Who is James Wynne?

I am a native Tylerite, who graduated from Tyler public schools (Birdwell, Hogg, Robert E. Lee) and The University of Texas at Austin. I moved back to Tyler in 1991 and moved into District 4 when I bought my first house on Third Street in 1992. I grew up in a house on Sunnybrook so I’ve always been drawn to the Azalea District for its beauty, charm and historical significance.

Family

In 1994, I married Sharon Brown Wynne, who also grew up in Tyler. We have three children, Madeline, Chet and Russell, all who were raised in the Azalea District. We were lucky to find a lot on Sixth Street and build a home to raise our family. For many years, our family has enjoyed time at Bergfeld Park, ridden bikes on the sidewalks and walked our dog throughout the neighborhood. I proudly support my wife in her antique and gift business, The House of Wynne, in Bergfeld Center.

Why haven’t you run for City Council before now?

Through the years, I have been asked by community leaders and elected officials to enter into city politics and run for the District 4 seat. With the busy lives of my children and work schedule, I didn’t feel that the time was right for me to take on the responsibility as an elected official. For the past 25 years, I have been working hard on my businesses, volunteering on multiple community boards and helping my wife raise our three children.

What made you change your mind?

Our youngest child will be graduating from high school in May of 2020 so my time commitment with sports and school events will not be as demanding. I’ll have more time to handle the responsibilities of a City Council member and I am eager to participate in that capacity to support District 4 and the community. I have always loved Tyler and want to see it continue to be the thriving, successful city it is. The city leaders have done a phenomenal job and we need to build upon their successes to maintain and develop our city in impactful ways for our residents and the thousands of visitors that come to Tyler weekly.

What did you do prior to making your announcement?

I like to be organized and prepared so I contacted all former District 4 city council members to ask for advice, thoughts and their support for my candidacy. Glenn Taylor, Kevin Eltife, Larry Snodgrass, Laura Corbett and Chris Simons shared valuable insights, City Council experiences and encouragement with me. I am very honored and humbled to have 100% support for my City Council candidacy from all five of these past District 4 council members.

The current District 4 Councilman, Don Warren, and I have had lengthy discussions about the district. He has provided a great overview into what is happening within the district now as well as plans for the future.

Who else influenced your decision to run?

I contacted all of the former mayors, Former Mayor Kevin Eltife, Joey Seeber and Barbara Bass. As you would expect, I gained very valuable advice and thoughts from each of them that really helped me in my final decision and helped shape my campaign. Mayor Bass explained her process in deciding to run and it really hit home with me. Her suggestions were to talk with as many people in and out of District 4 for feedback, pray about the decision, and only say yes if it feels right for you, your family, District 4 and Tyler. She also added, if you get elected, it is important to stay grounded and remember the purpose of the job you were elected to do.

Mayor Eltife was been the most influential in my decision to run for the District 4 seat. He has become a very integral part of my campaign team and trusted advisor. With Mr. Eltife’s 20+ years in local and state politics, he fully understands what it takes to hold an elected position.

I spoke at length with our current Mayor Martin Heines. Mayor Heines explained to me the many city-wide projects and initiatives that are in place now and ones that are planned in the future. More of the background of what is happening around the city that may not be featured in the newspaper, social media or radio broadcasts. Mayor Heines is very supportive of my decision to run for this city council seat.

I also spoke with community leaders, educators, school board members, former elected officials, heads of schools and community volunteers about my candidacy. All of them are extremely supportive and have volunteered to help with my campaign.

1. Continue the pay as you go precedent that was started under the leadership of Mayor Eltife. The city is out of debt and should not incur any debt. Operate the city as a business. Many of our city departments run as their own businesses and are self-sufficient. A strong model that we should continue.
2. Follow through with city-wide projects and initiatives already started. I am very interested in following the blue print plans started by Mayor Heines on upgrading the Tyler’s aging infrastructure. District 4 is one of the oldest parts of the city and with age comes the need for repairs and upgrades. Keeping the infrastructure functioning as it was designed is critical to the everyday lives of our citizens.Furthermore, we need to make sure we have the infrastructure and capacity to handle the future growth and expansion of city services outside of District 4. Our city is growing and we, the City of Tyler, need to be prepared for the future by making strategic plans now. Be smart in expanding the city services and work with Smith County, where feasible, for potential cost savings in the infrastructure.
3. Support updating the traffic plan for Tyler. I am interested in the recent consulting agreement that was passed by the council as it relates to studying our traffic signals. The city needs to modernize our traffic light system and the study will help the city create a master plan to accomplish this goal. I will be supportive of the outcome of this plan. The city needs to be pro-active to keep the traffic flowing as smoothly as possible for ingress and egress throughout Tyler.
4. Continue to look at tax abatements as a way to work with Tyler Economic Development Council and the Chamber of Commerce as a tool to provide incentives for our current major employers to increase productivity, expand operations and increase local hiring. Also, use this tool to attract new businesses to Tyler.
5. Continue to work with the Airport in expansion of services and facilities. The airport is such a vital part of Tyler and the surrounding communities. The recent project to expand the runway and update the infrastructure is a prime example of the effectiveness of planning, collaborating, growth and maximizing potential. Tyler now has a second commercial air carrier with the addition of the expanded runway. The airport staff and Airport Advisory Board continually work to expand services, provide a first-class travel experience and encourage growth with the businesses in and around the airport.

I want to express my thanks to Chief Toler and all of the women and men who work for the Tyler Police Department on the great job they perform every day. Too many times the women and men in blue are criticized and not applauded for their work.

I recently had my wallet stolen from my truck console on Saturday afternoon, August 31. I contacted Tyler PD to report the incident after all of the credit cards were canceled.

I called Tyler PD early Saturday evening and a very cordial lady talked to me and asked if I would be willing to have someone call me on Tuesday to get all of my information. She explained that it was holiday weekend and the police, at the time, were responding to several serious calls. I received a call from Tyler PD at the scheduled time Tuesday morning. I relayed all of the information that related to the theft of my wallet. I was provided a case number and informed that a detective would be in touch shortly.

A detective contacted me to verify all of the information I provided and asked several more questions and explained the process of what would take place next.

One week from the time I provided information to Tyler PD, I was sent an email with pictures of the individuals who attempted to use my credit card walking out of the retail store. I was amazed with the speed and detail that the police department undertook on a simple stolen wallet.

Chief Toler, you have a terrific staff of women and men working for you and the citizens of Tyler. After this encounter, my faith in our women and men in blue is stronger than ever.