Neal Franklin will be the next Precinct 1 Smith County commissioner.
With a total of 22,922 votes or 78.63% of the vote, Franklin defeated local tax attorney Peter Milne, who received 6,201 votes or 21.27% of the total ballots cast, according to complete unofficial results.
Franklin said he was very grateful to his supporters. Precinct 1 includes areas like southwest Tyler, Bullard, Flint-Gresham, Noonday and part of Lake Palestine.
“The citizens came out to support me and I’m just very thankful,” he said.
Franklin is replacing incumbent Jeff Warr, who is stepping down from the position he served in since 2009.
Franklin added that he still has a lot to learn, and he’ll be meeting with Warr to discuss the commissioner duties before he’s sworn in on Jan. 1.
“I want to make things better for the citizens of Smith County and the employees,” he said.
Franklin said he wants to work with officials to resolve the overcrowding issue at the jail, which is attributed to COVID-19 regulations and housing both inmates who should be transferred to prisons or who should be receiving treatment for mental illness at alternative facilities.
He hopes there can be a place for those suffering from mental health issues other than the county jail.
Franklin is a former Tyler fire chief and general manager of East Texas Medical Center EMS. His community involvement includes the Texas Fire Chiefs Association Board of Directors, Better Business Bureau Board of Directors, The Children’s Park of Tyler Board of Directors and other boards and committees.
His experience in previous roles provide him with planning and budgeting skills needed in commissioners court. He currently works at Core Insights, a company dedicated to teaching strategic planning.
He said his priorities include public safety, improving roads and infrastructure, ensuring government transparency, as well as planning, collaboration and disciplined spending. He’s especially concerned about those first two issues, he said.
He also noted the importance of supporting law enforcement, fire and EMS agencies and said that COVID-19 remains a major public safety concern.
Franklin said he’s “super thankful” to all of his supporters, especially his wife, who has been right by side during the campaign.
