CANDIDATE Q&A
Get to know the candidates running in the election
Candidates were asked to keep responses under 75 words, answer the questions provided and avoid attacking opponents. Answers may have been edited or cut to adhere to those guidelines, or for style and clarity.
Lakeway City Council member
Incumbent
KEVIN BERNZOTT
CHRIS FORTON
GRETCHEN VANCE
Occupation: annuity and life insurance specialist Relevant experience: chairman of the Zoning and Planning Commission, Planned Unit Development Committee member chrisforton4lakeway@gmail.com
Occupation: entrepreneur Relevant experience: Lakeway City council member (mayor pro tem, Emer- gency Management Team) 512-435-9555 www.vote-vance.com
Occupation: chairman & CEO
Relevant experience: successful busi- ness leader, former sheri ’s deputy committed to serving the community 512-200-2567 www.kevinbernzott.com
My business experience and service as a peace o cer shaped my work ethic, commitment to low taxes and aversion to intrusive government. I know that bigger government is not the answer to problems—and that more taxes and regulations don’t enhance anyone’s quality of life. I want to bring my experience, common sense and level-headed approach to serving the community. Why are you running for Lakeway City Council?
Through my contributions, I have been able to actively participate in the enhancement of our community. As a married parent of two, I understand the importance of ensuring that Lakeway is a safe and thriving place for all citizens. I am passionate about collaborating with others and working together to make our city an even better place to live, work, raise a family and call home.
Preserving and maintaining the small-town charm of Lakeway while meeting the needs of a growing city is challenging and gratifying. We have started many projects that I want to see through to fruition, like the building of Main Street. I want to continue to improve infrastructure, launch the Parks & Recreation Master Plan, and sustain our scal conservative policies and directives. Experience has taught me that Lakeway is a multifaceted community with a multitude of moving parts. Transportation, nancial responsibility, public safety, responsible development, economic development and government transparency all ow to the top of the list based on the city’s needs. Being focused on any one initiative creates an imbalance when managing the city’s needs.
What is your top priority?
Low taxes and responsible spending, including adequate funding for the police o cers who protect us. With recent nationwide e orts to defund the police, we must do the opposite in Lakeway. Law enforcement needs resources, recruits and training to combat crime and keep Lakeway a safe place to live, visit and raise a family.
My top priority is going to be to preserve and improve our parks and trails. Even before the most recent ice storm, many of our parks and trails were in need of improvements. Lakeway is an active community, and walkers, hikers and bikers use our trails daily. You only need to drive down Lakeway Boulevard to see that many of the trees along the trail have been lost or damaged.
Occupation: engineer Relevant experience: vice president, Quiddity Engineers; business leader- ship 512-608-3535 www.kentforlakeway.com Occupation: director, Industry Solutions, Oracle Relevant experience: 30 years experience in Fortune 50 302-827-3355 www.dan4lakeway.com KENT O’BRIEN DAN VARDELL
Why are you running for Lakeway City Council? What is your top priority?
Lakeway is a special place. That is why most of us moved here. It takes a great deal of hard work, by a lot of dedicated people, to maintain a town—particularly in the face of rapid growth. I want to be part of that e ort.
Ensuring our quality of life is sustained as western Travis County continues to grow and that every new development contributes to improving the quality of life for the entire community.
As a professional engineer with 40+ years of service to Central Texas municipalities, counties and the state of Texas, I have developed a distinctive set of skills and experiences uniquely suited to the challenges currently facing Lakeway. I hope to apply these abilities to bene t the community that means so much to me and my family.
My top priority will be making improvements to our transportation infrastructure to provide desperately needed tra c congestion relief. Lakeway and surrounding communities have seen signi cant growth recently, but our roads and highways have not grown to keep pace, leading to skyrocketing commute times. I will work with my fellow council members to identify necessary improvements and work to implement them quickly.
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