LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish is running for his third term.
He says he’s proud of the work he’s done since taking office in 2019, like boosting Lubbock County’s infrastructure and expansion, and the new medical examiner’s office set to open next week.
“[The medical examiner’s office] is going to be the crown jewel not just for Lubbock and the region, but really for the entire United States,” Parrish said. “We’ve already had folks coming from all over the United States looking at our facility saying, ‘we want to mirror what you’re doing in Lubbock because you’re doing it right’”.
But he still believes there’s more work to be done, as Lubbock County is expected to grow to a population of 500,000 by 2040.
Judge Parrish says he has a clear vision for how to prepare for and sustain that growth should he be reelected.
“There are three pillars of county government: law enforcement and public safety, roads and infrastructure, and our courts system,” Parrish said. “So we have got to make sure that we are ready in all three of those for the influx of people that are moving into Lubbock. And it’s not just that we have to look ahead in the next 20 years, we have to look ahead today. Today is the day we look ahead for 20 years from now.”
The comments come despite criticism from his opponent that the county has no clear “X on a map.”
“This criticism of not sharing a focus, not seeing, I think is a little shortsighted,” Parrish said. “We have fulfilled the mission that you’ve tasked us with. Build us good roads, give us good law enforcement, give us a good medical examiner’s office. We have done that and done that very well, and we will keep continuing to do that.”
Judge Parrish is no stranger to criticism, saying he’s seen contention on the Commissioner’s Court in the past several years.
“I’m the County Judge. I’m the leader of this county and so I understand that and I know that rocks get thrown,” Parrish said. “I’m tough enough to handle that. But understand that we will continue to do the right thing for the right reason every time.”
Parrish said that doing the right thing includes adequate funding to support public safety across the county.
“We can cut some discretionary spending out of some other departments, out of clubhouses and parks, but we cannot, I cannot, tolerate us cutting public safety,” Parrish said. “Our sheriff’s department, our fire department, our juvenile justice center. We cannot cut public safety.”
The County Judge job is more than just managing and supporting the county administratively. Judge Parrish said 70 percent of his work revolves around probate, guardianship, and mental health cases — all things he said he has years of experience doing as an attorney.
“So I can uniquely wear the two hats that it takes to do this job, to fully do this job,” Parrish said. “I’m not going to shirk one side of the job to give time to the other side of the job. We’re going to give 100 percent to the job, everything that it needs to do.”
Parrish said he is confident that he can continue to serve Lubbock County well.
“Yes. It’s been challenging,” Parrish said. “But it’s also been wildly successful, and I want to keep doing the job.”
Judge Parrish faces Wesley Houck in the Republican Primary. No Democrat filed for county judge this election cycle.
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