Newsroom

The Texan: Kerr County Officials Push for Stronger Regulation of Battery Storage Projects in Texas Hill Country

The Texan reports on Commissioner Rich Paces and the Hill Country Subregional Planning Commission urging Texas regulators to impose stricter oversight of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) — citing fire, environmental, cybersecurity, and property value risks across Kerr, Kendall, and Gillespie counties.

Call or Email Rich Paces — Private Road Flood Damage Help Available

If you live on a private road that sustained significant damage from the flood, reach out to Commissioner Rich Paces. Volunteer contractors and equipment operators are donating time to help repair private roads while our Road & Bridge Department focuses on county roads.

Commissioner Rich Paces Addresses Proposed County Elections Administrator

Following discussion surrounding a proposed County Elections Administrator position, Commissioner Rich Paces shares background, explains why the proposal did not move forward, and publishes the comments he had prepared for Commissioners Court.

Why the PUCT Must Stop Outsourcing Our Grid Security

Commissioner Rich Paces explains why Texas must restore strategic planning authority over electric generation and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) — while highlighting the actions already underway in Kerr County to protect public safety.

Memorial Cross Unveiling in Kerrville

Watch the live coverage of the Memorial Cross unveiling ceremony in Kerrville, honoring the lives lost and the community's resilience following the July 4 flood.

Kerr County Commissioners' Court Meeting Summary — June 30, 2026

Executive summary of the June 30, 2026 Commissioners' Court meeting, which addressed a TDEM Land Use Agreement for debris operations at the Hill Country Youth Event Center and an update on the county's Flood Warning System.

Mountain Home Town Hall Meeting on Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) — June 24, 2026

Download the presentation from Commissioner Rich Paces' Mountain Home town hall meeting on Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) held Wednesday, June 24, 2026.

Town Hall Meeting Presentation — Tuesday, June 23, 2026 — Center Point ISD, Center Point TX

Download the presentation from Commissioner Rich Paces' town hall meeting at the Center Point Elementary School cafeteria on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.

Kerr County Commissioners' Court Session Summary — Monday, June 22, 2026

Unofficial summary of the Kerr County Commissioners' Court session on Monday, June 22, 2026, presided over by Pro-Tem Chair Commissioner Tom Jones in the scheduled absence of County Judge Rob Kelly.

Town Hall Meeting — Monday, June 15th, 6:00 pm at Hosanna Lutheran Church

Commissioner Rich Paces will host a town hall meeting on Monday, June 15th at 6:00 pm at Hosanna Lutheran Church in Kerrville. A second town hall (same agenda) follows Tuesday, June 23rd at the Center Point Elementary cafeteria.

Rich Paces meets President Trump and First Lady during tour of July 4th Flood

Rich Paces joined President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump during their tour of the devastation along the Guadalupe River following the catastrophic July 4th flood.

Howard – Solstice 745 kV Transmission Line Protest filed with PUCT

In am pleased to inform you that in our special Commissioners’ Court meeting on April 1st, the Kerr County Commissioners’ […]

Louis Amestoy attempt to influence elections

Recently Louis Amestoy once again tried to influence our local politics by attacking me in his liberal rag known as […]

Hand Count Misinformation

During the recent primary elections, false information was spread about the Republican Party’s upcoming hand count.  Claims were made that […]

Response to Amestoy’s Hit Piece on “Selective Enforcement”

Recently, Louis Amestoy has used his left-wing publication to attack me about so called selective enforcement of the state law […]

County Commissioner Rich Paces joins the Bill & Alison Mencarow Show on Jan. 24th, 2026

In case you didn’t tune in to the Hill County Patriot Radio Station on January 24th to catch the Bill […]

Commissioners’ Court Workshop on BESS, 391 SRPC Progress and Fire Code Compliance

The following was presented during the Kerr County Commissioners’ Court workshop on BESS that took place on January 5th. The […]

BESS Presentation – Kerr County Patriots Club

I gave the following presentation at the Kerr County Patriots Club meeting on November 17th in an effort to help […]

Election Integrity Presentation made to the Kerr County Republican Party CEC

At the request of Richard Bohnert, CEC Elections Committee Chair, I made the following presentation to the Republican Party County […]

October 8th Town Hall Meeting

Please find below a copy of the presentation that was given at my town hall meeting held on October 8th […]

APO Advisory Council Presentation on the July 4th Flood and its Impact on our Aggregate Mines

The following presentation was given by Commissioner Rich Paces at the Aggregate Production Operations Advisory Council Meeting held on September […]

Kerr County Proposed Budget as of August 13, 2025

The following slides are excerpts from the presentation I gave at the Kerr County Patriots Club meeting on August 18th. […]

Presentation to the Kerrville Rotary Club – Update on BESS in Kerr County

I gave the following presentation to the Kerrville Rotary Club on July 16th, 2025.

