Republican primary voters in Rockwall County have re-elected County Judge Frank New, signaling support for New’s policies to regulate development and hold homebuilders accountable for infrastructure costs.
New won Tuesday’s GOP primary with 58 percent of the vote over challenger Scott Muckensturm, who campaigned on partnering with developers.
The two Rockwall County commissioners on the March 3 Republican primary ballot also won.
Precinct 4 Commissioner John Stacy took 61 percent of the vote, running on a record of protecting taxpayers and standing up to “aggressive development.”
Republican Precinct 2 Commissioner Dana Macalik, who campaigned on putting “families over developers,” ran unopposed.
“The ripples from this election will extend far beyond our county line and that is precisely why it matters,” wrote Dennis London, a councilman in the Rockwall County city of McLendon-Chisholm.
The development issue came to a head over a proposed residential project of approximately 6,800 homes in an unincorporated area of Rockwall County.
“That project is larger than some North Texas cities,” wrote London. “For perspective, the entire City of McLendon-Chisholm has roughly 3,500 homes, and this single project would nearly double that footprint in one concentrated and unincorporated area.”
Homebuilder D.R. Horton sued the county last year, claiming commissioners exceeded their authority by imposing road and other infrastructure requirements on the developers.
New accused D.R. Horton of trying to bypass local authority and said the regulations are intended to protect rural communities from unchecked urban sprawl from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
“Rockwall County didn’t ‘ban’ development. It didn’t deny property rights,” wrote London. “What it did do was require lawful infrastructure accountability through the statutory apportionment process by asking the developer to address proportional impacts to roads, drainage, water, emergency services, and other public infrastructure before proceeding.”
“If Rockwall County voters affirm leadership that insists on proportional infrastructure, binding water commitments, and fiscal responsibility, then that helps strengthen the position of counties statewide facing similar pressures,” added London.
Rockwall voters did just that on Tuesday.
New was first elected as Rockwall’s county judge in 2022, defeating incumbent David Sweet.
In Texas, the county judge serves as the chief executive and presides over a “court” of four commissioners elected in geographic precincts to staggered four-year terms.
None of the Republican primary winners face Democrat opponents in November.
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