CORYELL COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — A former Coryell County commissioner is seeking a return to local office after weeks of public backlash over a proposed county budget that would raise property taxes.
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Ray Ashby, who previously served on the Commissioners Court, said he’s running to help the county move forward.
“For us to look forward to the future – I mean, we can't do anything about what's happened. We can't do anything about the tax rate that's set. You just can't,” Ashby said.
“The community is a little bit upset. They feel like they've been kind of blindsided by all of this. And to start with, you know, all of these things don’t happen just yesterday. They didn’t just happen yesterday – they happened years ago,” Ashby added.
Ashby said his campaign focuses on unity and long-term planning for the county’s future.
“I want to get a cohesive board — a cohesive Commissioners Court — where we all work together, where we agree on as much as we can. I mean, nobody’s going to agree on everything. Everybody has their own opinions and their own views of things. But in the scheme of things, I think every commissioner wants to better their community and better our county,” he said.
Ashby said his goal is to ensure the next generation can thrive in Coryell County.
“It hurts, because again, I was born here and raised here, and I love this county. And yes, that is where we’re at. I have kids and grandkids here, and I’m not sure if my granddaughter could survive here, you know. I just think that, you know, we’ve got to start somewhere,” he said.
He added that the county must start thinking further ahead.
“And put forth the effort and the thought, you know. You’ve got to have some forethought. You’ve got to think ahead. We have to start doing long-range planning — which I don’t see a lot of,” Ashby said.
