RISON - Incoming County Judge Jim Houston said he considers Cleveland County’s declining population a “high priority” matter and intends to address it when he officially takes office in January.Houston came out on top in a four-way race in the Republican primary for county judge. With no other candidates in the race, he will be unopposed in the November general election.After moving to the county about two years ago, Houston admitted that he was unaware of the degree to which the county’s population has been declining until his runoff opponent, Stephen McClellan of New Edinburg, brought it up during a political forum.He said that prompted him to do more research on the matter and he now considers it one of the main issues facing the county. Loss of population, he explained, has a major impact on finances for local government and schools - the fewer people, the less tax revenue that local government collects on purchases, utilities, etc. while at the same time still trying to maintain the same levels of services.Houston said bring more jobs to the county will help. He said his approach will be two-fold: find ways to cultivate more jobs through small business development, and promote the comity as a great place to raise a family and do business.With a limited number of workers and a limited infrastructure, Houston said Cleveland County is not suited to target a major manufacturer. Instead, he said he felt the county is in a better position to expand existing businesses and perhaps attract new small businesses that would support the major manufacturers already in the region.Houston spent most of his career in manufacturing, and a big part of that was in procurement, which meant it was his job to find local fabricators that could make some of the parts needed to build his company’s product. That experience, he said, made him realize how valuable small shops can be to larger companies, and how lucrative those contrac...
To access content, please login or purchase a subscription.