Republican Josh Marr is a Grayson County native who grew up on the family farm in Pottsboro. He earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Tarleton State University. He has worked in the oil industry and in private companies and currently is an independent property claims adjuster.
Marr will face Andre Luper in the November election for the Grayson County commissioners Precinct 1 seat. Early voting begins Oct. 21 and continues through Nov. 1.
He answered five questions about why he thinks Grayson County should choose him..
Q. Grayson County commissioners help set the budget for the county. Explain what experience you have with working with million-dollar budgets.
A. The experience I have in working with budgets comes from currently being an Independent Contractor, where I manage the budget of my own business operations, as well as being the President of my Homeowners Association consisting of 510 homes. As President of my Homeowners Association for the past 3 years, I have been tasked by the Board to oversee the operating expenses, review and negotiate contracts with vendors, ensure quality control with the contracted vendors, and prepare the annual budget for Board review and approval. These attributes will be vital when it comes to preparing the budget and managing the operations of the Precinct budget.
Q. Grayson County commissioners oversee a staff of road construction professionals. Explain what experience you have with staff management.
A. My past work experiences have led me to working as a Lead in a production line company. As Lead, I managed a group of 10-12 members to ensure that we met the production goals of the day and that operations ran smoothly. I also have experience in the oilfield as an Operations Manager where I managed a crew of up to 30 members to ensure that the needs of the contracted oil company were met. I will bring these same skills to the County and work alongside our Precinct Foreman to ensure that our crews are working diligently to take care of the needs of the county.
Q. County commissioners are a public face for the county. They meet with people about all kinds of concerns. Explain what about your past experience makes you a good public face for the county.
A. As your Republican nominee for County Commissioner, I have already met with many constituents in the precinct and county over concerns currently affecting the area. In the last several months, I have been active in fighting against the cement kiln in Dorchester including going to Austin to speak at a Senate hearing concerning the issue. I have been outspoken at multiple TCEQ meetings regarding rock crushers and cement batch plants. As your County Commissioner, I will continue to stand up, be a voice of the people, and fight for healthy prosperous growth of our county.
Q. If you were faced with increasing taxes or cutting services, which would you do and why?
A. One of my key points from the beginning of my campaign has been that I will not vote to raise your taxes without you, the voter, having a vote on the matter. The current Commissioner’s Court has done a good job with keeping a lean budget and was able to adopt a tax rate decrease for this upcoming year. If faced with an increase in tax rate or cutting services, I would easily look at trimming the excess off the budget to cut some services rather than increase the tax rate.
Q. If you had to decide between increasing taxes and giving county employees a raise, which would you do and why?
A. As with the last question, I will not vote to increase the tax rate. Fortunately (and unfortunately to a degree) for our County, we are one of the fastest growing counties in the State. This growth means that there are more houses and businesses being built each year to provide a larger tax base. Our county employees are the heartbeat of this County. The growth puts greater demand on their workload and I will push to ensure that they continue to get compensated accordingly.
