Jeff Taylor For Galveston City Council District 2

09/06/2026

It's no wonder our island welcomes about 9 million visitors a year.

From the magnificent beauty of the Gulf to the legacy of McGuire-Dent, the artistry on our community stage, and this majestic mural taking shape, Galveston gives us so much to be grateful for.

What a blessing it is to be a Galvestonian.

08/30/2026

08/29/2026

Good Saturday afternoon
It was really exciting to see so many folks come and participate in the community Comprehensive Plan public engagement. Am glad you had the opportunity to speak with the consultants and interact with city staff. Community engagement is very important to the success of this Comp Plan. Thank you for participating .

08/21/2026

Look at what is being accomplished at the corner of 22nd Street and Avenue K. In the first photo, you can see there was no wheelchair access. Now there will be.

Through a City of Galveston program, the City provided the labor and the Galveston Historical Foundation provided the materials to make this sidewalk in front of a GHF property ADA-accessible.

I appreciate this kind of practical partnership and the people doing the work. Improvements like this help make our neighborhoods safer and easier to navigate for everyone.

It’s all about working together for a better Galveston.

08/20/2026

Absolutely great news for our island. We are so blessed to have such positive policies and strong leadership. Let us continue making sound, forward thinking policies.

Two credit agencies evaluated the City of Galveston’s financial standing and assigned high ratings, signifying confidence in the city’s stability and opening the door to better interest rates.

The City is preparing to issue approximately $9.44 million in public improvement bonds for the construction of Fire Station 2, a bond voters approved in November 2025. As part of that process, the city sought ratings from credit agencies. After reviewing the city’s finances, Fitch Ratings assigned Galveston a ‘AA+’ score and Moody’s Ratings assigned a ‘Aa3’, both among the highest ratings the agencies assign.

Financial rating agencies assess the city’s ability to repay debt, the current debt levels and pension obligations, the budgetary performance and stability, governance practices and management, and the city’s economic conditions. The resulting credit rating helps determine the interest rate for a city to borrow money by issuing bonds. By receiving one of the highest credit rating scores, the City of Galveston will benefit from favorable interest rates when it needs to seek bonds to pay for widescale infrastructure projects.

“One of my main priorities as city manager has been strengthening the city’s budget and financial policies, as well as building a reserve that can help the city in times of natural disasters,” City Manager Brian Maxwell said. “The scores from the ratings agencies validate those efforts and put us in a good position as we prepare to seek bonds for the construction of Fire Station 2.”

In the announcements, the agencies noted the strengths of Galveston’s economy, anchored by tourism, health care, maritime industries, and the Port of Galveston, which ranks as the nation’s fourth-busiest cruise port. Ongoing investments in these sectors, along with strong financial oversight, provide the foundation for the City’s long-term stability. Another reason cited was the city’s tenured management team and strong financial policies leading to reserves of around 30 percent of revenue in recent years.

The agencies considered the island’s outsized environmental risks for storms and a lower median household income relative to other cities as potential liabilities and weaknesses. For more information, please see the Fitch Ratings announcement here and the Moody’s Rating announcement here.

08/15/2026

It was a distinct privilege to welcome and thank the members of the Comprehensive Plan Adhoc Steering Committee on Friday morning.. It is such a diverse cross section enthusiastic group of volunteers that are charged with working with the consultants and engaging the community to bring back to Council recommendations for the adoption of the Comp Plan that will guide our island for the next five years and beyond. From the Comp Plan , the Land Development Regulations (LDR'S) will be updated. The common thread is the strong desire to want the best for our island. The true success of the 30 month endeavor is public engagement. We are about six months into this process. This is both an exciting and challenging time with difficult and hard decisions to be made. I am confident the right decisions will be made. My philosophy is that yesterday is always the toughest day, and that today brings positive change. Just breathe and listen to G-town sounds.com. Enjoy the weekend, stay hydrated and safe.

08/14/2026

A release from the City Secretary's office. My belief is City Boards and Commissions should be a reflection of our community. If you are willing to serve, you can go to the City's website, place the pointer over Government and click on the Board or Committee that you are interested in serving on; doing so will provide Committee specific information; complete the electronic application and then my recommendation is to contact your District Council Member. Please consider the amount of time various Boards and Committees take. It can be very rewarding in giving back to our community. I appreciate and applaud the volunteers serving the island, not only in this manner but in many other ways as well. It's about the community.

08/14/2026

Point of clarification. I am not a person that believes in posting inflammatory remarks, demeaning people or choosing sides. In the Council workshop today, an action item was listed to discuss and take action concerning certain Board and Commission appointments. The total purpose of this item was to streamline a process and to respect people's most valuable asset, which is a person's time. I have been contacted by folks both from D-2 and other districts concerned about other people's posts. The only change is to respect people's time and continue to use the ranking system. No one has been chosen or appointed to the open positions on the Wharves Board or the Planning Commission. The City Secretary's office is still accepting applications.
I encourage those interested in serving, please apply and then contact your CM. In my heart and humble opinion, this is still a transparent procedure or I would not have supported it. Thank you for wanting to serve.

08/12/2026

Today, Tuesday, was a very informative and productive day beginning with a meeting with the Park Board CEO and hearing about various functions of departments that take "care" of our island visitors. Hearing about beach nourishment, visitor's bureau, beach patrol, East Beach and Stewart Beach was very enlightening. Having worked in the hotel business pre and post Ike, we discussed the necessity of the City, Park Board and the Wharves Board to work together for a better Galveston; as well as discussing HOT.
Meeting with officials from Gulf Copper-Davie Defense our appreciation was expressed for chosing Galveston, TX. It was interesting to hear about plans to modernize the facility and about the ice breakers. We discussed the cooperation and collaboration with GISD, Galveston College and Texas A&M. We discussed housing cost and livable wages. I expressed my concern about the number of available housing on the island and keeping families in our neighborhoods on the island to live, work, play and raise "future" shipbuilders. I expressed my concern about the number of children we are losing out of schools. I am very confident this is a match made for our island that is truly a game changer for years to come
To end the day, it was great to have 100 plus concerned Islanders to hear what is coming to the "Strand" through the Historic Downtown Galveston Alliance held in the beautiful Scottish Rite Cathedral. This has been in the years making. The information signs will be absolutely fabulous. The multi million dollars mobility initiative, in my opinion, will be a game changer along with public restroom availability. Thank you Trey Click and every person that has touched this project. A big thanks to Mayor Listowski, Councilman Brown and David & Christy Laundriault and of the businesses.
This is absolutely a great time to be involved. The best is still a head of us and there is still more to do.
See you Wednesday at our neighborhood association meetings.
Thank you D-2 for your continued and positive support!