Bob Honts, who sponsored nearly $2 billion in highway projects during a 12-year stint as a Travis County commissioner in the 1970s and ’80s, died Monday.
He was 80. The cause of death has not yet been released.
Honts’ involvement with Austin-area road projects included the building of the Pennybacker Bridge on Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway) and early planning for Texas 130, as well as improvements to MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1), U.S. 183 and RM 2222 and RM 2244. He was called the “Road Warrior,” a name also sometimes used by environmentalists who opposed his expansion aims. Fonts also helped to bring the 9-1-1 emergency system, EMS and the STAR Flight helicopter service to Austin and Travis County.
Born on New Year’s Eve in 1939, Honts grew up in San Antonio. In 1961, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and accounting from Texas Tech University, where he lettered on the varsity swim team and served as head cheerleader.
Honts got a master’s degree in public administration from Penn State in 1963, meeting Carol Lee Butler there and marrying her in 1964. The couple then returned to Texas, where they had two sons.
Honts served as city manager for the Fort Worth suburb of White Settlement, as well as in administrative roles for the cities of Lubbock and Fort Worth, before becoming Travis County commissioner for Precinct 2 in 1975. He was re-elected to the position twice, leaving office at the end of his third term in 1986.
In 1983, Honts pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of misappropriating county property for charging personal phone calls to the county. He made headlines for legal troubles again a couple of years later, when he was charged with driving while intoxicated, but he was eventually acquitted.
While serving as executive vice president of the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council in 1989, Honts spoke with the American-Statesman about his zeal for working. “I can take on an incredible number of things at one time, which is one of my strengths and my weaknesses,” he said. “I keep a lot of balls in the air at once and am incredibly organized, but not the kind of person who comes in each night and cleans off my desk.”
He also recalled his efforts to overhaul and improve the county’s budgeting process in that interview. “My first year in office, the auditor brought us a budget, handwritten on one sheet of yellow legal pad, and he didn’t even give us a copy,” Honts said in 1989. “Since I had expertise in finance and bond elections, I got the books out and wrote a budget manual for Travis County that is basically still the system they use today.”
Honts’ other activities included a partnership in public relations and consulting firm Christian, Miller and Honts, as well as work on a variety real estate development deals. He served as chairman of Texas Partners of the Americas, a nonprofit organization providing scholarships for agricultural and medical projects in several states and in Mexico and Peru. A Republican, he also helped to organize several political campaigns.
Survivors include sons Robert Wayne Honts and John Emory Honts; four grandchildren; sister Mary Halford and husband Don Halford; two nieces; and ex-wife Carol Maynier. A memorial service is planned for 2021, with the date yet to be determined. The family asks for those interested in being notified about the memorial date to email BobHontsMemorial@gmail.com.
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