Michael earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Memphis in 1994 and an MBA from Webster University in 2004. Spending 40 years in the private sector, beginning at age 15, he logged more than half of that time in leadership roles. He retired from corporate America in April 2024.
Michael’s public service began in Schertz, where he served seven years on the city council. Elected Mayor in 2012, he served three terms through 2019. He was elected county commissioner in Guadalupe County in both 2020 and 2024.
Michael and his wife, Missy, married since 1993, have two sons.
Q&A Responses
1. Growth and infrastructure
Q: How will you ensure county infrastructure, permitting, and public services keep pace with growth so businesses can expand and invest with confidence?
A: There are multiple efforts underway that began last year while I was serving on commissioners court that are aimed at maintaining infrastructure, expediting permitting and expanding public services. I expect that each will continue once I am sworn in.
The first was the hiring of a vendor to conduct a pavement condition analysis on all roads currently in the county’s maintenance system. The PCI (pavement condition index) data will be used to prioritize county road maintenance to ensure serviceable roads do not further deteriorate and the dollars spent by the road and bridge department are done so in as effective and efficient way possible. Also in this fiscal year, the road and bridge department was allocated an additional $7.5M for road repair and maintenance and an additional $2.5M for low water crossing and culvert repair and maintenance. Future allocations are anticipated with the possibility of the issuance of bonds as an adjunct.
The second was the establishment of the engineering and project management office. While still in the early development stages, this office will help provide infrastructure planning advice, construction project oversight and process and procedure development (which will directly affect how nimble we will be able to be - especially as to permitting) going forward.
Automation improvements have been implemented as part of the changes being brought to the environmental health department by the new leader. Septic permitting is moving quickly and plat reviews are also being streamlined with assistance and cooperation from the engineering and project management office.
As to public services, the commercial investment community gets its water and electricity from non-county entities, but they do rely on the county to ensure crimes rates are low outside the cities and that fire protection is readily available. The departmental budget for the sheriff’s office expands each year and changes made by the current leader are strengthening mission execution. The establishment and strong funding of the Guadalupe County Fire and Rescue department and continued cooperation (read as funding) with the local volunteer fire departments are expected to result in ongoing improvements in ISO ratings outside the corporate boundaries of our cities.
One more thought for the commercial development community – please come and talk to us early on! Before you buy land is a great time to engage us. We can help set highly predictable timeline expectations for your project to mitigate the risks of an expansive investment-to-revenue production gap!
2. Emergency preparedness and continuity
Q: What steps will you take to strengthen disaster preparedness, coordination, and communication so businesses can better plan for and recover from disruptions?
A: The keys here are communicating, planning, practicing, coordinating and cooperating. I know that’s a lot of verbs in one sentence, but it’s also done deliberately, as emergency preparedness requires actions, and it requires actions long before an emergency or a disaster occurs.
We will continue working with the cities in our county, utility providers and independent school districts to ensure a well-understood, regularly updated framework for communication and cooperation is in place should there be a widespread disaster. Advancing that position to greater combined readiness must and will be an ongoing endeavor.
A significant facet of emergency preparedness that I’ll focus on is continually building relationships with our regional partners - the Alamo Area Council of Governments, TXDOT, the Texas DPS, JBSA leadership and the Texas Division of Emergency Management - so that when disasters occur, there is no ambiguity as to the individuals we will engage with and in what order.
There is also a need to practice on preparedness – drills and exercises with the participating entities must and will be a regular occurrence.
Finally, making it clear to our business community the contacts we have available in the county and their roles in the event of an emergency will be a priority for our emergency operations team. I anticipate this will be done in coordination with the local chambers of commerce and economic development corporations.
3. Workforce and community stability
Q: How will you support a stable workforce through coordination with courts, schools, and health providers to reduce disruptions that affect employers and employees?
A: I will be working directly with our county attorney to maintain our Veterans Treatment Court and exploring the possibility of adding additional treatment courts in the future in a continuing effort to reduce incarceration (where appropriate), workplace absenteeism, and avoidable employment separations.
Guadalupe County and the City of Seguin jointly fund the operation of the Guadalupe Regional Medical Center which continuously provides exceptional care to the people of the area, inclusive of our workforce. Work is underway by the team at GRMC to build an outpatient center on donated land to extend more basic and preventive care to a wider portion of the local population.