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Vote: John Leonard for commissioner, Lubbock County precinct 4

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Lubbock voters in 2002 approved $83 million of bonds to construct a new jail near the airport. Now, the price tag is approaching $100 million—an astounding $17 million more than the voters were told would be spent—and the facility is still not open for inmates.

As reported Feb. 6 in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, county officials claim that the jail, which is almost 18 months late in opening, "is at least 7 million dollars under budget."

John Leonard, a Lubbock City Council member who is a candidate for Lubbock County Commissioner, Precinct 4, in the upcoming Republican Primary election, believes that any county official who says that the jail is “under budget” is simply not telling citizens the truth.

Here is how elected officials have determined that an $83 million jail that has increased to $100 million in cost, despite being almost 18 months late in opening, is “under budget:”

The commissioners court quietly and without fanfare issued an additional $12,765,000 in Certificates of Obligation for the new jail to be added to the $82 million approved by the voters in 2002.
Numerous county officials have said the county is being reimbursed $4,000 per day for being late. However, the interest alone that is being paid on the unopened new jail's debt is approximately $9,000 per day.
Property tax revenues at Lubbock County have increased from $15 million to $45 million (205%). Where's the money?

In addition to these issues, Lubbock County is paying dozens, if not hundreds, of employees to “work” at the unopened jail! Where are these employees now and what are they doing for the citizens of Lubbock County?

The bottom line is that the Lubbock County commissioners court has been playing with numbers and quietly increasing its debt in order to make the claim that a $100 million jail, originally budgeted for $83 million, is “under budget.”

It’s time for our county’s elected officials to tell the truth about the jail. The meter is still ticking and the new jail is still not open.

My name is John Leonard and I am running in the March Republican Primary to become the next Lubbock County Commissioner for Precinct 4.

I have worked the last 4 years to provide efficient city government as a City Councilman. I am a proven conservative. I have cut budgets including the current city budget. I have looked to the future to provide for our water supply. I have worked to provide cheap electricity for years to come. I have cut taxes in the some of the worst economic times since the great depression. I have never voted to raise taxes. I have helped plan for our transportation needs, currently chairing the Metropolitan Planning Commission Transportation Policy Committee. I am against big government.

Now I have concerns about the exploding county government. Some commissioners talk about conservatism but don’t show up on game day. They continue to raise your taxes year after year, even in the worst of economic times. They continue to vote raises for themselves on non-election years hoping the voters won’t remember. They still raise taxes for a jail that is 18 months behind schedule and payroll for the jail that has not opened. They spent money they didn’t have.

My voting record is proven and conservative. So I ask you, “Who do you want to entrust oversight of your county tax dollars to for the next four years?” I am asking you to vote John Leonard for County Commissioner Precinct 4.