The two men running for Lubbock County Judge see things differently when it comes to vision and leadership. Curtis Parrish is running for his third term; Wesley Houck, who moved to Lubbock four years ago, is his challenger.
They’re battling for the Republican nomination in the March 3 Republican Party Primary. Short of a third-party candidacy, the winner would go on to take the seat because there’s no Democratic candidate.
Highlighting the differences:
Parrish and Houck agree aging infrastructure and capital projects for major county facilities are top priorities. However, Parrish speaks of vision for a county that projections say will be 500,000 people in 14 years. Houck says vision and planning are missing – leading to more conflict on the Commissioners Court.
Taxes and prudent spending are also high priorities according to both men. But they differ on how much spending can bend before the county asks taxpayers for something higher than the yearly no-new-revenue rate.
Both agree leadership, public trust and transparency are vital – but dispute to what extent they are already present. Houck says budget numbers are not clear. Parrish says Lubbock County earns accolades from the Texas Comptroller having a clear and accountable budget.
Houck, currently a city councilman in Wolfforth, said he got into the race because he started attending commissioners meetings. He did not like what he saw.
“I saw a lot of things that kind of were concerning to me with the county court. I saw a lot of discord. … It’s okay to disagree, obviously, but I saw more than that. I saw contention, disunity, discord – all of those things, and generally, just a little bit of a leadership vacuum,” Houck said.
When asked why he’s running for re-election, Parrish said, “There are still tasks and there are things that we still need to do as far as the leadership of this county.”
As for discord, Parrish pointed to the insistence of following the no-new-revenue tax rate championed by three members of the court.
“You want to cut taxes, but you want to increase spending. And those things are incompatible. You can’t increase spending while cutting taxes,” Parrish said.
In the background of this race, Parrish’s decision to declare commissioner Jason Corley automatically resigned from office by running for Congress with more than one year and 30 days left in his term of office. Corley fought it, and so far, courts have sided with Corley. The case has been taken to District Court in Lubbock, the Seventh Court of Appeals in Amarillo and Texas Supreme Court.
Houck said, “A lot of people were caught pretty flat-footed.”
The decision of the courts will either vindicate Parrish or undermine his action when he appointed Mark Meurer to Corley’s seat, Houck said. For now, Meurer is out and Corley is restored to office.
Parrish repeatedly defended the move – saying Corley did this to himself. The court cases remain pending.
Big projects
Lubbock County just finished construction on a new medical examiner’s office on the city’s north side – paid for with a 2023 bond election. The county is also constructing a new TAG (Texas Anti-Gang Center) building next door – paid with a grant from the governor’s office.
While commissioners might have already decided what happens with the proposed Expo Center by March 3, it’s still on the list of major projects Lubbock County needs to tackle.
But there’s more to come. During budget negotiations for the 2025/26 fiscal year, commissioners universally agreed the county’s office building at 916 Main Street needs millions of dollars of renovations. Just the first floor will be more than $2 million.
The parking garage next door to 916 Main needs to be replaced, according to information presented during the budget process – an estimated cost of nearly $8 million.
Parrish told LubbockLights.com that justice of the peace and constable offices must be moved out of the courthouse and into the various precincts by 2031. He also said the county’s adult probation building needs to be replaced.
Budget discussions revealed the need for a new roof over part of the Lubbock County Detention Center, but Parrish said it goes further – with maybe an outright expansion of the jail to meet the needs of a growing population.
Disagreeing – what’s the plan?
Houck was critical of Parrish, saying, “I don’t know what the one, three, five, seven-year plan is with the leadership of the court. I don’t know where it’s going. I don’t know what the objectives are.”
Parrish disagreed, saying there’s a vision driven by population growth.
“We’re growing. The demographer says that we’re going to be probably 500,000 people in Lubbock County by the 2040 census. 2040, that’s not that far away. So, we need to make sure that our infrastructure is ready, that our jail is ready, our courthouse is ready, our parks and our clubhouses are ready, our roads are ready,” Parrish said.
“We’ve got to make sure that we have this vision that gets us ready for the growth of this county. And I want to continue that vision,” Parrish said.
Some of the capital project decisions are still under consideration, Parrish said.
“We’ve been on a facilities assessment program. Also, not only assessing the facilities, but assessing what do we need to renovate? What do we need to replace? What are going to be the costs of that? None of that’s been decided, but we are working toward that,” Parrish said.
Houck raised concerns about transparency of the budget.
“I’ve talked to a few commissioners, and I’m by no means going to put anyone under the bus or anything like that. But when quizzing numbers, I was surprised at how uncertain the commissioners were about numbers and not feeling like the full picture is really clear,” Houck said.
“My first objective is let’s get these numbers clear. Are we hemorrhaging money? Are we spending it well?” Houck added.
They are clear, Parrish said during a forum hosted by Plains Cotton Growers and the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce.
“The Texas Comptroller’s office gives out what they call silver stars or transparency awards. Lubbock County is one of only 13 counties in the entire state that has received this award,” Parrish said.
Judge or administrator
The job is part judge and part administrator. But Houck and Parrish disagree on the emphasis.
Houck said, “I guess you could say it’s a 50-50 split of judicial which is uncontested probate cases, some mental health and some general functions like that.”
“You can be more efficient with that [judicial] process and make it a one-day, two-day kind of process a week and spend the rest of the time focusing on the county business,” Houck said.
Parrish objects.
“You have to realize the administrative role of the county judge is really only 30, 35 percent of the job. 65 percent of the job plus is judicial. You oversee all probates and guardianships and mental health cases for Lubbock County,” Parrish said.
“Make sure that we’re also taking care of the people of Lubbock County in their greatest need. And that is when they lose a loved one to death or they’re losing a loved one to incapacity. I want to make sure that we’re compassionate and passionate about what we’re doing as a county judge,” Parrish said.
But on the administration side of the job, Parrish touts his role in helping to bring the Leprino cheese plant as a major accomplishment along with a new Texas Veterans Cemetery. He also serves on the I-27 committee and a Texas Secretary of State elections steering committee.
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