Boren wants back on council 19 years later in District 4 special election, citing experience, unfinished business

Gary Boren served on the Lubbock City Council in District 3 from 2002 until March 2007 when he resigned. He’d like to return – this time in District 4 in the June 27 special election to replace outgoing councilman Brayden Rose.

“I’m not a spectator. I’m not one to sit there and watch a game play out at City Hall,” Boren said.

Experience is a word he used over and over with LubbockLights.com – adding, “I bring a whole wealth of experience in government, in business.”

“I’m a born-again Christian man. … I accepted Jesus at an early age in my life. I’m pro-life and I’m pro-family. I’m pro-Lubbock and Lubbock neighborhoods,” Boren said.

“I went to Texas Tech – worked my way to school, working at the gas companies – and then went into business with my mom. And she was a great leader, a great woman and a great leader. We were in business many years and we sold our business in 2017,” Boren said, referencing G. Boren Services.

“Three different governors have appointed me to solve problems in Texas,” Boren said.

He referenced Governor Mark White, who appointed him to chair (1986-87) the Texas Council on Vocational Education, which was merged into another council in 1993.

“When the appraisals were running rampant and high, Governor Rick Perry put me on the Texas Appraisal Task Force,” Boren said of his 2006 appointment.

Governor Greg Abbott appointed him to the Brazos River Authority six years ago.

He said he likes taking on impossible challenges – for example a five-year effort to get Paul McCartney to perform in Lubbock. That happened in the then-named United Spirit Arena in 2014.

“I was told that there’s no way Paul McCartney was going to come to Lubbock. They’ve been trying to get him to come to Lubbock. I went to work to get Sir Paul McCartney to come to Lubbock. … It took five years to do it – five years – but we got it,” Boren said.

Technically it was a different company – not Boren’s Llano Estacado Music – that did the promotion. However, Bill Kerns wrote for the Avalanche Journal in 2014 that someone “would be foolish” to think McCartney had come to Lubbock without Boren’s effort.

Political priorities

Boren’s political priorities are cracking down on crime, building up local water infrastructure and keeping taxes low.

“We are not staffed to deal with the crime issues in Lubbock,” Boren said.

In April, the Lubbock Police Department reported a 12 percent reduction in “Part 1” crimes – what many would think of as the most serious crimes.

But more needs to be done, he said.

“I’m real concerned that we’re not being more aggressive about our police and doing what it takes to not only recruit but also to retain those that have 5 to 9 years of experience. I don’t want to lose them to the cities because they pay more,” Boren said.

“I was part of the council that built the 100-year water supply. … We negotiated a major water supply with Boone Pickens up by Amarillo and secured that through the Canadian River Municipality Authority,” Boren said.

“I’d like to update that to be 150-year water supply. … Let’s start looking for the next opportunity, not Lake 7, but Lake 8, because we’re on the edge of a Chihuahua desert and water is critical.” Boren said.

The groundwater supply in West Texas comes from the Ogallala Aquifer, but levels have been dropping for decades. Even further down is a body of water called the Santa Rosa. But it’s considered brackish or salty.

“We’ve got to look at desalinization,” Boren said.

He wants to hold the line on city spending. That means asking tough questions, he said – not only concerning property taxes but local fees.

“F-E-E equals T-A-X. It’s the same thing, just spelled differently,” Boren said.

Whoever wins the race will fill an unexpired term.

“My goal is 2 years, get in there, get this job done,” he said.

“I have no special interest. … I work for the citizens. I work for their best interests, not special interests at City Hall,” Boren said

Stance on data centers

Lubbock should be careful with proposed data centers and consider them one by one, he said. One small data center opened this year in Central Lubbock. Another proposal in Northeast Lubbock was put on hold.

The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce held a panel discussion recently on the Texas Tech campus concerning data centers, which we covered here. Stephen Sanders, former candidate for mayor, started a signature drive to force the Lubbock City Council into accepting an 18-month moratorium on new data center projects.

“I’m very leery of them,” Boren said of data centers.

“I feel really good about the LEDA and I feel good about P&Z [the Planning and Zoning Commission] because they have set real strong standards that City Council is setting to protect our water,” Boren said.

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