LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Voters in Buffalo Springs Lake are choosing board members for Precinct 1, Precinct 3 and one at-large position, which will be decided by all of Lubbock County.
The at-large race includes the former general manager of Buffalo Springs Lake, who is asking voters to put him on the board that fired him months ago.
The Lubbock County Water Control and Improvement Board is the governing body at Buffalo Springs Lake. In July, the board removed Greg Thornton as general manager, after members accused him of using his position for personal gain.
“I think it’s the other way around. I think they are the ones abusing their positions,” Thornton said.
Removal from general manager position
Thornton was hired as general manager of Buffalo Springs Lake in April 2025. The board removed him in July of 2026. At the center of the decision were a handful projects missing permits or permit payments.
The board fired Thornton for what it called “misconduct arising from his use of his position to obtain district permits for his private construction business without paying permit fees.”
“We had probably $5 million worth of houses in process. They shut the jobs down,” Thornton said.
Thornton said the missing permits and payments were the result of an administrative error.
“We never started a house without submitting plans. We never skirted any inspections. I never told anybody that they had to use my company to build a house,” Thornton said.
During the same meeting, the board found Thornton’s company, GT Construction, engaged in repeated conduct constituting grounds for debarment and that the contractor be indefinitely debarred.
“They basically put me out of business. Put a lifetime ban on me,” Thornton said.
The board also made a motion asking the Buffalo Springs Police Department to carry out an investigation alongside the district attorney.
Thornton said he has a track record voters can trust.
“It speaks for itself. Bring new houses, new families, new sponsorships a lot more good than bad,” Thornton said.
Incumbent running for reelection
Also on the ballot is incumbent Casey Klingensmith, who works in real estate in Lubbock. He said the current board is working to change how the lake has been run in the past.
“We just have to get the old guard, the old way of doing things, the good ol’ boy system has to go away. There’s no room for that the modern version of Buffalo Springs Lake,” Klingensmith said.
Klingensmith said some past decisions have been good for raising funds but were not the right choice for many of the residents who use the lake throughout the year.
“The old way of doing things was like, up the gate fee, up the gate fee, up the gate fee to make more money. That doesn’t help the person with three kids who wants to come out and have a great time,” Klingensmith said.
Klingensmith said he has already done good work for the lake and is determined to show Lubbock voters they can trust him.
“I’m honest, and I’m hard working, and I just care. I’m going to do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. When I make a mistake, I’m going to own it and do the next right thing,” Klingensmith said.
Board statement
KCBD reached out to the Lubbock County Water Control and Improvement Board. The board president did not give an interview but provided a statement saying the board is aware of an active criminal investigation into the allegations against Thornton and the board cannot comment further.
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