Editor’s note: Below are questions we asked of the candidates vying for three seats on the Rollingwood City Council in the May 9 election. The top three vote-getters are declared winners for the at-large seats. 

Age and occupation:

Joe Ramsey Basham: 33, Partner at the law offices of Allensworth & Porter, LLP.

Barry Bone: 51, vice president Real Estate, Texas Industries, Inc.

Pete Fajkowski: 42, I am a national mortgage banker/broker, that is, the president of Mortgage Portfolio Services/Outsmart Holdings, LLC, a national mortgage brokerage and bank, which is between the fourth and 21st largest originator of mortgages in the greater Austin, depending on the year, according to the Austin Business Journal.

Bill Hamilton: 60 (the day Harry Truman was elected president), retired state employee since 2002 after 28 years in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of state government, working primarily in budget development and financial management. I currently have a small management consulting business. I am also part-time associate manager for business development of a state-of-the-art secured climate storage facility and postal center in northwest Travis County.

John Hinton: 62, semi-retired; owner of ePaymentSystems, Inc., a provider of electronic funds transfer services for small business.

Sara Hutson: 48, principal engineer and part owner of Waid Environmental (environmental engineering firm)

Roxanne McKee: 52, attorney.

Family:

Barry Bone: Spouse, Tami Bone, a fine art and portrait photographer; son, Bryan Bone, a musician and music production school student; son, Michael Bone, a sophomore at Westlake High School; and daughter, Brea Bone, a freshman at WHS.

Pete Fajkowski: Single.

Bill Hamilton: Three adult children: Caleb, Alexis, and William. All attended Eanes public schools and graduated from Westlake High School.

John Hinton: Susan, private foundation administrator; son, William (and wife Allison) and grandchildren Luke and Laine; and daughter, Robin (and husband Jacob).

Sara Hutson: Alex Hutson, stay at home dad, volunteer coach (previously secondary teacher and coach); Maggie, University of Texas; Sandy, sophomore at Westlake High School; Rusty, eighth-grader at Hill Country Middle School.

Roxanne McKee: Husband, Jerry Speitel, environmental engineer, Associate Dean at Cockrell School of Engineering, University of Texas; children, Eric, University of Michigan; Matthew, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, fifth grade.

Joe Ramsey Basham: Karla (Staha) Basham, an attorney and homemaker; Joe Ramsey Basham Jr., 8 months old.

 

Years a resident of the city:

Pete Fajkowski: I have owned property in Rollingwood for eight years and have lived at 2500 Bettis for the last four. I am about to build my ‘forever home’ at 403 Vale St.

Bill Hamilton: Years a resident of Rollingwood: Have lived in Rollingwood for 25 years, since April 1984, residing at 2505 Bettis Boulevard, Rollingwood, Texas 78746-5703.

John Hinton: Resident of Rollingwood for 27 years.

Sara Hutson: More than 16 years.

Roxanne McKee: Almost 13 years.

Joe Ramsey Basham: Four years in May. 

Barry Bone: Seven years.

 

Education:

Bill Hamilton: Bachelor of Arts, government and economics majors, Austin College, 1971; and, master of public affairs, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, UT Austin, 1973. 

John Hinton: BBA in Accounting and MA in economics from UT Austin; professional credentials as a Certified Public Accountant (retired) and a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Sara Hutson: B.S. in Civil Engineering with highest honors from the University of Texas coursework towards Masters of Business Administration, Corpus Christi State University.

Roxanne McKee: B.A. in Government, University of Texas, 1977; J.D., University of Texas School of Law, 1981; M.S.S.W. in Administration and Planning, University of Texas, 2001.

Joe Ramsey Basham: B.S. Construction Science, Texas A&M University (cum laude), J.D. Texas Tech School of Law (magna cum laude).

Barry Bone: Studied business and finance at the University of Texas, Austin. 

Pete Fajkowski: An associates degree and a bachelor’s degree. I graduated magna cum laude for both.

 

Why do you feel you are qualified to serve on the City Council?

John Hinton: I spent 25 years as a municipal finance professional, working with large and small cities throughout the state on utility and general government finance issues. This unique experience gives me the background for making sound decisions as an alderman.

