Robert Thomas and tax hiking Six-Figure U.T. Executives

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."
Matthew 7:15

While working on an unrelated post about poor financial stewardship at U.T., we noticed an interesting detail:

Pay soaring for some UT System executives, records show

....

Meanwhile, at the University of Texas System, which oversees the Austin flagship and 14 other campuses, the Board of Regents has awarded handsome raises to some executives, and a bit of a hiring spree is under way after years of declining employee rolls.

....

Other system executives have seen their pay soar in recent years, the records show. Amy Shaw Thomas, vice chancellor for health affairs, is drawing $343,000, 52.4 percent more than she made when she was promoted to the position in 2009.

[Author's Note: Emphasis added]

 And who, pray tell, is Amy Thomas?!?

Of course, that "world class academic medical school and teaching hospital" was financed by a tax hike on Travis County residents in 2012.

And that same U.T. Medical school is the anchor of the current urban rail boondoggle.

Furthermore, the U.T. Athletic department is already preparing the way to ask taxpayers to finance a new basketball arena.

Which begs the real question: How can we trust Robert Thomas to fight for taxpayers instead of U.T. boondoggles that would benefit his household income?!?

"Strange" Bedfellows: Robert Thomas and Austin ISD

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves..."
Matthew 7:15

Robert Thomas is running for Austin City Council on a platform of alleged fiscal conservatism.  Unfortunately, his record indicates an unsettling closeness with the government school bureaucracies, most notably Austin ISD.  He seems to have a soft spot for school district debt.

In 2013, while this website was working to defeat the Austin ISD bond, Robert Thomas made the following comment:

Robert Thomas is on the Community Bond Oversight Committee and is a board member for the Northwest Austin Civic Association. Speaking as a Northwest Austin resident and not a representative of either organization, he said he wants what is best for the community.

“I’m very supportive of the bonds, but I am unsure how I will vote on each individual proposition,” Thomas said.

He said many residents would like to see the district address overcrowding in Northwest Austin schools such as Murchison Middle School and Anderson High School. That might persuade them to vote for Proposition 2, which includes eliminating portable classrooms and building new infrastructure on existing campuses to aid with overcrowding.

 But it gets better, from his website:

Which begs the real question: How does an alleged 'fiscal conservative' get a seat on the bond 'oversight' committee and get endorsed by the outgoing President of the Board of Trustees?!?

Bottom Line: A City Council candidate who supported the largest bond initiative in Austin ISD history and enjoys the support of the local education establishment can call himself many things; a fiscal conservative ain't one of 'em.

Vote Bill Worsham!!!