In the running for Gray County Judge is Steve Barton, a current Pampa High School teacher who has worked more than 30 years in education, and has a fascinating history of experience in television.
Born and raised in the Texas panhandle, Steve attended Baylor University where he studied in film, television and radio and earned his degree in telecommunications. He went to work midnights for the country radio station in Waco, and from there he would go to work as a photographer at the local television news station. And it was at that time the biggest story was making headlines all over the world-the seige at Waco of the Branch Davidian compound.
“What I did while I was there was manned the camera-we were on a scissor lift and kept an eye on the compound at night. You would hear the black helicopters go over and all night long they would play these crazy sounds and shine bright spotlights to keep them awake and pretty much drive them crazy.”
Steve was still attending school while he was working at the station, and on April 19, 1993, the story took a devastating turn and Steve had a decision to make.
“I was out there the day the compound burned down. I was in my English professor’s class, and because I was working so many hours at the TV station and I was still a student, I found out I was going to fail my English class. I tried to explain to her what was happening out there and I was having a hard time doing this and covering that. The professor next door came in and said the compound was on fire and I told my professor I had to get out there. She said that we weren’t done talking, but I told her I had to get there.”
“While I was there, the national TV from Argentina called and said they wanted an interview, and because I was the only one in the news station at that time who was fluent in Spanish, I got to do the interview for national television and that was really interesting.”
Unfortunately because he made the decision to cover one of the biggest stories in the world at that time and his professor couldn’t understand the magnitude of importance his job was, Steve ultimately failed and had to repeat the class, which is a decision he never regretted.
“I tried to explain to her that this was my major and this was my job. I was having to go out there about ten at night and I had to stay out there until about six or eight in the morning and I also had other jobs on top of that because I was working trying to put myself through school. I explained all these things to her, but she just wasn’t having it. But I graduated and got my degree.”
Steve would spend about 30 years teaching and coaching around Texas, and after his wife was offered a job as the assistant superintendent for Pampa, they would move up here and Steve would continue as an educator and coach, teaching government and economics and coaching football and baseball at the high school.
His passion for teaching youth the basic, yet crucial, aspects of life, not just in the classroom, but on the field as well, has sparked his drive to run for the role of County Judge, and it’s through his experiences that have built up his confidence to run for what can be considered as the CEO of the county.
“The class I teach fits perfectly with what I want to do. Some of the things we do is we work at making sure that every kid when they turn 18 who would like to register to vote, we help them to do that and explain what it means to register. For our guys, we tell them when they turn 18 about signing up for a selective service and we make sure before they graduate they fill out FASFA forms which is required by law now to graduate. We help them get ready for college and scholarships. On top of teaching them all that, I help them with financial readiness for when they graduate-just simple things like how to buy a car, how to rent an apartment, what a credit score is. Now that we’re in the new year, I have them bring up their W2 forms and help them fill out their taxes. Just things like that to help them get prepared so when they walk out the door, it will be hard for them to say, ‘well, they never told me.’”
“Being the government teacher, it’s the funny thing of, ‘well if I ever run, I never will, but if I did..’ So I was kind of looking at it and visiting with people around town and they asked if I had ever thought about it. Well, yeah, but not really. But they said I should really think about it because of what I teach and as a coach, we put teams together, and that’s what the county judge does. So when it came time, I decided to do it, and it’s been a great experience so far.”
Steve understands the the role of county judge is far more than making judgment calls in court and acting as a non-voting commissioner, and he is ready to take on the responsibility of ensuring safety, growth, and financial security for the place he calls home.
“Bringing Gray County into the future is something we really have to look at. It’s not if the windmills are coming, or if the solar farms are coming, or if the data centers are coming-it’s when. We need to get ahead of the problem and deal with what’s coming. Be smart with what’s about to happen. The tax abatements are how you get people in here. I’ve spoken to the Hoover Volunteer Fire Department and one of their biggest concerns is, with about 6,000 people they’re expecting to come here during the construction phase, as those guys are going up and down the roads, there are going to be more accidents, and what does that do to the first responders? One of the things that is important for the county judge is that we use some of these new funds to make sure the fire departments and all of our first responders are well-taken care of. We’re going to need them.”
“We don’t want to see the people of Gray County have their taxes go up for any reason. This should not be something our citizens worry about. I’m all about creating industry. I heard somebody who’s running for state representative say that we have enough here in Pampa-we have the water, we have the resources and the oil, we don’t need anything else. I don’t agree with that. We don’t have those resources available to us enough to really sustain our community. I think we should not be afraid to grow. We have this coming in to our benefit, and we need to use it to grow. We have to see this through, and we have to do it wisely.”
Steve’s decision to run for county judge isn’t just based on his credentials and experiences, but about serving the citizens of Gray County and helping the county thrive as a whole.
“The things that keep me grounded that I feel are important for the county judge are faith, family, and staying connected to the people and just listening to what they have to say. I want everyone to be heard and for them to feel like they’re part of the plan so that we can all be as united as possible.”
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.