Sara Hutson: As a three-year member of our Public Utility Commission and a current city council member, I am well aware of the major issues facing our community. My council exposure, civil engineering degree, business management experience, and ability to work well with diverse groups of people with differing priorities to forge a mutually agreeable solution are ideal qualifications to help the city deal with the many issues facing us in a practical, cost effective, and positive manner. 

Roxanne McKee: I served for three years on the Park Commission and now serve on Planning and Zoning. I work part-time at Legal Hotline for Texans providing free legal advice to low-income seniors and the disabled. I practiced civil trial law for 14 years, and represented a variety of parties, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission when it was sued by the owners and operators of Three Mile Island, the military, hospitals, and federal agencies in employment discrimination cases. I’ve taught legislative policy courses at U.T. My experience is diverse, and I’ve successfully defended many complex matters for governmental and corporate entities.

Joe Ramsey Basham: As a partner in a construction law firm, I deal with complicated cases that routinely involve enormous amounts of money. My cases are often emotionally-charged and include dozens of lawyers on the other side. I’m effective because I’m willing to listen to other points of view, consider the risks and costs involved, provide sound judgment to my clients and make tough decisions. I believe this experience, my tenure on the RCDC listening to opposing views about the city, and direct, relevant experience with water infrastructure projects has prepared me to be an effective alderman for Rollingwood at this particular time.

 Barry Bone: Diversified life experiences have made me uniquely qualified to serve. I’ve mowed yards, pulled weeds and worked as a laborer in chemical plants. Currently I work for a New York Stock Exchange Company, where I’ve been employed for 26 years, buying, selling and developing land, as well as managing people. My experiences have allowed me to understand the value of a dollar. I know how to budget, prioritize and negotiate.

Pete Fajkowski: As the president of a company I am well acquainted with the responsibilities of working on a committee or council and in making important decisions. My business experience is central to my campaign because many of the city’s problems are financial in nature. Owning and running my own business has taught me fiscal discipline, how to raise funds, how to spend funds wisely and, most importantly, when to say no. Additionally, I am a strong advocate for property rights, which once again hang in the balance based on the results of this election.

Bill Hamilton: I previously served on the City Council from 2000 to 2006, three terms of two years each. I also served on the city Planning and Zoning Commission, as co-chair of the Park Commission, President of the Rollingwood Neighborhood Association, city and county election judge and grand juror. This background and experience gives me an informed perspective on the current issues and challenges of our community. During my professional career, I worked with many state officials balancing budgets and addressing diverse views to set priorities. I have many successes in using my leadership and problem-solving skills to get things done.

What do you feel are key issues facing the city, and which of these do you feel should be the number-one priority?

Sara Hutson: Our infrastructure is aging and requires maintenance and upgrade in the very near future. Our most urgent priority is our water system. Multiple engineering studies over the last 20 years have recommended upgrades that have mostly not been implemented. Action on these projects is needed while we can plan for them in an efficient, cost effective way, before they become emergencies. We also need to address drainage concerns in the city while they can be managed most effectively. Recent events have divided the citizens and city leadership needs to take an active role in healing that wound.

Roxanne McKee: Rollingwood faces major infrastructure needs. Our water system takes top priority followed by the streets. The city is planning work on the water system, but both the Citizen’s Water Committee and the city engineer agree that more needs to be done for our protection. They do not completely agree, however, on the scope of the first phase of work. Our engineer recommends an additional $222,900 of immediate improvements beyond those recommended by the committee. How much we do and how we pay for it must be decided. Also I favor establishing a street maintenance fund to begin repaving our streets.

Joe Ramsey Basham: The obvious priority is the aging infrastructure, specifically the water system. As the recent fire near my home demonstrated, having adequate fire hydrants is a critical life-safety issue, not a political one. We should provide full fire protection for all Rollingwood families, not exclude some for purely financial reasons, which means we must consider alternative funding options. The city must also plan to repave some streets, not only for a smooth ride, but for adequate and proper drainage. Repaving all the streets, however, will cost more than $1M, which we don’t have. In the end, we must continue planning for the future.

Barry Bone: I believe the number one priority for our city is planning, and prioritizing of expenditures, and the funding of those expenditures. Water improvements, street resurfacing, reducing water and sewer costs and providing for future repairs and maintenance of our city services should be included in the     plan.

