Meet the Candidates

Jim Chiles is running unopposed for Mayor of Wimberley. Chiles has served as Council Member Place 4 for two terms since May of 2020.

During the past four years, Chiles has worked with Council to complete numerous City projects, starting with the long-needed Oak Park Welcome Center with accessible parking, restroom complex, visitor information and green space.

The City also applied for and won a $1.7 million TxDoT Sidewalk Grant on Ranch Road 12 extending from FM 3237 to Old Kyle Road. Engineering is being finalized with bids going out in 2025.

After reinstituting the tourist-funded Hotel Occupancy Tax, the Council worked together to implement wayfinding signage throughout the City, support of the arts with public murals and grants, historic preservation initiatives and planning for dark sky lighting while supporting local lodging businesses through the promotion of the City as a destination.

Now, top priority is completing work on a $300,000 Grant for a Comprehensive Plan to chart the city’s longterm future. The grant is from the Texas General Land Office’s Resilient Cities Program to update, adapt and develop land use, zoning and other strategies for the City’s future. Completion could take up to two years.

“With the departure of the current mayor, I felt it was important to keep some continuity in leadership for the City,” Chiles said. “The Plan will be a roadmap for Wimberley for years to come.” The Grant includes a continually updated database that will feature up-to-theminute population and financial data.

Chiles is a graduate of Texas State University, is a Certified Public Accountant and has nearly 40 years’ experience working for oilfield service companies. Presently, he volunteers as the treasurer of the Wimberley Hills Property Owners Association. Chiles also serves on the Church Council for the Wimberley United Methodist Church.

Chiles and his wife, Ginger, have three daughters and seven grandchildren. They stay busy in their spare time enjoying all that the Hill Country has to offer.