Martin Heines (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

If Martin Heines is elected to a third and final term as mayor of Tyler, he said his priority will be infrastructure.

Heines, 55, is the owner of Martin Heines Real Estate Services, a company that owns and manages several office buildings in Tyler.

He has been involved with the Tyler Junior College Foundation, UT Tyler’s Small Business Institute Program, Heart of Tyler/Main Street, the Literacy Council, and the Tyler Board of Realtors, among other groups.

Heines served on the Tyler City Council for two terms, from 2010 to 2014. He represented District 4, which includes several neighborhoods north of East 5th Street and east of Beckham Avenue, among others.

He was elected mayor in 2014 with 91.6 percent of the vote and re-elected in 2016 with 92.2 percent of the vote. If he is re-elected in May, he will serve a final term and become ineligible for re-election because of term limits.

In a meeting with the Tyler Morning Telegraph editorial board, Heines said his priorities are to continue improving the city’s infrastructure and maintain a conservative, business-like approach to running the government.

He said the city has been spending 13 percent of its budget, or about $20 million per year, on infrastructure improvements. The spending includes $5 million a year on street maintenance and overlays, he said.

“The more maintenance we do up front, the longer the streets will last, and so we’re really focusing in on the seal coat process for extending the life of some streets,” Heines said.

Heines also said the city is spending about $4 million on upgrades to the Golden Road Water Treatment Plant and making efforts to improve the sewer system.

On his approach to running the city government, Heines said, “Government of course is not a business, but we do the best we can to use business principles when we make decisions.”

Heines said that means focusing on providing things like fire services, trash pickup, water and sewer, and staying away from larger political issues that are better addressed in Austin.

“We try our very best not to do state laws out of City Hall,” Heines said. “There are other cities that have delved into plastic bags and fracking and items like that. We have actually stayed away from that.”

Heines is married to Michelle Heines, and the couple has two children. The family attends the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

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