Pete Fajkowski: Council can regress back to personally-motivated agendas and endless “studies” or Council can actually solve Rollingwood’s problems. The issues in this election are: a) Preventing anti-property rights individuals from being elected; b) Financing and overseeing the water utility upgrade; c) Keeping a balanced budget and expanding commercial tax revenue to avoid raising taxes on citizens; d) Reducing water/sewer costs for fixed-income seniors; and e) Paving the streets after the water utility upgrade concludes. The long-overdue water utility upgrade is the most important issue. I think my creative fiscal and management skills are ideal for this project.

Bill Hamilton: We first need to get control of our financial affairs, then get on with water system repairs and paving the city streets. The current city budget assumed 10 percent growth in sales tax revenues, but calendar 2009 revenues are 6 percent below 2008. The city should do like many Rollingwood families are doing during these challenging economic times – tightening belts and reducing spending. Once our financial practices are in better order, immediate attention must be given to funding our water system repairs and improvements and paving our city streets on a cash basis. This will require better contract management and budget controls.

John Hinton: We need to redirect our focus to projects that are essential and that benefit the community as a whole. Water improvements and street paving should be our top priorities.

 

What would you like to say to Rollingwood voters in the form of an appeal for their support at the polls?

Joe Ramsey Basham: I grew up in small towns and we now live a few blocks from her parents and where she grew up. We couldn’t be happier and look forward to our family growing up in this wonderful community. But Rollingwood is 54 years old and the issues we now face is improving our infrastructure, which has outlived its useful life. We must face these issues head-on, air all points of view, and work towards a community-wide vision for the future of Rollingwood. I believe my experience in resolving complicated construction matters, and my small-town values, make me ideally suited to Alderman for the city of Rollingwood.

Barry Bone: Please consider that many promises in the past have not been fulfilled. Also consider carefully the decisions and actions of the candidates. Are they leaders or followers? Do they prioritize and do they care about costs to the taxpayers?

My accomplishment for your consideration was to analyze and prioritize the Water Project, resulting in a unanimous committee recommendation of the projects to the City Council. The cost was reduced from $2,350,000 to $941,000. This is an example of prioritizing needs and fiscal responsibility. I am asking for your vote in order to assure that our city moves forward with a prioritized plan.

Pete Fajkowski: There’s no greater advocate for protecting property rights and values than me. The rights inherent in property ownership are sacrosanct. Impervious cover restrictions, increasing our setbacks (which are already among the largest of any city in the nation), square footage restrictions based on lot size, etc. are all solutions in search of problems and will over-legislate Rollingwood until it becomes Austin. Rollingwood was founded to escape the government intrusion of Austin and our founding philosophy dictates that property rights trump governmental regulation. There can always be a creative balance between property rights and problems that actually exist in the community.

Bill Hamilton: I am committed to public service, especially in our small community. I believe a consensus-building approach is best for solving our city’s problems. I worked 28 years managing public budgets from the Governor’s Office to the Texas Courts. Through my education and professional experiences, I understand public administration. I believe that keeping a cooperative spirit adds to the quality and value of our community. I’m committed to insuring that each Rollingwood resident has the right to participate fully in an open, orderly, and peaceful process of making decisions affecting the quality of our lives and the value of our property.

John Hinton: If elected, I promise to be a good steward of our public funds. I will use my best efforts to provide leadership that discovers community consensus by listening to citizens and builds community consensus by working toward compromise between divergent viewpoints. 

Sara Hutson: I continue to be amazed by the high level of talented and experienced citizens we have in Rollingwood. Clearly, all candidates are well qualified to serve on city council. The challenge for the voters is to decide which candidates have the qualities most needed by the city at this time to help heal the rift in the community and move the city forward to deal with our critical infrastructure issues. I hope they agree that I have demonstrated those abilities on council already and vote to let me      continue serving in that capacity.

Roxanne McKee: I value good communication, cooperation, practicality, and cohesiveness. I believe in fiscal responsibility, transparent government, and forthright approaches. I am sensitive to difficulties faced by low and fixed- income citizens, and realize the importance of making smart, sound financial decisions. I think that those of us who lived through the sewer project are particularly sensitive to the risks of cost overruns and the need for close, professional project oversight. I’ve seen pitfalls that governmental bodies encounter, and will work hard to avoid litigation and the costly attorney fees that can come with it. We can respectfully agree to disagree.