WICHITA COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL) — Seven months after Wichita County Judge Woody Gossom announced he will not seek reelection, a lifelong Wichita County resident and local businessman made his official bid for county judge Friday morning.
Rick Hatcher is a former city councilor who served from 2006 to 2013.
The Republican candidate said he feels he has big shoes to fill and hopes he is given a chance to do that.
As for what issues he plans to tackle head-on, Hatcher had this to say: “We have opportunities now with larger jail capacity that Sheriff Duke and his guys, the jailers, the deputies, they gotta have whatever they need to do their job. If it’s body cameras or whatever their needs would be, we need to take care of those.”
Hatcher admits he has a lot to learn about the county, but said he’s been paying very close attention at the Commissioners Court meetings and plans to visit with each department head to find out what they need leading up to the elections.
There is only one other candidate who announced they’re running for county judge, and that’s longtime Republican staffer and Wichita Falls native Jim Johnson.