Jenkins, 61, a Democrat, said continuing these programs and supporting emergency management initiatives across the county will be a focus in the next four years if reelected.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is inspiring for me and my team to have the opportunity to help people at their lowest point,\u201d Jenkins said at a news conference flanked by his wife, two toddlers, mother and nanny. \u201cNothing really matters if you can\u2019t keep people safe, so when disaster strikes, we try to do everything we can to help our neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Breaking News<\/p>\n
By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n With one week remaining for candidates to file for the March primary ballot, Jenkins so far faces no Democratic challenger, according to the candidates list released by the Dallas County Democratic Party. <\/p>\n Dallas County Republican Party Chair Allen West declined to release the GOP\u2019s list of primary candidates until the filing deadline on Dec. 8, but at least one Republican is vying to face Jenkins in the Nov. 3 general election. <\/p>\n Clay Lewis Jenkins, Dallas County Judge, speaks on his goals for his re-election at the Dallas County Democratic Party Headquarters on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, in Dallas. Jenkins will be campaigning for his fifth term. <\/p>\n Christine Vo \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n Mike Immler, 73, a retired Air Force colonel and former executive of two businesses geared toward service members, confirmed he intends to file for county judge in the Republican primary this week.<\/p>\n A first-time political candidate, Immler said he is not convinced the public is \u201cgetting the most value for the dollars being spent\u201d by the county government. After retiring last year as vice president for a financial planning service for military families, he said he has the time to dedicate his business and military acumen to public office.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll bring business skills to running a large organization like Dallas County,\u201d Immler said. \u201cI believe I can help improve financial responsibility, I can improve economic growth, I can improve social services and mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n Jenkins had $513,898 in campaign contributions as of June 30, the most recent financial report available. A report for Immler was not yet available.<\/p>\n Of dozens of state, county and judicial offices on the ballot next year, just a handful have contested Democratic primary races so far in blue Dallas County, according to the filing list. <\/p>\n Party chair Kardal Coleman said he expects a flurry of Democrats to complete paperwork in the remaining week of the filing period. <\/p>\n \u201cWe still have seven days left, and there will be excitement over the next seven days up and down the ballot,\u201d Coleman said.<\/p>\n Jenkins, who owns a personal injury law firm, first took office as county judge in 2011 and won his most recent four-year term in 2022 with 62 percent of the vote against Republican challenger Lauren Davis. County judges in Texas are not part of the judiciary but serve an administrative function, overseeing county government as members of Commissioners Court. <\/p>\n The county judge is paid $213,254 annually, according to human resources records. <\/p>\n Two other seats on the Commissioners Court are up for reelection next year. District 2 Commissioner Andrew Sommerman and District 4 Commissioner Elba Garcia have both filed for reelection. <\/p>\n Neither had fellow Democrats filed against them in the primary as of Monday morning. Pedra Geter, a psychologist and evangelical preacher, filed campaign finance paperwork earlier this year to run for Garcia\u2019s District 4 seat, but she did not return a phone call or text message asking if she would register for the ballot.<\/p>\n Looking ahead, Jenkins said there are still challenges. For the county to fully implement its jail diversion programs, modeled after an initiative launched in Miami-Dade County, Florida, 20 years ago, officials will have to advocate for changes in state law to allow for the involuntary commitment of defendants to mental health programs instead of jail. <\/p>\n He also pointed to successes he wants to continue, like the county\u2019s child care benefits program. The pilot allows business owners to receive about $1,500 per employee annually for child care costs if they also match that amount. While that doesn\u2019t fully cover daycare expenses, Candice Jonson, owner of Candee Skin in Desoto, said it has been impactful for her skincare business. <\/p>\n Candice Johnson, owner of Candee Skin, speaks about Clay Lewis Jenkins\u2019, Dallas County Judge, Employer Match Child Care Program at the Dallas County Democratic Party Headquarters on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, in Dallas. The program offers employees a $3000 annual subsidy to help provide childcare. <\/p>\n Christine Vo \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n One of Johnson\u2019s 17 employees is participating in the program, and it has allowed her to go from working one day a week to being employed full time, Johnson said at Jenkins\u2019 kickoff event.<\/p>\n Jenkins said he has also prioritized the county\u2019s support of Health and Human Services programs that have helped decrease the number of certain sexually transmitted diseases and better track data to improve public health.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are all kind of blocking and tackling sort of things,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of good work, and it\u2019s because there\u2019s a lot of good people in those positions making that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Touting progress his administration has made for small businesses and families, Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[36065,102,581,104,103,288,287],"class_list":{"0":"post-72048","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-clay-jenkins","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-county","11":"tag-dallas-headlines","12":"tag-dallas-news","13":"tag-elections","14":"tag-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Clay](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/KZBLPI5YU5HA7GCNZCLLRBAOS4.jpg\")
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