Greg Arthur, the incumbent Liberty County Precinct 2 commissioner, is currently serving his third term on the Liberty County Commissioners Court and is seeking a fourth term in the March 3, 2026 Republican primary.
Before becoming commissioner, Arthur spent approximately 35 years in law enforcement, including eight years as Liberty County sheriff and earlier service as a Texas Department of Public Safety sergeant assigned to Liberty County. His long career in public service has shaped his approach to governance during a period of rapid growth across the county.
“I started out my career with TxDOT when I got my professional engineering license, but I was interested in law enforcement,” he said.
He later joined the Texas Department of Public Safety, working in Conroe and Navasota before being promoted to sergeant and transferred to Liberty County in 1986. At the time, Arthur said he did not expect to stay long-term.
“When you promote with DPS, you go to wherever the openings are,” he said.
That changed once his family settled into the community.
“We were happy with the school district here and me and my wife, we decided to stay here,” Arthur said.
His involvement expanded as he served three terms on the Hardin ISD school board before being elected sheriff, a position he held for two terms. He later ran for county commissioner and is now in his third term.
“I’ve been blessed to have worked with a lot of really good folks over the years and a lot of people I still have contact with,” he said.
Arthur said his law enforcement background gave him valuable insight into how government operates.
“Well, it gave me an outlook of how counties and state governments operate. It’s a little bit different than regular business because you’ve got to jump through certain hoops,” he said.
He added that working alongside commissioners in Liberty, Chambers, and Montgomery counties helped prepare him for his current role. He said the role of commissioner required a shift in focus from enforcement to planning for the county’s future.
“When you are in law enforcement, you’ve got a whole different set of goals,” Arthur said. “When I got elected as the commissioner, we were looking at the county really, really growing in the next 10 years. We’re going to be growing like crazy. We can’t do anything about the growth. We just want to get the growth that we want.”
That focus, Arthur said, has been on guiding development rather than trying to stop it.
“We’re trying to, you know, guide, focus that and get the type of growth that we want,” he said.
He emphasized that residential growth alone cannot sustain county services.
“You can’t take care of a county this size on taxes from homes and residents. We need industry to take up part of that tax load,” Arthur said.
Arthur pointed to Colony Ridge as an early example of growth that raised concerns. He and County Judge Jay Knight entered office at the same time.
“We went over there several times, making our rounds looking at it, and we were not happy with that type of growth at all,” he said.
While counties have limited authority over development, Arthur said Liberty County responded by updating outdated subdivision regulations.
“We reviewed everything. We looked at our subdivision regulations and standards. They were way out of date,” Arthur said.
The county hired engineering firm LJA to overhaul its standards, particularly for drainage and subdivision lot sizes.
“Whenever [developers] submit a preliminary plat, we submit it to LJA, and they look at it and see if it meets our standards,” he said, adding that developers are required to pay engineering costs tied to roads and drainage systems.
Arthur said the county is also nearing completion of a comprehensive drainage study.
“All the new development will have to fit into that overall drainage plan for the county,” he said, noting the study is expected to be finished this year and was funded through grants.
Among the accomplishments Arthur is most proud of is strengthening the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.
“One thing that I am proud of is the sheriff’s office,” he said. He explained that low salaries once caused high turnover.
“The salaries were pretty bad at the time. We’ve got the salaries up where they’re competitive,” Arthur said, adding that improved pay, updated facilities, and new equipment have made a difference.
The county jail, however, remains one of Liberty County’s most pressing challenges. Arthur said overcrowding forces deputies to transport inmates to other counties, taking time and resources away from patrol duties.
“It takes [the sheriff’s] deputies off the road traveling back and forth, bringing them back and forth to court,” he said.
Plans are underway for a new jail to be built on county-owned land near the Liberty County Law Enforcement Center.
“We’re looking maybe at around $100 million to $125 million for a 600-bed jail,” Arthur said.
Arthur stressed that the existing jail will continue to be used even after a new facility is built.
“It will still be used, yes,” he said, citing possibilities such as overflow space, leasing beds to other counties, or other future uses.
He emphasized transparency as planning continues.
“I think it’s very important that we have public input and transparency and everything that we do. All of our meetings are televised,” Arthur said.
Looking ahead, Arthur said growth-related pressures will continue to challenge Liberty County, particularly transportation.
“I think the main thing is handling the growth. Transportation is going to be a big issue,” he said. Despite the challenges, Arthur said his motivation remains rooted in working directly with residents.
“I enjoy working with people… I enjoy going out and dealing with people. If they got complaints, I enjoy listening to what they have to say,” he said.
To hear more of the Bluebonnet News Headlines and Heartlines podcast featuring Greg Arthur, click HERE to listen on YouTube, or HERE to listen on Spotify.
Here is the lineup for the Headlines and Heartlines podcast shows for the next few weeks leading up to the March 3 primary election: Jan. 19 – J.D. Chandler, candidate for the 253rd State District Court; Jan. 21 – Kim Harris, Liberty County treasurer; Jan. 23 – Jackie Johnson, candidate for Liberty County treasurer; Jan. 26 – Josh Fitzgerald, candidate for the 75th State District Court; Jan. 28 – Richard Himburg, Republican candidate for Pct. 2 Commissioner; Jan. 30 – Rhonda Ward, candidate for Texas Senate District 3; Feb. 2 – Terry Thain, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, District 9; Feb. 4 – Peter Filler, Democratic candidate for U.S. House District 9; and Feb. 6 – Wade Brown, candidate for Pct. 2 commissioner. This schedule will be updated to include more interviews as warranted.
Fix the corruption at the DA’s office.
I sure wish someone would do something about the lack of drainage on CR 308. We have been told that the drainage from 308 to the main ditch can’t be cleaned out due to a fence that was put up by a homeowner. The opposite side of said drainage ditch is nothing but trees. Cut them down and clean out the drainage!!! All we hear are EXCUSES!!!!!
Teresa at election time they will tell you what a great job they’re doing,
and some do only at election time. After they win it’s back to EXCUSES.