Texas County Reverses Vote; Apple Will Get Incentives
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GEORGETOWN, Tex. — The commissioners of suburban Williamson County reversed themselves Tuesday and approved an incentives package for an Apple Computer Co. factory, despite an Apple employee benefits policy covering same-sex partners.
That policy caused the commissioners last week to reject a similar package of incentives by a 3-2 vote. But after a week of pressure from business executives and politicians, Commissioner David Hays switched his vote.
“I never encountered a situation where I had to choose between economic development or traditional family values,” he said.
Hays said Apple’s policy runs counter to religious beliefs that are “the core of who I am.” But he was persuaded to change his vote, he said, because “Apple’s relocation to our county will mean millions of dollars each year that will be used to educate our children, build roads and bridges and keep our taxes low.”
Apple, which previously said it would go elsewhere, said after the reversal that it will proceed with the $80-million project, which is expected to bring an initial 700 jobs to the county. Apple will be reimbursed $750,000 in taxes in exchange for giving the county the right of way for roads and other improvements on its site. The proposal voted down last week was a straightforward $750,000 tax abatement.
David Smith of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force called the vote “the triumph of jobs over prejudice.”
But Mike East, a local minister and Christian radio talk show host, stared hard at Hays after the vote.
“We’re very disappointed,” he said as Hays reddened. East later said that “David Hays went from being a statesman to a politician in seven short days. Money spoke here today. This is a taint against Williamson County.”
In nearby Austin, state officials greeted the vote with relief. Gov. Ann Richards has been working nonstop “to make sure we didn’t suffer any more damage from this image of turning away jobs, because that’s not the way the state of Texas operates,” said state Commerce Director Cathy Bonner.
