Will Wynn
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| Will Wynn | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Gus Garcia |
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| Born | September 10, 1961 Beaumont, Texas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Austin, Texas |
| Alma mater | Texas A&M University |
Will Wynn (born September 10, 1961) is the current mayor of Austin, Texas. He is a Democrat.
Born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, Texas, Wynn was the sixth of seven children.[1] He attended Texas A&M University, where he graduated cum laude with a degree in Environmental Design in 1984.[2] Although Wynn was born in East Texas, his family's roots in Austin and Central Texas run deep; two of his great-great-great grandparents, James and Julia Olive, settled in southern Williamson County in 1843.[1]
Wynn has over 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, with projects including the $40 million redevelopment of the Frost Bank Plaza on Congress Avenue in Downtown Austin. Prior to being elected to the Austin City Council in 2000, Wynn served as Chair of the Downtown Austin Alliance, in addition to acting as Director of the Children's Museum and Heritage Society of Austin.
Austin voters elected Wynn to be Austin's fiftieth mayor on May 3, 2003, replacing Gus Garcia. He was re-elected three years later on May 15, 2006 with over 78 percent of the vote. The front-runner from the start, Wynn garnered most of the endorsements and raised much more money than his two competitors, Council Member Danny Thomas, and Jennifer Gale. He also received a boost from the strong leadership credited to him when Hurricane Katrina evacuees came to Austin in 2005.
He is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition[3], a bi-partisan anti-gun group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Wynn married Anne Elizabeth in 1992 and divorced in 2005. They have two daughters.
[edit] Controversy
On 11/08/2007, the CAMPO board, including Mayor Wynn, voted to divert $910 million tax dollars, which were intended for freeway, on tollways (U.S. Route 290, U.S. Route 183, and Texas State Highway 71).[4] Wynn had also voted to toll Austin freeways in 2004 and 2005. Will Wynn was the target of a recall attempt in 2004 by the AustinTollParty.com, because of that toll road vote.
Mayor Will Wynn was also charged with a Class C misdemeanor for assaulting a man who he ejected from a party in 2006. The man claims that after being told to leave by an intoxicated Wynn, the mayor followed him outside and proceeded to choke him while claiming that he could get 3 police officers to give him the worst three hours of his life.[5]
On 3/05/2008 Travis County prosecutors charged Mayor Wynn with assault for the Luke Johnson incident.
On 11/11/2007, Mayor Wynn was involved in an incident where he was yelling and cursing at a big rig truck blocking traffic on 5th Street. The Mayor apologized and said he "...spewed a fog of profanity...".
[edit] References
- ^ a b Mayor Will Wynn Biography. City of Austin, Texas. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- ^ Biography. KLRU. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- ^ Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members.
- ^ Austin Phase 2 Toll Roads Approved.
- ^ Austin Mayor Will Wynn Charged with Assault.
