In the running for Gray County Clerk is Dee Dee Laramore, who is currently serving as the County Clerk after being appointed following the retirement of Jeanne Horton.
Dee Dee has deep roots here in Gray County, having went to Pampa and McLean schools as a child. Due to her father’s line of work, Dee Dee would move around a lot during her formative years, but it was Pampa she ultimately came back to, and it was here where she would meet Vic Laramore, the couple sharing 43 years of marriage.
“My dad got transferred to Louisiana, so that’s where I graduated from high school. The day after my graduation, his job had transferred him to Amarillo. I loved my time in Louisiana, but I realized how much I missed being in the Texas panhandle.”
Once she had permanently made Pampa her home, she would spend nearly 25 years working here at The Pampa News, and it’s her years here that she credits with giving her the experience needed to prepare her for her next career milestone at The Tralee Crisis Center, and ultimately the Gray County Courthouse, each role naturally flowing into the next.
“I worked my way from the back to the front of the office-I was reporter, lifestyles editor, city editor, and then I was the managing editor. That was the start of being an administrator, that was the beginning for me. It was also a wonderful foundation for me getting to know people. Then I went from The Pampa News to being the Executive Director at The Tralee Crisis Center and I was there for over 15 years. That’s where I really learned to be an administrator.”
“I loved Tralee, I believed in it with everything I had. What is so neat now that even as County Clerk, I’m still connected to them because we do protective orders and other things that are related to Tralee, so I feel like I’m still helping them. I’ll always be connected to them.”
Dee Dee would retire from the Tralee Crisis Center, but as many folks do, she didn’t stay in retirement for long and acquired a job as a deputy clerk at the courthouse, utilizing the skills she had learned through the years.
“I was going to take a nice little part-time job after leaving Tralee, and there was an opening for a part-time deputy clerk so I took it. The next thing I know I’m working full-time, and then Jeanne Horton decided she was going to retire and asked me if I would run as the one to finish out her term, and I did.”
“When I was at Tralee, I supervised 16 people, so managing that many personnel was essential-it’s an important skill to have. At the County Clerk’s office, I only have four instead of 16, and at this point in my life now, it’s perfect. We had three facilities at Tralee, so my one office now compared to trying to take care of three-those skills really came into play as well. It just makes perfect sense for me to be here now.”
Once she was appointed as County Clerk, Dee Dee had no problem adjusting to the new role, and she did so comfortably with years of administrative experience under her belt.
While every job has its challenges, what Dee Dee faces on a daily basis isn’t necessarily what she considers challenging, but to be held responsible for a multitude of county records that date back over a century would be intimidating to anyone, but she takes a lot of pride in being the keeper of the record, and takes the job extremely serious.
Customer service is also an essential part of the office, and to provide the documents that someone has requested can also be a bit of a challenge, whether it be a denial of a record due to certain laws that are in place, or someone simply came to the wrong office and needs to be pointed in the right direction.
“Their whole lives are right there in my office-that big black vault protects their whole lives. It has records from the 1880s, field notes from the people that came here and started dividing this land up to be sold. It’s all right there in that office. I take that really seriously.”
“My staff and myself care to help people leave the clerk’s office happy that we at least tried. We heard them and heard their concerns and we tried to help them. We might not always be able to, but we want them to know that we tried.”
“Something I tell my staff is if a person can leave there smiling, you’ve done your job, even if they came in upset about something. It all comes down to customer service. We want them to know that we care and we’ll do everything we can to help them get to where they want to be.”
If elected, Dee Dee doesn’t have a laundry list of changes she would like to see within the office, and instead it’s more about ease of access and security for the customers.
“I want to make our office more user-friendly for the public, I want it to be easier for them to access different parts of it. We have a website that is mandated by the state that by a certain time period, the website has to be accessible to anyone, whether they are blind or have any other type of handicap that might make it difficult for them to use it. I’ve already identified how we’re going to do that. The other thing is-this is a problem that has come up several times where people are afraid that someone is going to go in there and file a fraudulent document and take over their property. So the state has actually passed several laws that are related to that that are closing loopholes to prevent that from happening. It’s given the property owners more rights and has also helped county clerks have more protections so that if they feel like something is fraudulent, they can have it reported and investigated. Something else is anyone who presents something like real property documents have to present their IDs. And another thing is there are several programs available that if a person owns property here in Gray County who wants to put a notification on their property if someone tries to do something, they’re automatically notified of it. That is something I really want to get into place.”
With years of experience, a dedication to protecting and preserving those documents that are a literal record of the lives of Gray County citizens, and an overall love for the county itself, Dee Dee feels that this is exactly where she needs, and wants, to be.
“I love this job. I wanted to do well because I saw the responsibility of it. I think that’s what anyone in that position needs to understand-you are a steward of all of these documents that’s related to people’s lives. You have to take care of it. You’re also responsible for what needs to be confidential, but at the same time be aware and know the laws as far as what is public record so that you don’t close that door. You use the vault door to protect, but you also need to have that vault door open at times so people can access what they have a right to access.”
Early voting will be February 17th through February 27th at the Gray County Courthouse, 205 N. Russell in Room 104. Times are: Tuesday, February 17th through Friday, February 20th-8 AM to 5 PM
Saturday, February 21: 7 AM to 7 PM
Sunday, February 22: 12 PM to 6 PM
Monday, February 23 through Friday, February 27: 7 AM to 7 PM.
Election Day, March 3: 7 AM to 7 PM
Last day to register is February 2, 2026. Mail ballots will begin going out on January 24, 2026. Last day to request ballot by mail is February 20, 2026.
