Isn’t it awesome to live here in Denton County, home of two great universities and also a community college? Both our scholastic and athletic records within our public schools are enviable, and our private schools are also rated among the best in Texas.

Plus, we have huge lakes, native prairies, excellent and unique shopping, a top-notch music and entertainment scene, leading health care facilities, and 18 individual municipalities right here in Precinct 4.

Our Denton County is the 7th largest county in the state, population wise, and is also among the fastest growing counties in the entire country. In fact, Denton County’s population has increased by about 30% since the last census. This increase means that about 89 people a day move into Denton County, and that tremendous growth results in an increased need for government services. We now have over 1 million population, earlier than originally anticipated. In fact, right now, there are more than 40 new subdivisions platted or under development just here in Precinct 4. Given the normal household averages, projections show that within the next couple of years, more than 140,000 additional residents will live right here in Precinct 4!

Our challenge is to deliver necessary services to our residents while still keeping our property taxes as low as possible — in other words, being both efficient and effective in delivering our County services. Part of the required public services include law enforcement and the justice systems; we have responded to those needs by adding to the County Sheriff’s patrol staff, and by adding two new Courts to make the judicial process as speedy as possible.

One of our county’s most important duties is to provide fire and police protection to those living in the unincorporated areas, outside any city or municipality. After a tragic death revealed that these unincorporated subdivisions were being covered in a “hit or miss” fashion with no real plan for fire services, including ambulances and EMTs, I initiated a plan to provide fire and ambulance services throughout the county through the closest provider. This unique concept was approved by the Court in July of 2024, and since that time, our Fire Marchall’s team has contacted virtually every new and existing fire department in the unincorporated areas, with the great majority of them signing on with the Deton County Fire Protection plan. As the driving force behind this plan, I want to be sure that ultimately every Denton County resident is within the scope of a fully equipped fire and rescue department.

You may recall that, along with the rest of the country Denton County was hard hit by an “invisible enemy”, the Covid 19 virus. This once-in-a-lifetime challenge was met head-on by our County Health Department and Commissioners Court as we established the extremely successful mobile drive-through clinic held for several months at Texas Motor Speedway, right here in Precinct 4. We successfully vaccinated more than 400,000 individuals at TMS and other locations as the State Health Department designated which age groups were eligible for the vaccine. We also provided free COVID-19 testing during the height of the pandemic. We kept in touch by weekly emails to those who had registered on our portal, letting them know which numbers were being scheduled for vaccination and continually adding more people to the wait list. Finally, in the summer of 2021, we had reached the end of the wait list and every eligible person who requested a vaccine had been “shot.”

As your Precinct 4 Commissioner, I championed setting up this vaccination portal, publicizing its existence and even volunteered to help several times as the clinics were being conducted.

While we have accomplished a lot, we still have many challenges ahead for us, and it’s important to retain competent, steady leadership in Denton County so that we can stay the course. I ask for your vote to remain as Precinct 4 County Commissioner, and I hope that I have earned it.