Proposed Election Code Amendment

It has been a while since I provided any updates on Election Integrity.  As most of you know, my attempt […]

State Fire Marshal Presentation on BESS

I invited Kelly Stalder, Deputy Chief – Inspections and Engineering with the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office to present to […]

Presentation on Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) from the Jan. 28th Kerr County Patriots Meeting

The following is a copy of my presentation material that I used at the Jan. 28th Kerr County Patriots meeting. […]

Rebuttal to Community Journal Article “County Judge reflects on 2024 issues”

The Community Journal ran an article on Dec. 27th featuring Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly’s reflections on 2024 issues he […]

Community Journal Dec. 27 Article “County judge reflects on 2024 issues”

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly sat down recently with the Hill Country Community Journal to reflect on the positives and negatives of […]

Hotel Occupancy Tax Clarifications

Our Commissioners Court recently received a number of messages asking us to rescind the hotel occupancy tax (HOT) that was […]

October 24th Town Hall Meeting

I held a town hall meeting on October 24th to keep folks in Kerr County informed on several important topics, […]

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are Threatening Kerr County

BESS is coming to the hill country and its time to unite in the fight against these hazardous and ill-conceived […]

Budget Workshop – Office & Storage Space Committee Presentation, including AG Barn Improvements

The following are the slides from the presentation I made at the July 1st, 2024 Kerr County Commissioners’ Court budget […]

Precinct 2 Town Hall Meeting Presentation – March 19, 2024

Here is the presentation material from my recent town hall meeting. Note that Sheriff Leitha did not use any slides, […]

Update on TxDOT Projects for Kerr County, Precinct 2

The following is a list of potential projects that have been submitted to TxDOT for consideration. All of these projects […]

Chapter 65 Hand Count using Echo Method

The Gillespie County Republican Party will be hand counting the results from their upcoming primary. Last year their County Executive […]

Election Integrity Update – 2024 Primaries

Election season is upon us once again.  I thought I would provide an update on election integrity and some recommendations […]

2024 Republican Primary Endorsements

The Republican Party Primary elections are upon us once again. Early Voting starts February 20th with the final Election Day […]

I Stand with Israel

I support Israel and the right of the Israeli people to defend themselves against the heinous Hamas terror attacks that […]

November 2023 Constitutional Election Recommendations

I have been asked by several constituents for my views on the upcoming November 7th Constitutional Elections.  So here goes.  […]

Chapter 65 Hand Count Demonstration

Here is a link to a video we prepared to demonstrate how ballots are counted via the Texas Election Code […]

Election Integrity News!

There have been a couple of new, very positive developments with respect to election integrity.  First, on August 28th, the […]

Successful Election Integrity Town Hall

I was very pleased with the outcome of the Kerr County Election Integrity Town Hall held on August 22nd.  We […]

George Baroody addresses Commissioners’ Court on Harley David Belew’s case

Mr. George Baroody spoke at the June 12th Commissioners’ Court meeting in regard to whether Harley could be removed due […]

Report any Concerns associated with the Center Point EDAP Wastewater Project asap

TxDOT Projects for Kerr County, Precinct 2

The following is my list of TxDOT projects in Precinct 2 that I have requested TxDOT to consider and action. […]

Election Integrity Forum & Workshop

An Election Integrity Forum was held Sunday, March 19th, featuring Mark Cook, election cybersecurity and forensics expert, IT specialist and […]

Proclamation on the Texas Border Crisis

See Govenor Abbot’s proclamation on the Texas border crisis below. It stops short of declaring an invasion though. We won’t […]

Kerr County Election Integrity Workshop

Several local constituents attended a legislative briefing on election integrity that was held in Austin on January 24th. Senator Bob […]

It’s Official!

I was sworn in on January 1st at the Kerr County courthouse along with the other recently elected county officials. […]

Gov. Abbott Invokes Invasion Clauses – But Now Must Start Deporting Invaders!

Joe Biden’s open border policies have incentivized illegal border crossings, with more than 2.3 million illegal aliens crossing the southwest border this […]

Bond Propositions A & B Defeated

The election results were as follows:  Prop A was 41% for and 59% against. Prop B was 43% for and […]

The Matt Long Show talking about Bonds

I was on the Hill Country Patriot Radio station this morning with Matt Long and Angela Smith talking about the […]

Bill & Alison Mencarow Show on the County Bond Propositions

I had the pleasure of being on the Bill and Alison Mencarow show on the Hill Country Patriot Radio station […]

TxDOT Workshop Results: Kerr County 2023-2026 Rural Transportation Improvement Program

I attended a workshop with the Texas Department of Transportation and Alamo Regional Rural Planning Organization (ARRPO) on March 7th. […]

$27.5 million County Bond Propositions – A Tax We Can’t Afford!

Kerr County residents can’t afford the bonds that the commissioners have put on the November ballot!  The ask is too […]

County Bond Propositions – Breakdown & Analysis

Following a tour of the county’s facilities provided by the Capital Improvements Planning Commission (CIPC), I prepared the following analysis […]

Border Invasion!

