Pflugerville City Council Candidates 2026

Pflugerville City Council · Place 2

David Rogers

B+

Pflugerville City Council, Place 2 · Incumbent, Council Member · PPP grade: B+

Rogers has the strongest fiscal record on the current Council and votes the way he talks, consistently opposing tax increases and most debt issued without a public vote. He is weaker on the legal limits of Council's authority over development and on taking accountability issues public.

Area	Grade	Why
Fiscal Responsibility	A	Voted against launching Downtown East and against the notice of intent for up to $153 million in debt to build it, though he voted for the final debt ordinance once it came before Council. Voted against $127 million in additional borrowing in 2025. Given a hypothetical $25 million for capital projects, he put $10 million toward paying down planned debt and $10 million into street repair, and funded nothing new. He weighs cash against borrowing accurately: cash costs less, debt spreads costs to future residents, and high interest rates favor cash.
Affordability	A	Voted against the city tax rate each of the last four years, every year it was set above the level needed to collect the same revenue as the year before. Voted against the city's annual fee schedules, which set water and wastewater rates, in 2023 and 2026, and against the 2025 schedule on first reading. Points to Hutto, which he says held its tax revenue flat four of the last five years, as proof it can be done.
Transparency & Accountability	B	Objected on the record to hiring the current city manager and assistant city manager without an open search, and proposed adding budget transparency and performance audit requirements to the City Charter (both voted down by Council). However, if a city manager misled Council, he would handle it in closed session and direct corrective action without making it public.
Growth & Infrastructure	B-	Voted against $8 million in tax-increment funds for Downtown East parking and against the Monarch and City Hall purchase agreements. But on a large housing development that meets city code while straining roads and schools, he proposed conditioning approval without addressing that Texas law generally requires Council to approve projects that meet the rules once filed.
Knowledge of the Office	A-	Explained clearly how appraisals, homestead and senior exemptions, and each entity's tax rate combine on a resident's bill, and that the appraisal district, not the city, sets home values. Understands the open meetings limits on Council members conferring outside a public meeting.

Based on: Written responses to PPP and his Council voting record.

Ceasar Ruiz

F

Pflugerville City Council, Place 2 · Incumbent, Council Member since 2021 · PPP grade: F

When Ruiz ran in 2020, he called fiscal responsibility "the No. 1 challenge facing the city," said residents' tax burden "must find relief," and promised to sideline "unnecessary costly projects." Since taking office he has voted every year, six for six, for a tax rate above the level needed to collect the same revenue as the year before, including rates set 21% and 24% above that level. He has voted for every debt issuance on record that the city made without a public vote, including up to $153 million for Downtown East. He did not respond to PPP.

Area	Grade	Why
Fiscal Responsibility	F	Voted for every certificate of obligation on record during his term, a type of debt that requires no public vote. Council authorized more than $500 million of it, including up to $153 million for Downtown East and $127 million in 2025. No bond election was held during his term, so voters were never asked to approve any of it. In September 2026 he made the motion moving up to $4.6 million in economic development sales tax funds to cover operating costs at the Monarch community center.
Affordability	F	All six years he has served, he voted for a tax rate above the level needed to collect the same revenue as the year before, including rates set 21% above that level for FY2023 and 24% above it for FY2024. In 2025 he made the motion to adopt the higher rate. Voted for the annual fee schedules that raised water and wastewater rates in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Transparency & Accountability	D-	Voted to hire the current city manager without an open search and made the motion appointing the assistant city manager the same way. Voted against adding budget transparency and performance audit requirements to the City Charter, saying budget transparency may not belong there. Voted three times to buy and renew the Flock license plate cameras. When Council Member Coffman proposed rules for AI and data use in March 2026, Ruiz pushed back on the proposal and criticized Coffman for opposing Flock. Five months later, after the cameras drew public opposition, Ruiz voted to end the contract. His record also departs from what he told voters in 2020.
Growth & Infrastructure	F	Voted for the $146 million contract expanding the water treatment plant to 30 million gallons a day, a $15.8 million change order on that contract, and more than $100 million in raw water line construction, while the city's own budget projects peak demand of about 14 million gallons a day next year. Supported Downtown East at every major step, from launching the project in 2022 through the development agreements and its debt.
Knowledge of the Office	Limited information	Did not respond to PPP.

Based on: Official Council minutes and roll-call votes since 2021, and his 2020 candidate Q&A in Community Impact.

Pflugerville City Council · Place 4

Trent Barlow

A

Pflugerville City Council, Place 4 · Candidate · PPP grade: A

Barlow showed the clearest grasp of city finances of any candidate this cycle, backed his positions with the city's own numbers, and was candid about the tradeoffs his choices carry.

