The Race for County Judge is About to Get Interesting

SAN ANGELO, TX — He currently is a declared candidate for County Commissioner, Precinct 4. But tomorrow jeweler Todd Kolls is holding a press conference in the lobby of the Cactus Hotel a 3:30 p.m. Big announcements are always made in the lobby of the Cactus Hotel. This press conference will be “regarding changes to his candidacy for the 2022 Republican Primary."

Kolls announced June 11 he was running against incumbent Precinct 4 Commissioner Bill Ford. Since then, the precinct 4 race has become crowded with more candidates. Prior to Mr. Kolls’ announcement, Dustin Barton was first to announce. Since Kolls’ announced candidacy, Coco Simpson and Lori Wilson announced their intentions to run. Adding incumbent Ford to the list of candidates, there are five, making the field very crowded.

Meanwhile, no one has announced officially a candidacy for county judge. The county judge position is an administrative post, similar to being the mayor of the county, not a position requiring a law degree.

Current County Judge Steve Floyd announced last year his intention to retire. Names of four possible candidates have been tossed around on the Republican side, including SMD 5 City Councilman Lane Carter, Judge Floyd’s operations guy Nathan Southard, County Treasurer Diana Spieker, and Joe Hyde of San Angelo LIVE!

Spieker unequivocally said she is not running this afternoon and Southard couldn’t be reached. Carter said he is considering his options, but if he were to formally announce his candidacy he’d have to resign his SMD 5 council seat. San Angelo LIVE! Publisher Joe Hyde is also considering a run but no one will believe he’s serious if and until he formerly announces. We are not aware of any Democrat candidates.

If Kolls announces tomorrow as many expect, he will be the first person to officially declare their candidacy for county judge for the March 1 Republican Primary. With Kolls leaving the crowded field for precinct 4 commissioner, the race remains crowded with four Republican candidates remaining.

How Ford attracted so many opponents is curious. Ford made news two years ago when he proposed giving each commissioner and the county judge a raise. His reasoning was that because Tom Green County lagged comparable counties in pay for the elected positions, not enough young people were interested in filling these positions. Ford may have inadvertently discovered another path to attracting citizen interest in running for county government — by proposing a pay raise for elected officials and get pelted.

Kolls did not return our call.