I have asked our Kerr County Commissioners Court to join Kinney, Edwards, Goliad, Terrell, Presidio, Maverick, Parker and Atascosa counties […]

We Won! Thank You so much!

Yesterday, the Republican Primary runoff was concluded, and the people of Precinct 2 expressed their will by giving Rich Paces […]

The Hill Country Patriot Radio Ad

Check out the Hill Country Patriot Radio Station today and tomorrow and listen for my campaign ad encouraging people to […]

Guest on The Matt Long Show, Hill Country Patriot

Thanks to Maria Hammerlein, I was able to call in to the Matt Long Show on the Hill Country Patriot […]

The Kerrville Podcast

The link below will take you to an interview conducted on May 11th on the Kerrville Podcast. Mikaela Taylor and […]

Kerr County 2022 Bond Propositions

The 2022 Kerr County Bond Propositions consist of: Earl Garrett Courthouse Annex campus at 424 Earl Garrett St., to house […]

Endorsement by Center Point Committee for Growth and Progress

I am very pleased to announce that I have received the endorsement of the Center Point Committee for Growth and […]

Successful Search & Rescue!

Earlier today, five members of the CPVFD participated in a large search and rescue operation on several ranches off Sharon […]

Precinct 2 Primary Election Results

Below are the preliminary results from the March 1st Republican primary election for County Commissioner, Precinct 2. There are still […]

Supporting the Freedom Convoy!

Friday, we went out in support of the Freedom Convoy as they rolled down I-10 through Comfort. There were hundreds […]

Habitat for Humanity Dedicates Houses 117 & 118

Today I attended a double Dedication and Blessing Ceremony for the 117th and 118th homes built by Habitat for Humanity […]

Hill Country Conservative Patriots Endorsement

I am very pleased to announce that I have received another endorsement, this time from the Hill Country Conservative Patriots […]

Hosanna Lutheran Adopt-a-Highway Cleanup

Earlier today (2/19/22), the Team Hosanna cleaned our two mile stretch of Hwy 16 in front of the Hosanna Lutheran […]

Early Voting at Hill Country Youth Event Center

Early voting started on February 14th at the Kerr County Hill Country Youth Event Center on Hwy 27. I’ve been […]

Come Hear Your Hill Country Conservative Choices

Come out and hear from your Hill Country Conservative Candidates on Jan. 31st @ 6pm. Raul Reyes, candidate for State […]

We the People – Liberty in Action support Rich Paces

We the People – Liberty in Action is a local group of Hill Country Patriots who seek to preserve our […]

Vision for Precinct 2 & Kerr County

Kerr County will continue to grow and develop. It’s a jewel in the Hill County and people will continue to […]

My Qualifications

I was blessed with a very successful career in oil and gas that spanned more than 36 years and took […]

Why am I running for office?

Like most of you, I am greatly concerned by the liberal agenda and the direction that Joe Biden is taking […]

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a blessed and joyous Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. […]

Living Life By Design with Lorraine LeMon on The Hill Country Patriot Radio

Earlier today I had the pleasure of being the guest of Lorraine LeMon during her talk show on the Hill […]

Ouch!

Even when we know better, we often do foolish things. I recently did and am paying the price. I was […]

Rising Property Values and Property Taxes

Development and growth are having a big impact on all of our property taxes.  With so many people moving to […]

Water Availability Concerns

As I talk to folks in Precinct 2, many have expressed concerns about development in Kerr County, especially in terms […]

Unfair Corporate Profit Sharing & Taxes?

One of the individuals following me on Facebook made the following comment in response to my post about words of […]

Brush Fire at Tejon Trail

CPVFD were called to put out a brush fire on a ranch at Tejon Trail that was quickly spreading out […]

Raising the Roof!

Earlier today we installed the roof trusses on Habitat for Humanity house #119. A crane lifted the trusses and we […]

Words of Wisdom from Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell, now 91, grew up in Harlem, served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, graduated Magna Cum […]

I Salute our Veterans!

On Veterans Day, the CPVFD joined a long parade of veterans who were honored by the city and all of […]

Rapid Intervention Team Training

Earlier today the CPVFD conducted RIT training at Station 8-1 in Center Point. For this training we clear out the […]

I support Term Limits, here’s why…

Lt Col Raul Reyes for Texas Senate

Wednesday night I attended a meet and greet at the Comanche Trace clubhouse for Lt. Colonel Raul Reyes, candidate for […]

Words of Warning from Ronald Reagan

Long ago, Ronald Reagan warned us about big government, creeping socialism and the so called “great society”. His message was […]

Structure Fire on Tremper Trail E

On Friday, Oct. 23rd at 9:16am the Center Point Volunteer Fire Department was called to respond to a structure fire […]

Border Invasion Rally

An estimated 380 people attended the Border Invasion Awareness Rally held at Gravity Check Saloon and Arena Sunday, October 17, […]

Center Point Homecoming a Success!

CPVFD assisted the Center Point community pull off a very successful homecoming parade and bonfire Wednesday evening. Close to 400 […]