Mark Jones speaks on running for Hays County Judge 

Emma Jones 

News Reporter 

Meet the Candidate  

Mark Jones is a Republican candidate for County Judge in the upcoming 2022 election. Jones was born and raised in Buda, Texas. Jones is currently finishing up his third term as Hays County Commissioner for Precinct 2.  

Jones has been a resident of Hays County for over 50 years. Jones’ wife, Kerri, is an educator at Kyle Elementary School and together they have three grown children, who all graduated from Hays High School.  

Jones said that the person who inspired him to go into politics was a family friend, Mo Johnson. Johnson was Hays CISD’s first superintendent for years and was responsible for the consolidation of Kyle and Buda in 1968.  

“The person who had the most influence on me was Mo Johnson,” said Jones, “he was one of the most influential people in my life, I spent a lot of time talking to him and taking in his advice and he was the one who showed me what a true servant leader did.”   

Jones started his political career when he was elected to the Hays CISD school board. Jones was a two-term trustee and Vice President. As Vice President, Jones was responsible for leading one of the county’s largest employers. He developed long-term plans for growth and academic performance, as well as the opening of four new schools in the district. 

Accomplishments as Hays County Commissioner 

Jones has accomplished many things while serving Hays County, mostly involving the counties roads and infrastructure. He worked on projects like the expansion of Farm to Market Rd 1626, which was originally only two lanes but now is five lanes. Jones also worked hard to expand State Highway 21 through Uhland and Niederwald, adding three lighted intersections to the highway. Jones also worked on the completion of State Highway 45. 

 “During my 12 years as county commissioner, we have gotten a lot done. These are some highlights, though I have forgotten more than I can remember.” Jones said, “the one thing people will notice the most is the infrastructure.” 

 Jones says that his biggest accomplishment while serving as county commissioner was his implementation of school safety programs. With the help of other county commissioners, Jones created a program on how to handle school shootings, which is what the state of Texas uses now as a standard operator procedure in schools. 

 “That is something that I am most proud of doing,” Jones said, “because it affects kids all over the state of Texas, so it was huge for us.”  

During Jones’ term as commissioner, he showed support for first responders, making sure the fire departments are well taken care of, and the sheriff’s office is well funded and had quality individuals running it. Because of this, he has earned the backing and endorsements from many first responders, fire chiefs, mayors of cities in Hays County, and even Gov. Greg Abbott.  

 “I’ve got every endorsement from every first responder endorsed in this race,” Jones said, “the mayors of all of my cities have endorsed me, the fire chiefs in every city as well.”  

Future as Hays County Judge 

Jones says that he wants to continue improving the counties infrastructure as well as transportation and mobility. Jones wants to bring in more businesses and jobs into the area, so that more people can live in the area without having to make the commute to Austin.  

“The biggest issue we have to overcome is the roads, we are still working to catch up,” Jones said, “we want people to be able to live and work here in Hays County, and not so much commuting into the city.”  

Jones claims that Hays is the fastest growing county in the nation, because there are so many buildable lots for residences and for families to move into the county. Jones says that the downside is that we must make sure we have enough water to sustain the growth.  

“So, what can we do to be more sustainable is the question,” Jones said, “doing some conservation with removing cedar, because they use a lot of water and also how much land we can take off the market and put into preservation and conservation.”  

Jones feels extremely lucky that he has served Hays County for the last 18 years, the place where he was raised and where he raised his family. Jones says that he understands the needs of Hays County residents and wants to ensure that everyone enjoys being a part of the community.  

“I think I come from the perspective of somehow who has been here for over 50 years,” Jones said, “so I think I have the institutional knowledge and the vision that more of the people from Hays County are wanting from their judge.”  

 The election will be held on November 8th, 2022. To see the ballot https://hayscountytx.com/departments/elections/current-year-elections/nov-22-general/ 

For more information on Mark Jones https://markforhays.com/about-mark/