During the second of two candidate forums hosted by The Boerne Star last Wednesday evening, six Republican candidates for Kendall County judge and Precinct 4 county commissioner met at Kronkosky Place to present their qualifications to the community and discuss issues like transportation, water scarcity and rapid development.
Candidates first introduced themselves and gave their initial bid to potential voters. Precinct 4 commissioner candidate Chad Carpenter started by telling the audience that he was a Kendall County commissioner in 2016 and would love to serve again in the same way. Competitor Gary Louie described community service and outreach as his best asset for the office. Patty Martinez noted her 34-year career in the San Antonio Police Department.
For county judge, Richard Elkins introduced himself as a public servant of Kendall County for the past 14 years in his service on government committees, the Boerne ISD school board and as a county commissioner. Shane Stolarcyzk underlined his legal experience and ability to “defend Kendall County residents whenever it’s needed.” Chris Taylor explained he wants to return to serve his hometown after years of experience in the business and technology industry.
When asked about the detailed responsibilities of the judge, Taylor said that “if we fail to plan, we plan to fail.” Stolarcyzk concurred with this idea and added that part of the judge’s role is to prepare for the future today by constantly developing colleagues to be better leaders and team members. Elkins responded by saying that 25 to 27 percent of citizens in Kendall County make less than $25,000 a year. To mitigate this issue, Elkins said that Kendall County government can provide services such as adult education, and the elected county judge would oversee these solutions.
Precinct 4 commissioner candidate Martinez said that the most important responsibility of the office is to be available to the people and take note of public needs. Carpenter agreed, describing commissioners as “advocates for the county.” Louie described the role as two-fold: to secure safe and sensible infrastructure and to be fiscally as conservative as possible with the county’s funding.
When asked to identify the most pressing issues in Kendall County, Louie introduced the three most common topics of the night: transportation, water and growth. Martinez said that issues surrounding water must first be handled at the state level and taking it there should be a priority. Carpenter agreed that these details are important and added that monitoring policies from Austin will be important as many of the solutions being sought can only be directly handled by the legislature. Along with water-relevant legislation brought up by Martinez, Taylor also underlined collaboration with the Texas Department of Transportation in handling traffic issues.
To these main issues, Stolarcyzk added that supporting law enforcement to prosecute immigration violations is important locally. Taylor noted that transparency can also be improved within the county government, especially with many available technology implementations. Elkins defined protecting natural resources as a priority alongside solving traffic and managing development “the Hill Country way.”
When asked about collaboration in each candidate’s desired position, Elkins talked about the uniqueness of county government in that elected officials have significant independence from a commissioners’ court. He outlined that while cooperation is key, he would always use that independence to preserve the decisions he sees best for the county.
Martinez emphasized that collaboration between commissioners and the citizens is just as important as teamwork between departments and said that decisions should be driven by the wants and needs of the public.
When asked specifically how growth should be controlled in the county, Carpenter said that a development plan needs to be made to protect small landowners and their rights while regulating large developers. Louie added that growth is “inevitable but not unsurpassable.” He said that all government entities need to work together in order to handle the development. Martinez agreed that large developers should pay for additional fees that small owners should not be subject to.
In response to the same question surrounding growth, judge candidate Elkins identified the limitations of regulating growth at the county level. He said that the best routes are through direct incentivization of property owners. Stolarcyzk added that each example of growth needs to be handled on a “case-by-case” basis. Taylor’s priority for controlling growth was a “vision” plan for the county that would plan for growth as far in advance as possible.
In terms of the transportation issue introduced, Stolarcysk said that the county needs to look to the local transportation committee’s ideas for solutions. Taylor added that the addition of new school campuses must be considered in a long-term plan.
Elkins and Louie, despite seeking different county jobs, agreed that focus must be on the intersections which can support significantly less traffic than roadways.
Martinez circled back to the transportation committee and noted that any official will have to wait for the results of the committee’s traffic study to analyze solutions. Carpenter said that “common sense” is the most important asset in the transportation conversation.
In closing, each candidate had one minute to give a final bid for their desired office.
Martinez said that the best candidate for commissioner will be “dedicated and passionate for the community.” Solarcyzk ended by stating that the issues Kendall County faces are too pressing to ignore and must be handled by qualified public leaders.
The election will be held on March 1. Monday, February 14 marks the first day of early voting.
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