About James
West Lake Hills is different by design. We cannot escape Austin’s torrid growth, but we must manage it to respect our Master Plan and maintain our rural, small town character. I’m the right person to do the job. Over the last five years, it’s been a privilege to serve on the Bond Committee, Zoning and Planning, and City Council listening to neighbors’ priorities, learning the ropes, and preparing us for the future.
I’ve spent most of my life in West Austin and Westlake neighborhoods. I grew up in Tarrytown, graduated St. Stephen’s in 2005, and Stanford in 2009. After Stanford, I briefly worked in Congressman Doggett’s office before following my then girlfriend and now wife Dani to Peru. I spent my early twenties managing a boutique hotel in Lima, but the real work was convincing Dani to marry me.
Wanting to get back to Austin, we enrolled in UT’s MBA Program. I went on to Y-Combinator with my startup Value Voting – a software program to empower voters who’d been victims of gerrymandering. We couldn’t see a path to growth worth continuing after 2018. Strategic voting is tough sell. Professionally, I’ve returned to what I am good at, managing energy development at Bendecido Ltd. and angel investing with Fat Grackle Ventures.
West Lake Hills is different by design. We cannot escape Austin’s torrid growth, but we must manage it to respect our Master Plan and maintain our rural, small town character. I’m the right person to do the job. Over the last five years, it’s been a privilege to serve on the Bond Committee, Zoning and Planning, and City Council listening to neighbors’ priorities, learning the ropes, and preparing us for the future.