Area	Grade	Why
Fiscal Responsibility	A	Given a hypothetical $25 million for capital projects, he split it between street maintenance and paying down debt, and named the cost: no capital cushion for water and no new animal shelter this cycle. Citing the city's $888 million in tax-supported debt, he prefers saving cash for planned projects over borrowing. Identified an $800,000 cut to the Monarch's annual subsidy.
Affordability	A	Opposes this year's tax rate and supports holding to the rate that collects the same revenue as last year. Wants new development to pay its share through impact fees rather than shifting costs to current residents. Would lower the fixed monthly water charge and shift cost to heavy users, but only after a rate study confirms the utility stays solvent.
Transparency & Accountability	A	Would take a misleading city manager public if a private explanation did not hold up, and would consider termination. Criticized a city financial report for treating this year's water emergency as a one-time event rather than disclosing the risk of relying on a single raw water line.
Growth & Infrastructure	A	Made a detailed case that the city's water supply contract and new treatment plant are sized about 50% beyond projected demand, and that the city should shed excess reserved supply when the contract allows. On a large development that meets code but strains infrastructure, he correctly noted Texas law requires approval once a project's rights have vested, and that the fix is tightening the rules before the next one is filed. Prioritizes maintaining existing streets over building new ones.
Knowledge of the Office	A	Walked through every taxing entity on a resident's bill, explained that the city controls only its own rate, roughly a quarter of the total, and that the appraisal district sets home values. Knows residents can force a public vote by petition before the city borrows without one, and that state and federal law protect group homes for people with disabilities in residential neighborhoods.

Based on: Written responses to PPP and the October 10, 2026 Place 4 debate.

De J. Lozada

B+

Pflugerville City Council, Place 4 · Candidate · PPP grade: B+

Lozada is well informed and her record on the economic development board backs her positions, but she missed the levers Council actually has over residents' costs and would add a new program while the city carries heavy debt.

Area	Grade	Why
Fiscal Responsibility	B	A member of the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation board, she says she would have voted against redirecting $4.6 million in economic development funds to cover Monarch operating costs. Questions the scale of Downtown East and says the $2.5 million sale price on part of the Monarch is below market value. But in a hypothetical $25 million capital budget she included $2 million for a new small business program, says no spending level exists at which she would automatically vote no, and her identified savings ($250,000 in senior management salaries) are small for a budget this size.
Affordability	B-	Would exceed the no-new-revenue tax rate only for essential services or urgent failures, and would lower the residential wastewater base charge. Put $5 million toward debt reduction in the capital exercise. But asked what Council can do about affordability, she pointed to permitting costs and which businesses locate here, without mentioning the tax rate or utility rates Council directly sets.
Transparency & Accountability	A	Would address a misleading city manager publicly. Prefers bond elections over borrowing without a vote for major new facilities. Says she would have voted against the city's no-bid agreement with a downtown coffee vendor.
Growth & Infrastructure	A-	On a development that meets code but strains infrastructure, she would approve it as the law requires with every available condition, then fix the rules that allowed it. Prioritizes maintaining existing streets. Declined to call the water system overbuilt without updated demand figures, a cautious but defensible position.
Knowledge of the Office	A	Explained accurately how a lower tax rate can still produce a higher bill, and how residents can petition to force a public vote before the city borrows without one. Correct on the legal protections for group homes.

Based on: Written responses to PPP and the October 10, 2026 Place 4 debate.

Gregory Harrington

F

Pflugerville City Council, Place 4 · Candidate · PPP grade: F

Harrington's campaign centers on a new city-run van service that cannot pay for itself as described and support for a permanent new ACC property tax he says "is not about money." His service on the 2026 Charter Review Commission showed little interest in transparency or in checking the city's numbers. He did not respond to PPP.

Area	Grade	Why
Fiscal Responsibility	F	Proposes ten city-owned 15-passenger vans offering door-to-door rides for $2 to $2.50, free or nearly free for seniors and students, on a $3 million yearly budget, and says it will break even within three years. That requires 1.2 million paying riders a year. Running all ten vans 16 hours a day, every day, each would need to pick up and drop off a paying passenger about every three minutes, nonstop. He called the existing $800,000 ride voucher program wasteful; his replacement costs nearly four times as much.
Affordability	F	Supports joining the ACC taxing district, a permanent new property tax with no expiration, and said the decision "is not about money." Asked at what cost the tax would be too much, he could not name one. The van service's shortfall would fall on taxpayers as well. On the Charter Review Commission he supported paying Council members without tying pay to attendance or performance.
Transparency & Accountability	F	On the Charter Review Commission he opposed efforts to make city government more transparent, calling them a waste of time and resources, and showed little interest in verifying the data the city presented. He considered the city's IT administrator the right person to manage the civil liberties risks of the Flock license plate cameras, rather than Council or an outside review.
Growth & Infrastructure	F	His transit plan answers demand he has not shown exists. The city's current ride voucher program is not fully used, and he offered no ridership data to support a replacement costing nearly four times as much. When challenged on cost, he suggested forming a committee of experts. He does say parks can be maintained within existing budgets and approved bonds.
Knowledge of the Office	F	Repeatedly cited laws, rules and policies during Charter Review Commission discussions that PPP could not find any basis for. Attributed high water bills to a property tax increase; those are separate charges. Could not defend the van plan's numbers when pressed.

Based on: His campaign website, the October 10, 2026 Place 4 debate, a public debate on ACC annexation, and his participation in 2026 Charter Review Commission meetings.

Pflugerville City Council · Place 6

Oscar Mitchell

Not graded

Pflugerville City Council, Place 6 · Unopposed · PPP grade: Not graded

Mitchell is unopposed and did not respond to PPP. His campaign calls for growing the commercial tax base so homeowners carry less of the burden, making growth "carry its own weight," and "absolute transparency," without specifics on taxes, debt or spending. He brings experience from the Parks & Recreation Commission, Planning & Zoning (two years as chair), and the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation board.

Based on: His campaign website.

Pflugerville City Council Candidates (2026)