At a candidate forum in Fort Davis, incumbent Jeff Davis County Judge Curtis Evans described housing as a key barrier to economic development—particularly for healthcare—but acknowledged that his ideas focus on long-term possibilities rather than near-term relief.
Evans told attendees that attracting doctors, nurses, teachers and other credentialed professionals depends first on housing availability.
“Healthcare is economic development,” Evans said, explaining that qualified workers often cannot accept jobs in Jeff Davis County because they have nowhere to live.
Evans outlined a concept he said could eventually help address the problem: a county land trust funded by future increases in tax revenue. He pointed to anticipated development along Interstate 10 in the northern part of the county that he said could add roughly $2 million annually to the tax base.
Rather than borrowing money, Evans said the county could use that future revenue to gradually build homes through the land trust. Under the idea he described, the trust would construct houses on vacant or foreclosed properties and offer six-year lease arrangements to qualified workers, such as healthcare employees, educators and other essential professionals.
Those homes would immediately add to the county’s taxable value, Evans said, helping spread the tax burden across a larger base. After six years, occupants could either purchase the home outright or sell it back to the land trust, allowing the county to place another worker in the residence.
Evans said the six-year term is meant to encourage people to become part of the community rather than relocating briefly.
“In one or two years, you’re really not vested,” he said, adding that longer commitments help build stable neighborhoods and a stronger local economy.
He emphasized repeatedly that the proposal is conceptual and would take years to implement.
“This isn’t something that’s going to happen tomorrow or next week,” Evans said.
While Evans framed the plan as a sustainable, forward-looking approach—and said similar ideas have drawn interest in neighboring counties—he did not present a plan to address the county’s current housing shortage. During the forum, Evans acknowledged that there are few options available right now for people who want to move to the area for work.
That lack of immediate housing has been cited by employers as a continuing obstacle to filling essential positions, particularly in healthcare and education.
Evans characterized his proposal as “thinking outside the box” and argued that waiting passively for people to move in without addressing housing supply would leave the county stagnant. Still, the approach he described depends on future development, future revenue and long-term timelines, leaving unanswered how the county would meet existing housing needs in the meantime.
