Meet Joe

My wife, Kim, and I have been married for 25 years and have made Brazoria County our home for the past 21 years. We raised our two adult sons - Will and Matt - here.

I am retired now, but I spent 25 years in newspaper journalism as a news reporter and editor, most recently with the Houston Chronicle and the Associated Press.

My second career included 18 years working at the top levels of county government, as a communications director and senior policy adviser for numerous Harris County officials - including a former county judge, county commissioner, tax assessor, district attorney and constable. It was a unique opportunity to see and be part of how county government works at various levels.

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What Does Joe Value?

Transparency

As a former newspaper reporter and editor, I have a visceral dislike of shadow government. Too often, government officials consider themselves and their work to be so complex or so important that they treat the public as an intrusion or a nuisance. They forget that the role of a public servant is just that - to SERVE. Closed executive sessions are becoming more and more common across all levels of government. I will never support a closed meeting unless the law specifically requires it or there are truly extraordinary reasons to support it.

Full Representation

There are those who believe that they are elected to office to represent a specific area of Brazoria County, or a specific political party, or ethnicity or religion. If elected, I would represent every resident of Brazoria County to the best of my ability regardless of who they are, where they live, where they worship or where they come from.

Integrity

It's not enough to pledge that I would never make a dime off my public position; I pledge that I would never allow anyone in my network of family or friends to profit off my position - and that I would immediately expose and publicize anyone anywhere that I know is doing so.

Fairness in Taxation

I believe that every taxpayer in Brazoria County should carry their full share of the load - and that includes the industrial and commercial properties that often are able to unfairly shift part of their burden onto homeowners through the use of abatements or other so-called "tax incentives."