‘Helping every way we can’: Leander mayor talks flood response

LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — A somber anniversary across the state of Texas on Friday as it marks three weeks since deadly flooding during the July 4 holiday weekend.

The Sandy Creek area in Travis County, just outside Leander, was hit hard. Some people who live in and around the area have been critical about the response from both nearby cities and counties.

That includes people targeting Leander’s mayor, Christine DeLisle. In a lengthy Facebook post, she is trying to set the record straight on what her city is doing after the flooding.

“We are helping in every way that we can,” she told KXAN during a one-on-one sit down interview on Friday.

Despite having a Leander mailing address, the neighborhood is actually in unincorporated Travis County.

“We were on site the morning of the flood. We assisted in both Williamson and Travis counties,” DeLisle said. “And we have a wonderful emergency management team that has been reaching out to Travis County every single day.”

It was the early morning hours of July 5 the area was hit hard. Clean-up continued, as of Friday, but the process is far from over.

The mayor has had harsh criticism online for what some claim is not doing enough.

“It’s OK if they want to be mad at me, but I want to make sure they are getting connected to the people can make a difference,” DeLisle said. “Because what they’re saying is, I want something different, and the city of Leander cannot provide something different.”

Despite all that’s happened over the last several weeks, DeLisle said she will continue to support in any way she can.

“If there’s going to be a silver lining, it’s going to be that we’ve seen everybody just passionately come together,” she said.