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Candidates for District 52
Bryan Daniel
Republican, 37, married 17 years, two children Experience: He is currently the vice president for business development and a member of the Board of Directors for Agricultural Workers Mutual Auto Insurance. He also spent six years as director of rural development for the USDA in Texas and served as a congressional aide. “When you combine all of my experiences together you see I have the ability to go to Austin and capitalize on our momentum and help keep us moving in the direction that we are going,” he said. Key Issues: Limit government spending and growth. Maintain current educational levels while dealing with explosive growth. “People know how quickly we have to grow those schools. People want to know that those tax dollar are being spent efficiently,” he said. He is in favor of local law enforcement participating in immigration issues. “It should be the law of the state that when we encounter someone who is breaking the law we report that person to the proper authorities,” he said. He also supports greater border security and criminal enforcement through use of National Guard, state and local authorities. On Eastern Williamson County: “If we can maintain our traditional rural community values while maintaining growth, I think Eastern Williamson County is going to become the place to be,” he said.
John Gordon
Republican, 61, married nearly 40 years, two sons, four granddaughters Experience: He helped found the Williamson County Symphony Orchestra and is a registered professional engineer. He also was elected chairman of the Republican Party in Williamson County three times. He volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam Conflict and also served in the Texas National Guard. He also participated in Turn Around Taylor, an initiative to curb drug trafficking and prostitution in the city, in 1993. Key Issues: Balancing the state budget is his No. 1 priority in order to ensure state employees' retirement is properly funded. “We've made promises to them which we must, as a moral obligation, keep,” he said. He is concerned about the possibility of 375 kv transmission power lines being put through Hutto. “It destroys Hutto's economic plan. It goes right in front of a school. It does everything it says it's not going to do,” he said. He said he is against state mandated projects funded on a local level. “If the state legislature thinks something is so important that it must be undertaken, then the state should have the responsibility to fund it,” he said. He also wants to keep a closer eye on the Texas Department of Transportation. Eastern Williamson County: “I really want Taylor to reassume the glory and the beauty that it is,” he said. He said he is opposed to new land appropriations for the Trans-Texas Corridor, believing it should be built on State Highway 130 or other existing infrastructure. “Williamson County is paying in spades for transportation. Tolls collected should be kept in that area to benefit those who paid them,” he said.
Dee Hobbs
Republican, 32, married, 4-year-old stepson Experience: He has a law degree from Baylor University and has worked in the Williamson County Attorney's Office for six years. He sat on the board of a task force reviewing indigent defense. Key issues: Transportation: He said he wants to examine TxDOT to make sure it will fulfill its promises. He said he also will work to utilize state highways 130 or 45 for the Trans-Texas Corridor, if the corridor is built anywhere in District 52. “This is something municipalities and counties cannot on a local level fulfill. It's something TXDoT must fulfill, like Second Street in Taylor,” he said. Toll roads: “We have all that we need, and all that needs to come now. We need the roads that are for the taxpayers to use at no cost,” he said. Growth: “There are going to be a lot of challenges that are going to face the east end (of Williamson County) ... in the immediate future. With continued growth comes continued challenges, and we need to make sure that the east end is not ignored by elected officials,” he said.
Diana Maldonado
Democrat, 45, single mother of two Experience: Spent 22 years working in the State Comptroller's Office. She is former president of the Round Rock school board and a Magna Cum Laude graduate of St. Edward's University with a degree in business management. Key Issues: Aims to ensure money for public education is distributed fairly in order to make sure local tax money benefits local schools. “It's something that is very true to me, to make sure we have the public funding to match the education in Texas, because we tend to rank low time and time again in that process,” she said. She is against the Trans-Texas Corridor, both because she sees it as serving only corporate interests and because of its potential environmental impact. “It's not going to serve the people who live there that want to basically get to the grocery store. It's not going to benefit them,” she said. She also is against the expansion of toll roads and is opposed to placing tolls on public roads. “We need to have more transparency in the transportation process. Our county has suffered from poor leadership that has not taken the actual needs of the citizenry seriously,” she said. Eastern Williamson County: She believes she suits the changing demographics of the region. “When you have 40 percent plus people coming from out of the state, you have to have leadership that is ready to talk to those people with different needs so that we can continue to be a thriving and forward thinking district,” she said.
Lillian Simmons
Libertarian, widow, one child, two grandchildren. She also is a Cuban exile. Experience: She is a legal secretary who has been active in the John Birch Society and Eagle Forum Key Issues: Opposes further construction of the Trans-Texas Corridor, which she said is a part of a North American Union, which aims to undermine elected government through trade boards. “If the [NAFTA] super highway proceeds the American government will no longer provide protections against tyranny and socialism,” she said. She said her goal if elected is to fight government corruption and abuse of power.
Viv Sullivan
Republican, 55, married, two children Experience: Elected to Place 1 on the Round Rock Independent School District Board of Trustees in 2005. She also is a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent. “Of the representative candidates, I'm the only one who has ever been elected to public office,” she said. Key Issues: Growth: “I view [Taylor] as the next position of growth so get ready, Taylor, get ready. It's coming,” she said. She said she also wants to help fix school finance to avoid possible bankruptcies. “Once the surplus runs out we are going to be up a creek,” she said. She also wants to reform the state's tax system to encourage small business growth. She said she is against tolling existing public roads and new roads that will be the first to a community. She is in favor of toll roads that expand existing thoroughfares.
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