Questions Leander citizens are asking before voting for mayor

• Which candidate is more likely to achieve real property tax rate reduction?
• Which candidate is least likely to be controlled by outside special interests?
• Which candidate has demonstrated responsibility with his personal finances and in whom you are more inclined to trust with the City of Leander’s (yours)?

What was the Total Property Tax Rate trend during each candidate’s tenure on the Leander City Council?

What was the Maintenance & Operations (M & O) Property Tax Rate trend during each candidate’s tenure on the Leander City Council?

Source: City of Leander Finance Department

What other positions with taxing authority have candidates held and what were the property tax rate trends under their term of office?

Mr. Villarreal served on the Austin Community College Board of Trustees from 2010 – 2016. He served as Chairman of the Board during the final year of his term, presiding over the tax rate discussions  for Fiscal Year 2016. Note: Chairman of the Board experience is not equivalent to the President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who presides over day-to-day operations and execution of policy, which in itself is vastly different in a government institution than a public or private company.

Although the Adopted M & O Tax Rate for each FY remained a constant at $0.09 per $100 of assessed value, the Effective M & O Tax Rate (M & O ETR) fluctuated. The ACC Board has the power to set the Adopted M & O Tax Rate below, equal to, or above the Effective M & O Tax Rate.  Setting the Adopted M & O Tax Rate above the Effective M & O Tax Rate more often results in a real dollar property tax increase for the average home (FY 2015 & 2016). The following table created from Tax Rate Workseets provided by ACC’s finance department shows the trend of the Adopted M & O Tax Rate in relation to the Effective M & O Tax Rate (M & O ETR):

Source: Austin Community College, EVP Finance; TravisCountyTX/tax-rates

Who is contributing to each mayoral candidate’s campaign and are they eligible to vote in Leander’s elections?

Which candidate’s presentation best addressed the questions regarding Leander’s future?

The evening of April 20th, a Leander organization by the name of Leander Advocacy Group* sponsored a candidate forum in which each of the council and mayoral candidates were allowed 15 minutes to address questions previously provided to each candidate. The forum rules were strictly enforced, providing an environment for the candidates to each put their best foot forward.

Presentation analysis

After reviewing both of the above presentations, which candidate:

• best answered the specific questions posed by the host organization?
• best articulated a strategy for addressing issues facing the City of Leander?
• best communicated a plan to guide Leander though the next phase of growth?
• is more likely to reduce over-regulation and over-taxation of Leander businesses and homeowners?
• is more likely to reduce Leander’s debt and expand Leander’s sales tax revenue while decreasing reliance on property taxes?
• is more likely to advocate local control of Leander’s future?
• is more likely to best serve the interests of Leander homeowners and taxpayers?
• is more likely to reign in property tax rates?
• is more likely to give priority to outside special interests and entities?
• is more likely to rely on taxpayer debt for non-infrastructure, non-public safety city development?
• is more self- and resume-focused than focused on the interests of Leander residents?

What is the personal voting history of each candidate?

Candidates for Leander mayor and city council do not typically formally identify with a political party when running for office.

Texas is an open-primary state, meaning no one “registers” with a political party. A voter only identifies with a particular political party by voting in that party’s Primary or Primary Run-off election every two years in order to select the party’s nominees for various races in the November General Election. By voting in a Party Primary, the voter is limited to voting in any run-off election subsequently held by that party and participating in that party’s conventions during that election cycle.

Even though candidates for Leander offices do not run on a party label,  a candidate’s Party Primary voting history is often an indicator that the candidate identifies more closely with that political party’s underlying principles and values. For those new to Texas or who are first-time voters, the two major political parties in Texas are Democrat and Republican. The principles, values, and positions  of these parties are best summarized in their respective Party Platforms:

Texas Democrat Party Platform 2016-2018

Texas Republican Party Platform 2016-2018

What can be known about candidates based on public endorsements?

Mr. Hill’s website does not rely on personal or celebrity endorsements for credibility.

