March 8, 2021 - Bruce Selcraig, Staff Reporter / expressnews.com -

When Gov. Greg Abbott reappointed San Antonio bank chairman and arts patron J. Bruce Bugg Jr. to a six-year term last month as chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, even Bugg’s political and philosophical opponents hardly blinked.

They object plenty to his roads-only mantra as head of the agency that oversees the Texas Department of Transportation and its $31 billion budget. But both Abbott and Bugg are Republicans, and the primacy of highways goes back decades in Texas.

And they like Bugg personally. In the partisan world of Texas state politics, that’s worth noting.

“I don’t think anyone who knows Bruce Bugg does not think he’s a good public citizen,” said state Rep. Ray Lopez, a San Antonio Democrat. “Obviously, he has been appointed by Abbott and must follow the governor’s directions. I don’t happen to agree with those directions, but that’s the way it works. I don’t blame Bruce for that.”

Read more: https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/amp/Bruce-Bugg-of-San-Antonio-suits-up-for-another-16007572.php