said she also considers stormwater a priority.

“We will always be in ‘Flash Flood Alley’ and must continue to be ready for disaster when it comes,” she said. “Thanks to the good work of my colleagues who advised our representatives at the federal level in detail about the Memorial Day flood of 2015, we were granted considerable federal funding for flood relief. While the federal rules regarding spending can be frustrating to many, we are using those funds for housing plus we have additional plans for drainage to help with future flooding.”

She also named city facilities as a priority.

“While our city has grown at a very fast pace over the last 10 years, facilities to house the city staff have not,” she said.

Maintaining and strengthening partnerships with Hays County, San Marcos CISD, Texas State University and other entities in the community is also important for Hughson.

Hughson also emphasized improving the of quality of life in San Marcos as a pressing issue.

“As mayor, I will focus on what is best for the citizens of San Marcos,” she said.

“San Marcos is a great place to live, as shown by the number of ‘Top Ten’ lists on which we appear,” she said. “We must continue to be the type of environment that offers a wonderful quality of life for our residents.

“We must never forget that many in our community are in low or very low income categories and our social services organizations are critical for our community,” she continued. “We have granted a number of jobs-based incentives over the last few years and we continue to seek companies with good-paying jobs and benefits.

“In our new Land Development Code (Code SMTX) we have new zoning categories that can provide new housing opportunities. I look forward to seeing how private sector developers will use these options to provide housing at lower costs for our community.”

Thomaidesʼ commitments

Thomaides’ chief focus is on preparing for growth – an issue that he said will require regional partnerships.

“The worst mindset we can have,” he said, “is, ‘If we don’t build it, they won’t come.’”

He said he would like to see the city council take a higher-level view of the issues they vote on

“I believe the council should be a policy board,” he said. “We have a situation right now where we are making progress. … But it’s very difficult sometimes to get things done because so many of the things we discuss get down in the weeds.”

Among the accomplishments Thomaides lists for his first 18 months in office are securing almost $60 million for flood recovery and long-term flood resiliency projects, recruiting and hiring a permanent city manager, acquiring 350 acres of green space around the city and adding 2,500 new full-time jobs to the local economy.

If elected to a second term, Thomaides said he will remain committed to key priorities such as the creation of career opportunities, more choices for housing at all levels and a better quality of life. He also wants to see higher-paying jobs come to San Marcos.

“We need careers here,” he said.

He also said he would like to see more small businesses and less red tape standing in their way.

“There’s nothing that drives small business away like unexpected expenses they were told in the beginning they wouldn’t have to do,” he said.

Thomaides has also made it a priority to encourage innovation and prepare San Marcos and its workforce to be competitive in the rapidly advancing knowledge-based economy.

“The reality is that our city will double in size in less than 20 years,” Thomaides said. “If we don’t prepare for this inevitable growth, the issues we face today will only be multiplied and compounded tomorrow. This November, I ask for the citizens of San Marcos to join me to continue the important work ahead of us. Working together we will set priorities, define success, produce results, and stand accountable as we prepare our city for the future, ” Thomaides said.

San Marcos Record

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P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666