The only county executive race in the Nov. 5 general election is for Wichita County Precinct 3 commissioner.
Republican incumbent Barry Mahler is running against Deandra Chenault, a former Wichita Falls city councilwoman.
Mahler said he is proud of the achievements the province has made during his time in office.
“We are quite proud that we have been able to carry out a major renovation of our provincial facilities. Of course, the new law enforcement center was something that had to be done. I think it will benefit taxpayers for a long time,” he said.
Mahler said that aside from the LEC, the county did not have to go to voters to approve bond issuance for any of its projects.
“By January 24, Wichita County was virtually out of debt, with the exception of the long-term bond for the jail,” Mahler said.
Mahler said challenges facing the county include the effects of inflation and actions by the Texas Legislature.
“It seems like all the things we do in the province, especially in our road and bridge business, have probably increased more than the average inflation rate,” he said.
He said counties are “the application arm of state government” when it comes to legislative actions.
‘We don’t do that, we don’t write laws. We do not write regulations. We do what the state legislature tells us to do,” he said.
Chenault said it’s time for a change in provincial government.
“My opponent has been in the seat for fifteen years and I feel like it’s time for a change, for someone with fresh ideas, some new blood, for someone who will be for the people, someone who will show up when necessary ,” she said.
Chenault said government agencies in the province need to work together.
“We can have some sort of quarterly meetings where we can all work together as a community if we want to help each other and find common ground for the mission of the county as a whole,” she said.
She also said some Wichita Falls neighborhoods need more voting locations.
“I want to make sure that the north and east sides of the city have voting centers for early voting and Election Day. When I ran for city council, it was a big deal. We didn’t have many seats for early voting or Election Day. It was basically one place,” she said.
Chenault said she would like to hold more town hall meetings for transparency in government.
The Times Record News asked both candidates about growth and economic development in the province and about pay for provincial employees.
TRN: Wichita Falls and Wichita County are seen by some as lagging behind other parts of Texas in growth and economic development. What should the province do about this?
Chenault: When you go to college and graduate, you should be able to get a job that allows you to earn a living wage so you can provide for yourself and your family. What do we do to make sure that these students who go to MSU and offer them a job want to stay here? I mean, you can’t live on $7 to $10 an hour. Even if you don’t have a family, that’s not money.
Mahler: I think our time is yet to come. I truly believe if you drive to the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex you will see the metroplex being expanded into Decatur. Now, that’s where it is, and it’ll come further north. I think there will be people looking for our lower real estate prices that we have compared to other places. And I think our time is yet to come, and when it does, I think we’ll see our population grow.
TRN: The province’s new budget provides significant raises to some select provincial employees. Does more need to be done?
Chenault: When I was on the city council, we had a gentleman who came in and he listed the wages that we were paying compared to some of the cities like Abilene and Lubbock and places that we normally compare to. And we were behind, and we were drastically behind. We can’t try to compete with these other places because this is Wichita Falls. We will never be Dallas. We will never be Abilene. Maybe we should see what they do and see what we don’t do, and see if we can be somewhere in between.
Mahler: Jim (County Judge Jim Johnson) tried to move things along. I don’t think this is excessive when compared to similar positions in similar provinces. It’s harder for people to understand when you live in a city like Wichita Falls, where the pay scale is not what it is in Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston, that that group of elected officials, including the commissioners, the two clerks, the Internal Revenue Service , assessor-collector, fell far behind when you compare counties of similar size and budget size to Wichita Falls.
It’s not a national race. Only District 3 residents will find it on their ballot.
More: Candidates will tackle issues from school vouchers to potholes at the Thursday forum
More: Wichita County wants to keep property taxes essentially the same through 2025
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Two veteran leaders vie for seat on County Commissioners Court
