Two Republicans are still vying for their party’s nomination to the Precinct 1 seat on the Grayson County Commissioner’s Court. The runoff election between Josh Marr and Scott Renfro will take place on May 28.
Early voting is May 20-24.
The winner of this contest will face Democrat Andre Luper in the fall. Marr and Renfro were recently asked to answer three questions for the Herald Democrat.
Marr’s answers are below.
Q. What is your vision for the future of Grayson County? What changes would you advocate for and why?
As everyone can see with the construction happening on nearly every highway in the county, our county is currently growing and will continue to grow exponentially. With the current construction of the semiconductor facilities, I see our county as having a unique ability to bring in supporting tech companies that will offer high paying jobs to keep our local economy strong and healthy. As new development and new industries are wanting to move to our area of Silicon Prairie; it will take a strong leader, like myself, that has the skills and experience in negotiating with the involved parties to ensure the county’s growth is smart, healthy, and prosperous for all. As proven with the cement kiln in Dorchester and the railyard in Gunter, I will stand and fight for the people of Grayson County to keep bad growth out of this county.
Q. What do you consider your greatest strengths and weaknesses for the commissioner’s court position?
My greatest strength, as your commissioner, is that I am a proactive leader and not a reactive follower. The current court is catching up to the growth and I plan on getting us ahead of the growth. This will involve being active with our State Legislatures to get bills passed that will benefit growing counties and cities, such as Grayson County. We are currently handcuffed by laws that were passed in 2017 and 2023. The greatest weakness for both candidates in this race is that neither of us have the 12 years of experience we are losing with Commissioner Jeff Whitmire leaving. I am the only candidate that has diligently attended or viewed every commissioner’s court session with the current court, consistently attend the RMA Board meetings (NTRA and the toll road), and regularly speak with the Commissioners and the County Judge to keep up to date on issues going on with the county.”
Q. What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing Grayson County and how can commissioners impact those challenges?
The biggest challenge facing Grayson County is the overcrowding of our jail system. I am the only candidate that has met with Sheriff Tom Watt and Chief Deputy Tony Bennie to discuss the needs and downfalls of the current jail system as well as take a tour of the facility. The current jail is constantly at or over capacity with over twenty inmates held outside of the county on a daily basis. An expansion is currently being worked on for the current jail to alleviate the overcrowding for a short period. As your next commissioner, I plan on being proactive with the other commissioners in getting a plan ready to have the new criminal justice complex built that will fit the needs of our growing population and away from downtown Sherman. Ultimately, this will be a bond election that will be decided by the voters of Grayson County.
