Judicial hopefuls tout past service
GOP contenders for Williamson County seat stump at forum.
ROUND ROCK — Both Republican candidates for Williamson County judge emphasize how much their experience with government would help them improve the county.
Frank Leffingwell, a Round Rock City Council member and tax lawyer, is running against Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Bill Gravell in the Republican primary March 6. The winner will face Democrat Blake Conklin in the November election.
Both Leffingwell and Gravell spoke last week at a forum in Round Rock hosted by the Republican Women of Williamson County.
Leffingwell, 51, said that as an attorney he has almost 25 years of experience “arguing and fighting for people against an oppressive federal tax system.”
“That’s a big part of why I’m involved in this race,” he said. “I want to do what I can to keep taxes low in Williamson County.”
Both his past service on Round Rock’s Planning and Zoning Commission and his current role as president of the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority have given him an ability to find consensus on difficult issues, he said.
Leffingwell, who has been on the City Council since 2015, also has touted his work representing the city on the Capital Area Council of Governments, where
he said he has focused on public safety.
During the campaign, Leffingwell has said that pub- lic safety is his top priority for the county and that he wants to reduce response times and invest in equip- ment, training and technology for law enforcement. Another priority is dealing with the growth in the coun- ty without placing the bur- den on taxpayers, he said.
During the forum, Grav- ell said that during his al- most five years as the Precinct 3 justice of the peace, his court has handled 68,349 cases; collected almost $11 million in court costs, fines and fees; and received national and state awards for
improving collections and innovative use of technology.
Gravell, 53, said he was appointed to the Texas Judicial Council in 2015 to help set policy, direction and administration for the judicial branch, and that he was se- lected as judge of the year in 2017 by the Justices of the Peace and Constables Asso- ciation.
He said public safety would be a top priority if he is elected.
‘The safety and security of our community is para- mount to me,” Gravell said. “I want to make sure public safety is our No. 1 issue in Williamson County.”
Gravell said he wanted to work on expanding the num- ber of justice of the peace courts and district courts in the county because of the area’s growth. He also said he wants to tackle county
debt by increasing revenue through added growth.
Gravell has said during the campaign that he wants to lower property taxes to “offset skyrocketing proper- ty appraisals” and improve the county’s infrastructure and mobility plan “to keep Williamson County moving.”
The candidates have trad- ed accusations during the campaign. Leffingwell said in Decem-
ber that Gravell had wasted taxpayer money by staying at a South Austin hotel for a conference and going to conferences in Reno, Nev.,
and Deer Valley, Utah. County records show that Gravell did not bill the county for his stay at the South Austin hotel. Gravell said he was nominated to attend the National Judicial College in Reno and said the training seminar in Deer Valley that he and other county offi-
cials attended taught them how to implement technology that will save taxpay-
ers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Gravell has accused Leffingwell of being a liberal, saying Leffingwell has a record of raising taxes “year after year.” Leffingwell responded that since he was elected to the Round Rock City Council in 2015, the council has ap- proved a 1.5 cent tax increase to cover the cost of operating two fire stations, a new fire chief, a public safety facility, new police officers and firefighters, and street repairs. More recently, Leffingwell
has said that Gravell, who spent 22 years as a youth pastor, once gave a sermon available on YouTube that ac- cuses Dell Inc. of mistreat
ing employees and having no objective other than profit. Leffingwell said Dell is “one of our most important corporate citizens and job creators in Williamson County.”
Leffingwell also said Gravell testified at a legislative committee hearing in September 2016 against the state’s mission to move Texas Department of Public Safety officers to the border area, saying he wanted to end it because of a “perceived loss of revenue” to his court.
Gravell said last week that he had no response to either of those accusations.