Updated on June 19 at 10:30 a.m.
Four Points resident Jay Wiley announced his candidacy for the Texas House of Representatives District 47 on June 19. The seat is currently held by Rep. Paul Workman who announced his campaign for re-election June 17.
Wiley previously ran for District 6 representative to the Austin City Council in November.
He said his platform for the House seat is based on budget reform, tax relief and a stop to illegal immigration.
"Conservative leadership is lacking in Travis County," Wiley said. "When it comes time to stand up for conservative principles, I think Paul [Workman] flinches. We need someone [who is] not afraid to talk to these issues in Travis County."
Wiley said the state's property tax is "one of the most burdensome in the country" and his goal is to eventually eliminate the tax, replacing it with a simple consumption, or sales, tax.
Posted on June 17 at 5 p.m.
Rep. Paul Workman, R-Austin, said June 17 that he will be running for re-election to the Texas House of Representatives.
Although he has received encouragement to campaign for the Texas Senate seat that will be vacated by Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, Workman said he decided to seek re-election to his District 47 House seat.
He said he believes there is more work for him to do while representing western and southern Travis County, especially in the area of traffic.
"The last two sessions saw great improvements in the way we fund transportation projects in our state and I will be fighting to secure funding for these crucial projects in HD 47," Workman said. "I am committed to making sure SH 45 SW is built and critical improvements are made to the Y at Oak Hill, RR 620 and Loop 360. Our community is optimistically awaiting the results of a traffic study that is now under way on the RR 620 corridor from [the city of] Bee Cave to Highway 183, and I am anxious to see the results."
On June 16, Lake Travis ISD trustee Dawn Buckingham resigned her position to pursue Fraser's Texas State Senate seat.
"We now have before us a unique and challenging opportunity to bring bold new ideas to the Texas Senate," the oculoplastic and cosmetic surgeon said in a news release. "Our state is faced with so many issues that need our attention, from fixing our transportation system, school choice, and eliminating burdensome taxes, to ensuring that we push back against federal government overreach.
"We must have conservative leadership in the Texas Senate and that is why I am running,” she said.
Buckingham was elected to Place 7 on the LTISD board in 2014 and leaves the position with about two years remaining in her three-year term.
