UPDATED: Palo Pinto appoints Pollock as Pct. 3 commissioner
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Apr. 14—PALO PINTO — County Judge Shane Long appointed a longtime Texas Department of Transportation supervisor on Thursday to succeed retiring Pct. 3 Commissioner Mike Pierce.
"Being from TxDOT, I know all the commissioners," Jim Pollock said Friday. "I've partnered with them plenty of times — they all know me, and I know all of them."
Pollard, 55, worked 31 years at the state highway department before retiring as assistant supervisor in the Mineral Wells office.
His career puts him in the right lane to lead a county road and bridge crew. The precinct crew numbers three, whereas Pollock supervised up to 15 with TxDOT. He also oversaw contracts hired out by the highway department.
"Over in Precinct 3, they all know me," he said, adding he'd already spoken to the crew. "I said there ain't going to be no change. I ain't going in and cleaning house, so you ain't got nothing to worry about."
Pollock, a Santo High School graduate, also brings familiarity with writing an annual budget to the position — handling much larger budgets in his TxDOT role.
His main adjustment might be in joining a county commissioners court, which also sets policies for residents.
It won't be that big an adjustment, though. Pollock retired after serving a decade on the Strawn ISD Board of Trustees in 2020.
"It's going to be kind of new to me," he said of his new political role. "I sat in on one (meeting), and it was kind of similar to the school board."
His wife, Carol, is an English Language Arts teacher and dyslexia coordinator at Strawn Middle School.
Long said Pollock was his top pick from a strong field.
"I had six citizens that put in their resumes for consideration to be appointed," Long said. "We had a good turnout for that and some good candidates."
Pollock said he and Long had discussed road needs "and some of the bridge projects" in the precinct, which basically covers southwest Palo Pinto County.
Pollock will begin serving on May 1. Pierce's unexpired term extends through 2024.
Filing for the next four-year term is this December, with party primaries in March 2024.
"I'm young, my wife is still a school teacher," he said. "I figure I'll give this a shot and do it for a little bit. I'm going to just wait and see, and if I like it OK I'll run again. I just kind of want to get my feet wet."