Mr. Villarreal’s website lists endorsements from a labor-union affiliate (Note: Texas is a Right-to-Work state). His website also lists eleven individuals, seven of whom either represent outside special interests or are not currently eligible to vote in the City of Leander elections according to Williamson  County Elections and Travis County Elections and Mr. Villarreal’s Campaign Finance Reports (see above links):

• Fred Jay resides  in Colorado and has a firm in Leander that has received over $200,000 in payments from the City of Leander within the past two years. Mr. Jay is not shown to be a registered voter within the City of Leander and is not eligible to vote in City of Leander elections. Campaign Finance Reports  (1,  2) show Mr. Jay contributed to Mr. Villarreal’s campaign.
• John T. (Tom) Glenn resides in Burnet County and served as one of the figureheads for Growing LISD’s Future PAC which pushed the recent $454M bond package, even though he does not pay LISD or City of Leander taxes on his $424k property outside Liberty Hill. Mr. Glenn is not shown to be a registered voter within the City of Leander and is not eligible to vote in City of Leander elections. Campaign Finance Reports (1,  2)  show Mr. Glenn contributed to Mr. Villarreal’s campaign.
• Mitch Fuller resides in Cedar Park  and works for J.L. Powers and Associates. Williamson County Elections voter records show he voted in the 2018 Democrat Primary and Run-off. Mr. Fuller is not eligible to vote in City of Leander elections. Campaign Finance Reports (1,  2) show Mr. Fuller contributed to Mr. Villarreal’s campaign.
• Monta Akin, long-time administrator for Tom Glenn, does not pay taxes to City of Leander on her address listed in the Voter Registration database and is not shown to be eligible to vote in City of Leander elections.  Williamson County Elections voter records show she voted in the 2016 Democrat Primary and 2008 Democrat Primary.
• Brent Fields is not shown to be a registered voter within the City of Leander and is not eligible to vote in City of Leander elections. Williamson County Elections show an M. Brent Fields residing in Cedar Park and who voted in the 2016 and 2008 Democrat Primaries.
• Jeffrey Richard works for J.L. Powers and Associates. Mr. Richard is not shown to be a registered voter within the City of Leander and is not eligible to vote in City of Leander elections.
• Allen H. Kaplan is not shown to be a registered voter within the City of Leander and is not eligible to vote in City of Leander elections.  Travis County Elections and Campaign Finance Reports show Allen H. Kaplan residing in Cedar Park and who has voted in every Democrat  Primary back to 2006. Campaign Finance Reports (1,  2) show Mr. Kaplan contributed to Mr. Villarreal’s campaign.

What can be known from public information about how candidates have managed their personal finances?

Troy Hill

• April 28, 2009 Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade issued an Involutary Dissolution of a business name, Tega Properties, LLC for which Mr. Hill was the original registered agent.
• a query of the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) returned no record of Mr. Hill ever having filed bankruptcy

Vic Villarreal

• January 29, 2016 Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos forfeited a charter, certificate or registration of a taxable entity, Global Vista Strategies, LLC for which Mr. Villarreal was the registered agent.
• a query of the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) returned a number of documents pertaining to Mr. Villarreal’s bankruptcy filing, including: 

• his September 23, 2010 Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing, Case No. 10-12687-cag, showing unsecured liabilities totaling over $96,000 to 16 different credit card accounts, and over $129,000 in taxpayer-backed, Sallie Mae student loan debt
• November 8, 2010 Statement of Presumed Abuse (of federal bankruptcy laws) under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)



Note: Mr. Villarreal writes and teaches about “…essential ethical management theories, cases and understandings for students and professional alike.”

• *I am not a member of the Leander Advocacy Group, nor am I a member of their Facebook group, nor have I ever attended any of their events or meetings other than the April 20th public candidate forum held at the Leander VFW meeting room.

  **Correction: On Tuesday, May 29, 2018  the voting record of a mayoral candidate was corrected and this site updated. Previously, this post indicated Troy Hill had not voted in the City of Leander Elections of May 2015 and 2016.  He did, in fact, vote in both of those elections.

  The City of Leander jurisdiction spans across both Williamson County and Travis County in which Mr. Hill resides. In recent years,  Travis County Elections has not been updating Travis County Voter History of Leander residents who voted in City of Leander elections managed by Williamson County Elections. This, combined with field coding differences between Williamson County Elections and Travis County Clerk, Elections Division, led to a misreporting of Mr. Hill’s voting record and I regret the error.

  Copyright © 2018 Don Stroud