January 4th, 2011
Johnson announces re-election bid as Kyle mayor

Lucy Johnson.

STAFF REPORT

Kyle Mayor Lucy Johnson announced Monday that she will seek re-election in May.

Johnson is gunning for her first full term after winning a partial term in a February 2010 election to finish the unexpired term of former Mayor Miguel Gonzalez, who stepped down in order to run for Hays County commissioner. Gonzalez lost his bid in the March 2010 Republican primary against Mark Jones (R-Kyle), who went on to win the general election against Ray Bryant (D-Kyle).

Johnson ran on a platform of government transparency, improving the transportation needs of the city, stronger city planning, and fiscal conservatism.

After Johnson won the special February election that also seated two new city council members, the council symbolically renounced then-City Manager Tom Mattis by voting to remove him from the dais. Within two months, Mattis resigned.

The city council has since hired a new city manager, Larry Lambert from Leon Valley.

In September, the city council approved the city’s first property tax decrease in two years, reducing the rate from 42.4 cents per $100 of taxable value to 41.54 cents. The council also moved to defray some of the city’s $73 million of indebtedness by abandoning plans for a city-funded industrial park and using $2 million borrowed for that purpose to pay down debt.

“I have sought to make many positive changes since my election, but I feel there is much work still to accomplish,” Johnson said. “I have been true to my word. I believe we have made Kyle a better place to live.”

Since Johnson’s election, the city also has completed its first comprehensive plan in more than a decade. Kyle also received a Gold Leadership Award from the states comptroller’s office for transparency in government, one of only 58 in Texas.

“We are one of the fastest growing cities in the country right now, but I also believe we have the opportunity to be one of the best,” Johnson said. “This is why, after careful consideration, I have decided to run for re-election.”