Tim Green, running for City Council District 4 in the June 27 special election to replace Brayden Rose, believes the city needs someone who understands growth.
“Government officials need to be elected from – people that represent the people – that are people who have been in business or have done things as opposed to just career politicians,” Green said.
“I believe that specifically the City of Lubbock, they need somebody from the growth and infrastructure background like I have,” Green added.
His background gives him the insight to know what Lubbock needs, he said.
“I’ve been building houses for 35 years. So I know about growth and how growth works. … I know what directions that Lubbock needs to grow. I know the players, all the people that are involved in the growth industry from the private sector,” Green said.
He also knows the people in the city who oversee permits and codes.
Tim Green at a glance
- Occupation: Homebuilder and business owner, former Lubbock firefighter.
- Age: 60.
- Education: Coronado High School (1983), degree from Lubbock Christian University (1989).
- Hometown: Lubbock.
- Residence: Lubbock.
- Public service: Served 15 years with the Lubbock Fire Department, supporter of Habitat for Humanity, Homes for Heroes, Make-A-Wish homebuilding projects and Little League.
- Family: Widower, father of six and grandfather.
- Background: Spent 15 years as a firefighter and more than 35 years in homebuilding, constructing more than 1,000 homes.
Why now?
“My wife passed away two-and-a-half years ago. She was a big purpose in my life,” Green said.
She battled cancer for six years before she passed away, Green said.
“My purpose in life was to take care of her and watch over and protect her,” Green said.
“Maybe this is my new calling, my new purpose in life. And that’s what I believe – that maybe that’s what this is,” Green said.
He described himself as a “faithful” person.
“Protecting citizens by keeping rates low is my focus and helping develop infrastructure and growth is my other focus and then public safety,” he added.
The candidates of District 4
Voting locations
- Click here to see early voting locations (June 15-23)
- Click here to see Election Day polling places (June 27)
Biggest priorities
Infrastructure, such as roads and water, is necessary for new growth in Lubbock, he said. That’s how new revenue comes in and helps protect current property owners from rising tax rates.
“My 35 years of building experience has really helped give me those skills and knowledge to understand how to do that,” Green said.
But crime is also top of mind for Green.
“Chief [Seth] Herman has done a really good job of implementing new procedures to help with bringing that crime rate down. Still, I feel like he’s working with one hand tied behind his back, so to speak, because we don’t have enough patrol officers. We have 454 officers, and we probably need at least 500 and maybe more,” Green said.
“Our crime rate has gone down 12 percent over the last two years,” Green said.
Lubbock’s “Part 1” crimes – things like murder, robbery, aggravated assault, etc. – were down 12 percent comparing 2024 with 2025, according to a report released by the police department in April.
“We’re doing really well with our fire department and the police department. I feel like we are understaffed, and I think the police chief and most people know, because our crime rate is too high still,” Green said.
Career path
“I’m a Coronado High School Mustang, graduated in 1983. So, I went to Tech as a walk-on for track and field and earned a scholarship while I was there,” Green said.
“While I was in college, I took the Lubbock Fire Department exam, entrance exam. And I was fortunate enough to get an interview,” Green said.
He was a junior in college when that happened. While working as a firefighter, he was also taking classes part time with Lubbock Christian University – getting his degree in 1989.
“I got on the fire department in ‘87, started building homes in ‘91. So, I was simultaneously building homes and running semi-professional races,” Green said.
He was both a firefighter and homebuilder from 1991 through 2002, when he retired from Lubbock Fire Rescue. He’s still proud of LFR.
“Right now, the fire department is a No. 1 ISO rated fire department, which that means they’re the top 2 percent of fire departments as far as quality goes in the United States,” Green said.
Data centers
LubbockLights.com asked Green about data centers, because they’ve been a prominent issue lately. For example, we recently reported on a signature drive that, if successful, would force the City Council to either impose an 18-month moratorium on new data center projects or take the issue to local voters.
“I’ve done a tremendous amount of studying on data centers,” Green said.
“I can’t … say, ‘Hey, I’m against a data center,’ or ‘I’m for a data center,’ until I see a proposal,” Green said.
He can’t take a categorical stand because each proposal is different, he said.
Noise might be an issue or light pollution. But the two biggest issues are water and power. Cooling systems for the computers in a data center need to be “closed loop,” Green said, meaning water is not wasted but recycled over and over.
And the power needed for a data center cannot put so much stress on the local grid that it leads to higher electric bills.
