8 vie for office in Leander election
Mayor, three council seats contested; growth among crucial issues.
Voters in the state’s fourth-fastest-growing city will choose between six candidates for three positions on the Leander City Council and two candidates for mayor in the May 9 election.
Council incumbent Kirsten Lynch, an investment company administrator, is running against Michelle Stephenson, the vice chairwoman of the Leander Planning and Zoning Commission, for the Place 2 seat.
Newcomers Jerry Perez, a maintenance supervisor, and Shanan Shepherd, a real estate agent, are opponents in the Place 3 race.
Meanwhile, incumbent David Siebold, a salesman for a garden products company, is running for Place 6 against Troy Hill, a Xerox brand manager.
Chris Fielder, a gun store owner, is seeking his second term as mayor against Dan Michie, a retired Army lieutenant colonel.
Leander, with a population of about 40,000, has about 14,000 homes in some stage of development, Fielder said.
One of the successes he claims for his first three-year term is that the property tax rate was lowered by 2 cents.
The city also is starting this year on $40 million to $50 million worth of road projects, and sales tax revenue has increased by 20 percent, he said.
“What has not happened is a lot of new businesses. We have not popped with big-box stores in Leander,” he said. He added the city is working with several large retailers that are waiting for roads to be completed or the population to increase.
According to public records, a house that Fielder and his wife owned in Leander went into foreclosure in 2014.
When asked to comment on the foreclosure, Fielder, 47, said, “There is a lot more to this story than a piece of paper. The Austin American Liberal Statesman will look for ways to destroy candidates as they always have.”
The Statesman looks at the public records of candidates
for office as part of its watchdog function.
Michie, who is Fielder’s opponent, said he wants to create a walkable downtown and more bike trails. “I want to bring in more people like millennials who will expect biking trials, walking trails and small parks,” he said. Michie, 62, also said the city is losing money on its golf course and may need to turn it into something else. He said he also wants the city to have a recreation center and a senior center
Lynch, 61, has been on the City Council since 2004. She said that if re-elected, she would “continue to take the burden of taxes off the homeowners in Leander by attracting and promoting mom-and-pop local businesses, along with a mix of regional and national businesses.”
Stephenson, Lynch’s 51-year-old opponent, said she wants to reduce the water rates for residents, bring major employers to Leander, and ensure there are enough parks, sidewalks and hike-and-bike trails.
Perez, a 51-year-old who has served 12 years as a civil engineer in the Army and eight years in the Reserves, said he wants to bring businesses, restaurants and jobs to Leander and keep taxes at a “decent rate.”
Shepherd, who is Perez’s opponent, said she wants to bring events to town that would attract people, including music and art festivals. Shepherd, 46, said she also wants to help manage the city’s growth. “It’s important to get zoning right, make sure construction looks nice and keeps Leander a beautiful place that people want to go to,” she said.
Siebold, 55, who has been on the City Council for 16 years, said his top goal is to bring in quality development. “I keep on hearing from residents that they want more retail but don’t want just strip centers,” he said, adding that he plans to achieve the growth with the help of the city’s new economic development manager.
According to court records, Siebold and his wife were sued by a bank for repayment of a loan in 2011 after they closed a coffee business. Siebold said the loan has been repaid.
Hill, who is running against Siebold, said he would like to help small businesses moving to Leander by waiving permit fees if the companies agree to invest money into advertising themselves. Hill, 53, said he would also help promote growth by designating an area as a business park if the private owners of the land agree to it. “If the land is already for sale, it could help them (the landowners) attract interest,” he said.