Young announces re-election bid for County Judge

Milam County Judge Steve Young has announced his candidacy for re-election.

“Together, we have fought for the future of Milam County, and while we have made great progress, our work is not done,” Young said. “Join me in continuing to move Milam County forward by steadily improving our local economy, providing greater opportunity to our children and grandchildren, and keeping our community safe.  I’m asking for your support and your vote to continue our work, together.”

Judge Young was popularly elected in 2018 and was inaugurated Jan. 1, 2019.  Judge Young is a fifth generation Milam County resident, whose great-great-grandfather Henry Walker also served as the Milam County Judge. Judge Young is a proven leader with the all-important training and experience to lead Milam County into the future.     

Young says he is the only candidate with transparent, successful experience recruiting business to Milam County to create jobs, generate revenue for our schools, and provide for a better future for our children; has made bringing new business to Milam County a major priority.  

“New business is needed for jobs and tax revenue as the loss of Luminant reduced County tax revenue by almost 52 percent,” he said. “In spite of the pandemic, new business has come to the County.  For example, Milam County hosts the largest bitcoin mining operation in the entire world. The business has flourished and is expanding with a combined investment of almost $1 billion in Milam County. Solar is coming to the county, which will provide hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for our schools.  In fact, a single project in the Milano ISD is estimated to provide over $42.5 million in school district taxes over the next ten years.”

He is currently working closely with a “nitrile” glove manufacturer to bring 1,500 jobs and a $775 million investment to the county.  He has met with the new owners of the former Alcoa property to offer assistance to entice additional development.  

“The businesses that we have successfully recruited to Milam County are crucial to creating jobs, funding our schools, and most importantly creating a brighter future for our children and grandchildren,” he said.

Young is the only candidate we can trust to balance the Milam County budget by recruiting new business, seeking Federal and State Grants, and most importantly keeping taxes low for hard working Milam County Texans.  

Judge Young has brought millions of dollars of grant funding to the county.  In fact, in 2021 Milam County will receive over $40 million in grant funding which is more in a single year than the County has ever received in its entire existence. 

Grant funding is critical to provide funding for governmental services while keeping taxes low.  Grant funding was used to provide a $1 million small business grant program to assist Milam County businesses adversely affected by the pandemic. Grant funding has already been used to upgrade some of the 800 miles of county roads and more is on the way.  Grant funding has been appropriated for numerous infrastructure projects, such flood and sewage mitigation, construction and transportation.  

Additional grant funding requests have been made for a regional training center, internet and countywide flood plain mapping.

Judge Young has solutions and a proven track record of keeping Milam County safe, fighting crime, and ensuring that justice is done.  

Judge Young has worked tirelessly to rid the county of unsightly health and safety violations.  In 2019, he led the way to implement enforcement provisions, which has led to the cleanup and prosecutions of numerous violators. In fact, one massive project in Rockdale was undertaken at a final cost of $333,000. However, these costs were fully recouped and there was no cost to the taxpayer and our community is cleaner and safer because of it.

Young has fought hard to strengthen our criminal justice system. Additional funding has been allocated to the Milam County Sheriff’s department to maintain proper staffing of deputies and jail staff.  Grant funding was obtained to hire new staff for the Milam County District Attorney’s office, to enable rapid adjudication of criminal offenders.

Judge Young will continue to fight for the future of Milam County and its residents.