Heather Jefts, Democratic, Williamson County Judge Candidate
After eight years working on parks, infrastructure, economic development and environmental sustainability in Cedar Park, Heather Jefts wants to take that experience to Williamson County government. The Democrat is challenging Republican Steve Snell for county judge, saying the county has an opportunity to bring communities together and address issues that extend beyond city limits.
She’s always had a relationship with politics — volunteering on campaigns, donating and conducting block walking while speaking up for different interest groups, like lobbying for Environment Texas and the Immunization Project. But, when she saw the City of Cedar Park was selling off parkland for economic development backin 2015, combined with state and national election results in 2016, she was pushed to serve herself.
“I met with a candidate recruitment committee and discussed what it would look like to run for city council, and decided to jump in,” she said. “Nobody was going to come and [fix] this if we didn’t work on it ourselves.”
On the city council, she said her projects have touched all aspects of Cedar Park. Now, she feels the best way to continue serving the city is through higher office.
“We’ve got to a really great place in Cedar Park, and it felt like the right time to step back from that,” she said. “When you look at how you can grow and build a city, there’s only so many things that you can do at the city level. Some things like regional transit or air quality awareness, environmental sustainability projects, water infrastructure. Those sort of end at your city limits, but we have a much wider county that hasn’t addressed those yet.
“I saw the opportunity that it was really time to take what we’ve been doing in Cedar Park and bring it to a wider audience.”
Before entering politics, Ms. Jefts was a small business owner. She went back to school after the Covid-19 pandemic and received her master’s degree in sustainability studies and economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
“We all want to have a roof over our heads. We all want to have a job that provides for our families. We all want to have food on the table. We all want to have great education for our kids, and we all want to make sure that continues for generations to come,” she said. “Those ideas aren’t attached to any political ideology, and they don’t have any city or county lines.
“The other thing that we see in Williamson County is that because there are so many different cities, there isn’t one center of gravity that is the convener and the leader. That needs to be the county government, because there are more people who live in only the county than live in all of the cities, and we haven’t had leadership at the county that’s brought us all together.”
Addressing county-wide issues
Earlier this year, the Commissioners Court purchased a 240-acre property to build a new Jail and Justice Center Complex in Southeast Georgetown.
Ms. Jefts said the location doesn’t make sense due to its proximity to two GISD schools and the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center. She said she’s spoken with Sheriff Matthew Lindemann and his deputies, and she understands the need for a new facility, but does not support the proposed location.
She admits that there is no easy solution at this stage, but having conversations with stakeholders and looking at existing land around the current jail to expand would be a start.
“These are not places that we should be housing inmates. This is not something that a neighborhood needs to be looking at. That school children need to be looking at. That’s not a comfortable place,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of solutions that we could start looking at before we spend a half a billion dollars that we don’t have in a place that doesn’t make sense.”
In 2024, the Williamson County Commissioners Court purchased 18 acres in Northwest Austin for a potential Medical Examiner’s Office. Since then, renovations to the facility have been made and the county has employed death investigators as a temporary solution to fill what would be an examiner’s role to help with death inquests.
Hiring a chief medical examiner, Ms. Jefts said, would be a day-one priority. She would then work with the examiner — as well as Justices of the Peace — to decide if the renovation plans are effective, or if the county should pursue other options.
“I think the site on Lake Creek is probably going to be a really good one for it, but I definitely want to have the person who’s going to be running it in place to help advise,” she said.
Williamson County has become a hotbed of state and federal political activity in recent years, and some residents have criticized the county’s Elections Department, which has worked to balance two dueling political agendas. Ms. Jefts said she has full trust in the elections department. In 2019, she was on the losing end of an election, and after a recount with witnesses from both sides, she said the results came out exactly the same.
“Our elections department has done a phenomenal job with our elections,” she said. “The result is going to be the will of the people, and I want to continue to talk about them in that positive light because I know they’re doing a good job. They are hardworking people.”
She did add, in terms of transparency, that she would push to make voting as easy and accessible as possible, which means preferring electronic voting over a reliance on paper ballots, she said.
“We are adults,” she said. “We have moved beyond scantrons. It’s time to have electronic voting.”
Water availability is becoming an increasing concern across the state, and Ms. Jefts said it is one of the biggest challenges for Williamson County. As “a sustainability studies scholar,” she said she’s looking ahead seven generations, and wants a plan that won’t deplete water resources for them in the future.
The bigger picture
Although the majority of elected officials in Williamson County identify as Republican, Ms. Jefts said residents have voted for Democratic candidates at the local, state and national level.
“We’re talking about everybody’s kitchen table issues,” she said. “We’re talking about bringing in new housing. We’re talking about working on the cost of living. We’re talking about roads and parks and trails and quality of life.
“In Cedar Park, we’re bringing in a brand new library, working on an arts district and cultural district, and improving the rec center. These are things that don’t have a party affiliation, so the issues that I’m going to be working on at the county level are the same.”
If her opponent was sitting across from her, she said she would thank Judge Snell for his service.
“I appreciate you stepping in after Judge Gravell stepped down, and I look forward to a smooth transition in January,” she said.
Early voting for the November midterm elections is from October 19 through October 30. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
For more information about Ms. Jefts, visit www.jeftsforjudge.com.