AUSTIN – The Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) named James Bruce Bugg, Jr., former Texas Transportation Commission Chairman, as the recipient of this year’s Jack Griesenbeck Leadership in Regionalism Award for his contributions to transportation in the 10-county region and throughout the state. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Williamson County Commissioner Cynthia Long presented the award at CAPCOG’s General Assembly meeting on Wednesday.
“I will tell you that when we finish these projects in Central Texas, (Bugg’s) heart and soul will be in every inch of them,” Watson said referencing the I-35 expansion or Capital Express Projects. “He was a good guy and a tremendous public servant.”
Watson and Long spoke about how Bugg worked to enhance mobility and safety by improving transportation infrastructure as the Texas Transportation Commissioner Chair. He served in the position since 2017 after being appointed to the commission in 2015. Bugg passed away in August of this year.
Bugg fought for projects that helped as many people as possible and was excited about single projects that would benefit all Texans, such as the Capital Express Project. As major state artery, its impacts will benefit local drivers, long-distance commuters and the state and national economy. Bugg worked for more than a decade to see the I-35 expansion project break ground.
“(Bugg) brought his unbounded energy, pragmatic leadership, and strategic thinking to every role he took on,” Long said. “He took and withstood substantial ‘heat’ from other regions of the state for putting the billions of dollars necessary towards (the Capital Express) project.”
Long and Watson serve on the CAPCOG Executive Committee and presented the award alongside Blanco County Judge Brett Bray — CAPCOG’s 2025 Executive Committee Chair — to an audience of more than 100 local elected officials and local government personnel. The Texas Department of Transportation Austin District Engineer, Tucker Ferguson, accepted the award on behalf of the Bugg family.
The Jack Griesenbeck award is named after a former Bastrop County judge who served as CAPCOG’s first chair in 1970 and then became the first president of the Texas Association of Regional Councils — the state association representing Texas’ 24 councils of governments. It honors someone who plays a pivotal role in strengthening the Capital Area through their actions and who consistently advocates a regional and multijurisdictional approach through their work with local governments and other organizations. CAPCOG has honored 21 other people with the award since its creation in 2001. Past recipients have included Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief W. Nim Kidd; former Texas Representative Paul Workman; former Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Chair Robert J Huston; former Travis County Judge Samuel Biscoe, and former Bastrop County Emergency Manager Mike Fisher among others.
