Two former Plano City Council members are among the candidates vying to serve on the Collin County Commissioners Court as the region grapples with record growth.
Collin County’s population is expected to nearly double to more than 2.2 million residents by 2060, assuming migration rates continue at the current pace, according to the Texas Demographic Center. Overseeing the county’s government is the Commissioners Court, made up of four commissioners and a county judge.
The county judge is elected at-large while the four commissioners are elected on four-year terms from equal precincts based on population. The court oversees administrative services of the county government, including public works, health care services, facilities, budgets and more.
Early voting runs through Feb. 27. Election day is March 3. Find polling locations and hours at Collin County’s elections website.
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The county switched to hand-marked paper ballots last year. Unlike Dallas County, registered voters in Collin County can cast a ballot at any vote center across the county during the early voting period and on election day.
Here’s who’s on the ballot in county-level races.
Collin County judge
Former Plano City Council member Rick Grady is challenging incumbent Chris Hill in the Republican primary for Collin County judge. Grady, 77, a Vietnam War veteran, told The Dallas Morning News that voters should choose him over his opponent because he has more experience in government. Before his eight years on the Plano City Council, Grady was president of the Collin County Homeless Coalition and served for about seven years on city boards in Plano, including on the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Hill, 51, represented Precinct 3 on the Collin County Commissioners Court for four years before he was elected county judge in 2018. Before that he worked as a certified public accountant and a pastor. Hill has the advantage in fundraising and boasts endorsements from prominent Republican politicians such as state Sen. Angela Paxton and Republican Party of Texas chair Abraham George.
At a forum at Prestonwood Baptist Church, both candidates struck a balance between fiscal conservatism while preparing the county, which is home to some of the nation’s fastest-growing cities, for more development. Grady said that if elected, he would work to build roads and “spend money wisely” while making sure even rural areas of the county have access to emergency medical services. Hill touted his record of voting no on tax increases and praised the county’s existing long-term transportation plans.
Collin County Judge Chris Hill in 2020. Hill, who was elected county judge in 2018, is facing challenger Rick Grady, a former Plano City Council member.
Lynda M. Gonzalez / Staff Photographer
On housing affordability, Grady said that homes needed to be built faster to keep up with demand because growth in the county has not been managed well so far. Hill said that if re-elected, he would keep county property taxes low to maintain affordability.
At a time when “fighting radical Islam” is increasingly a mainstay in Texas Republican leaders’ rhetoric, Hill denounced the Muslim-centric development formerly known as “EPIC City” proposed in Collin and Hunt counties, saying that he would not support any development “grounded in discrimination.” Hill rejected an application for the development last month and slammed Grady for participating in a candidate forum held at the mosque that is linked to the project. Grady said he would not approve any development that was in violation of the U.S. or Texas Constitution but did not address his participation at the EPIC forum.
Rick Grady (far right, photographed with Angela Miner and Tom Harrison in 2018) has said that, if elected, he would work to build roads and “spend money wisely” while making sure even rural areas of the Collin County have access to emergency medical services. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)
Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer
Both candidates said they support Collin County’s recent shift to using hand-marked paper ballots during elections but would oppose hand-counting ballots because it is time-consuming and expensive.
Also running for the post is Democratic candidate John R. Buster Brown, who is unopposed in his party’s primary.
Collin County Commissioner, Precinct 4
Commissioner Duncan Webb is not running for reelection for the court’s Precinct 4 seat. Woody Huffines and Shelby Williams are competing in the Republican primary for the post.
Both GOP candidates expressed the challenge for local leaders to keep up with growth.
Woody Huffines (left) and Shelby Williams are competing in the Republican primary for Collin County Commissioner in Precinct 4.
Fred Mahusay, Smiley Pool / Fredshots Photography, Dallas Morning News
Huffines, 65, said he’s well equipped to oversee the county’s budget to ensure efficient use of taxpayer dollars with a business-minded approach. He said he thinks leaders should “stop looking for a pot of gold” and start looking at other opportunities to use tax dollars efficiently.
“Collin County Commissioners Court is the board of directors of Collin County,” he said. “We need full-time professional management … to help us lower taxes [and] use money effectively and efficiently.”
Huffines said he sees running for office as a way to give back, not as advancement for a political career.
“If I’m spending time polishing the political resume for the next thing I’m going to run for instead of doing the blocking and tackling and hard work of managing a budget, I’m not serving the Collin County citizens,” he said.
Huffines lives in a portion of Dallas that is in the southwest corner of Collin County.
Campaign literature and merchandise from Woody Huffines and Shelby Williams, candidates running in the Republican primary for Precinct 4 on the Collin County Commissioners Court.
Angela Mathew
Williams, 50, served on Plano City Council from 2019 to 2025 and previously chaired Collin County’s Republican Party. He lives in Plano and has a career in consulting.
“We have to prepare for all those people before they get here, not try to retrofit the county to suit them after they’re already here,” he said of the county’s projected growth.
He said his most urgent goals will be to ensure the county has adequate water and energy by promoting infrastructure and boosting conservation efforts.
His goals also include accelerating plans for transportation infrastructure and promoting “appropriate diversification” of businesses and housing in the county. His time on City Council has prepared him to handle budgets and costs to avoid raising taxes, he said.
Democrat Julie Holmer is also running for the Precinct 4 seat and is unopposed in her party’s primary.
Other seats
Republican Michael Slaughter is running unopposed for the court’s Precinct 2 seat to replace Cheryl Williams, who is not running for reelection.
Also contested on the GOP side are the Collin County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, 3 and 4 seats.
Collin County’s Justices of the Peace hold court on issues such as hot checks, truancy, peace bonds and some traffic violations. They also conduct magistrate functions such as search-and-arrest warrants, arraignments and examining trials to decide if a criminal suspect should be held on bond until a grand jury votes on a criminal indictment.
Justice of the Peace candidates in Collin and Denton Counties take the stage during a forum for Republicans ahead of the March primary at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.
Anja Schlein / Special Contributor
Paul M. Raleeh and C.D. Mayfield are competing for the Precinct 1 post in the Republican primary. There is no Democrat running in the Precinct 1 race.
Danielle Sposito and Mike Missildine are vying for the Precinct 3 seat in the Republican primary, with Irvin Lynn Barrett the sole Democrat with eyes on the post.
Randy Farrar, Stephen Kallas and Vincent Venegoni are on the ballot for the Republican primary for the Precinct 4 post. Eli Worthy, 18, is the only Democrat running for the seat.