At the beginning of the year, Travis County finally began offering a guaranteed lawyer to individuals who are arrested and can’t afford legal representation – a constitutional right known as counsel at first appearance, or CAFA. It took an ACLU lawsuit to urge the county to rectify its failure to offer CAFA to indigent constituents, […]
Margaret Gómez
Margaret Gómez has served as the Precinct Four Travis County Commissioner since 1995, and was the first Mexican-American elected to the position.
Posted inTravis County
Experience, communication help Margaret Gómez tackle difficult issues
With more time logged in office than the other commissioners on the court, Travis County Precinct 4 Commissioner Margaret Gómez is able to bring a long-term perspective to county government. Gómez took office in 1995, making her the longest-tenured commissioner currently in office. But her career with the county began long before that. A graduate […]
Posted inTravis County
Margaret Gómez has learned to take the long view
For Margaret Gómez, Travis County’s longest-serving county commissioner, listening to community members’ concerns is the first and most important step toward guiding initiatives for the 1.3 million-plus residents of Travis County. In a recent interview with the Austin Monitor, Gómez – who earlier this year won a tight reelection race for Precinct 4 commissioner – shares how that strategy […]
Posted inTravis County
Gómez: Longest-serving commissioner finding new ways of doing business
With new members on the court this past year, Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gómez has been rethinking the court’s longtime processes. (Ann Howard, who represents Precinct 3, assumed office at the start of 2021, while County Judge Andy Brown assumed office in late 2020.) Gómez, who was elected in 1994 and is the longest-serving commissioner […]
Posted inTravis County
Margaret Gómez: Whatever it takes to get things done
Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gómez describes this year as “tumultuous.” “It’s been really up and down and kind of a rough ride,” she told the Austin Monitor. Gómez knows it could have been much rougher if the county didn’t have financial policies in place that allowed it to react quickly and distribute the $61 million […]
Posted inTravis County
After quarter-century on court, Gómez sees pros and cons in change
Margaret Gómez has served on the Travis County Commissioners Court for 24 years, representing a precinct whose boundaries roughly correspond with the southeastern quadrant of the county, including nearly all of South Austin east of South Lamar Boulevard. Her career in county government began two decades before her election to the court in 1994. In […]
Posted inTravis County
Gómez acknowledges challenges ahead, says county is equipped to handle them
Looking back on 2018 and at the year ahead, Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gómez says she is feeling pretty good. The past year brought some frustrations for the commissioner with the time-consuming necessity of briefing new county employees and residents on processes that have been in the works for years or even decades. The recent […]
Posted inTravis County
Rare drama for persistent optimist Gómez
Commissioner Margaret Gómez, generally the most unassuming member of the Travis County Commissioners Court, will start off 2018 with an unusual amount of attention on her and her alone. The Precinct 4 commissioner is the only one among her colleagues to face competition in the March primary elections, drawing as her challenger Del Valle Independent […]
Posted inTravis County
Gómez brings seniority, optimism into 2017
Affordability, public safety, annexation and the Trump administration are at the top of Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gómez’s mind as she starts the second half of her latest term in office. Gómez is the longest-serving member of the Commissioners Court, having represented southeast Travis County’s Precinct 4 since 1995. In that time, Gómez has seen […]
Posted inRoads
East Austin superhighway breaks ground
Scores of people gathered on the northern banks of the Colorado River in East Austin on Wednesday morning to watch the ceremonial birth of a massive new roadway expansion effort. Through the distant white noise of fast-moving traffic zipping along on three overhead bridges, the crowd heard Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority officials lavish praise […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Travis County Commissioners approve Growth Guidance Guide
After voicing their concerns Tuesday afternoon, members of the Travis County Commissioners Court approved by a 3-1 vote the next step for a land, water and transportation plan that’s been two years in the making. The County’s Transportation and Natural Resources Department developed the Growth Guidance Plan. The plan is meant to guide the decisions […]