BY ERICK MITCHELL DISPATCH RECORD
Retired businessman Wade Dudley Wooten is the latest candidate to enter the race for Lampasas County judge in 2026. Wooten is the only Democratic candidate to declare so far. And while Lampasas County may be a Republican stronghold, he said he is eager to speak with those from across the aisle. “I’d sit down and talk with them and say, ’How are we different?’ Because it isn’t that much,” Wooten said. “All these differences in the parties I think has been blown out of proportion. We all want to take care of kids, take care of our cities and neighbors.” Wooten is a Lampasas native, having graduated from Lampasas High School in 1968 before going to Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. The county judge candidate started his professional career with the Texas Employment Commission as a tax auditor in Austin, Killeen, Copperas Cove and Lampasas. Wooten spent 15 years with the TEC. In the 1980s, he transitioned to operating his own furniture business and had a line of manufactured furniture on display at the Dallas World Trade Center. Wooten’s business also specialized in restoration, with one of his first clients being the Texas State Senate. With his wife, Josi Ane, having family in France, Wooten spent time in that country looking for antiques he could bring back to Texas, which often led to interesting conversations with new faces, he said. Wooten hopes his ability to be personal and connect with others will carry him if elected county judge. “To do that, you had to start relationships with people, people I would never have spoken to on the street,” Wooten said of his antique inquiries. “Over the years, I have been able to meet and greet people and start relationships that really became meaningful in my life, business-wise and personally. It’s a one- to-one thing. You can learn so much from everybody.” Although a good portion of Wooten’s life has been spent away from Lampasas County, his roots lie deep here. His great-great- grandfather D.W. Taylor was Lampasas’ first county judge. His father, Virgil Dudley Wooten, owned a Lampasas photography studio and operated the retail merchants’ association and credit bureau. When Wooten returned to Lampasas 15 years ago to restore his childhood home, he anticipated his stay here would be temporary. But after learning more about his father’s impact in the community and connecting with old friends, he fell in love with his hometown. Since returning, Wooten has volunteered with Vision Lampasas and the Lampasas Chamber Music Festival. He also is a board member for Lampasas Association for the Arts and a member of the Forward Lampasas group. “I’m in hook, line and sinker,” he said of his local involvement. “I know a lot about the town. I love the place, I love the folks – it’s a great place. I think what little I can do from now on in a positive way will make my life a little more purposeful.” Wooten, who has never run for public office, said he was motivated to enter the race after the Lampasas County Commissioners Court decided to remove the pocket park behind the county annex buildings to make room for a metal storage building earlier this year. “That thing [the pocket park] was put together by local folks and was a great thing,” Wooten said. “And I know they had trouble with homeless folks, drug dealers and this sort of thing down there, but there were other ways they could have dealt with this other than bulldoze it down and put a building on top of it.” Overall, the Democratic Party candidate said he has been pleased with the county’s leadership but feels there are more ways the county could coordinate with the city of Lampasas or non-profit groups. Wooten believes his relationships across governmental bodies will set him up for success if elected. “They are smart, they know our county, they care about our county, care about our people here, but you kind of get this tunnel vision,” Wooten said of elected officials. “If you are working for the county, all you are thinking about is your county thing. If you are with the city, all you are working about is your city thing. I thought, hey, I know all these guys. We need to be all together heading the same direction.” One of the big issues on the minds of Lampasas County residents is water quality and quantity, Wooten said. County Judge Randy Hoyer has hinted the county is on the verge of joining the Central Texas Water Alliance to help seek possible new water sources or infrastructure. Wooten agreed that joining the alliance is a good first step. “The important thing is just starting,” he said. “I think going down this line is a good way, maybe there are other avenues as well. If you are heading in the right direction, things seem to just come to you, but you have to take that first step.” Having lived through the 1957 Mother’s Day flood before the county developed its system of nine flood- control dams, Wooten is well aware of their purpose. He believes the county should be doing more to ensure those dams are built to last. “I have seen how effective they are, but they are 60 to 70 years old,” Wooten said. “I know these guys are doing a good job of monitoring them and making sure they work, and our last big rain issue, they worked; they did their jobs. “These rain [events] are getting more intense and scattered, and I think all the time we can spend on making sure these things are brought up to the changes in the environment that weren’t there when the guys designed these things [are worth it],” he added. Another issue of concern for the county is managing growth. In 2024, the Commissioners Court approved subdivision rules that aim to promote responsible growth in the county. While Wooten agrees with healthy growth, he asserts the county needs to be ready for new residents. “We have to be able to serve them with water, sewage, and there is going to be growth, attempted growth,” he said. “We can’t just cut it off. We need people here, but we need to be able to service them. Whatever rules are in place to work for that, we certainly need to go in that direction.” If elected, Wooten would be the only Democrat on the Lampasas County Commissioners Court. Nonetheless, he doesn’t believe party allegiances would interrupt the flow of county business. “The Republican and Democrat thing has always kind of been weird to me,” he said. “All my best buddies are Republicans, and they would jump off a cliff to save me just like I would for them. All this stuff about fighting each other, it has been built up by both parties for their own uses to try and divide us rather than realize we are all in the same boat.”