Voters in Brazos County Commissioner Precinct 4 will choose on Nov. 3 between Wanda J. Watson, the Democrat who holds the seat, and Republican challenger Peter Michelena. Early voting runs through Oct. 30.
Both candidates call the precinct, which takes in large parts of Bryan's north and west sides, among the county's most diverse, and both say representing it on Commissioners Court drives their campaigns, KBTX reported Wednesday.
Wanda J. Watson (D)
Watson is finishing her first term. She won the March Democratic primary with 73% of the vote, 2,370 votes to 866 for Prentiss Madison, according to KBTX.
She defends the county's recent tax rate increase as a long-range bet on growth, tied to projects such as expanding the court annex and other infrastructure, and says expected growth should let the county lower taxes over time. "The people part of being commissioner is the part that I like, and I want to continue that," she told KBTX.
If re-elected, Watson says jobs would come first, which she ties to residents' quality of life, as growth spreads from neighboring Grimes County. On roads, she says the county has to rank projects because it lacks the equipment to build several at once.
Earlier this year she pointed to the county's decision to drop the Inner East Loop project after residents raised concerns as a lesson from her term.
Peter Michelena (R)
Michelena won the March Republican primary with nearly 65% of the vote, 918 votes to just under 500 for Andre Malone, KBTX reported. He is a Marine Corps veteran with two Purple Hearts and has worked in construction, in field engineering and as a building inspector for the City of Bryan. He also manages a $2 million budget as quartermaster of VFW Post 4692.
