A new county commissioner will represent McLennan County’s fourth precinct next year.

Woodway insurance agent Ben Perry beat longtime Precinct 4 County Commissioner Ray Meadows by a 2-to-1 margin in Tuesday’s runoff election, securing the Republican nomination for the seat.

Ben Perry (pictured) took 67.3 percent of the votes in the runoff, handily defeating Ray Meadows.

With all of the precincts reporting, Perry collected 4,218 votes, or 67.3 percent, to Meadows’ 2,051 votes, or 32.7 percent, for a landslide decision.

Perry will face Democrat Will Stevens and Libertarian David Meine in the fall general election.

Early voting totals followed the same ratio. Perry had 1,679 votes and 66.5 percent of the voters, and Meadows got 846 votes and 33.5 percent.

In the March 2 primary, Perry got 49.3 percent of the vote, while Meadows trailed with 42.1 percent. The two went to a runoff because Perry didn’t have more than 50 percent of the vote.

Perry said his victory is a result of listening to the needs of residents across the county and aggressively focusing on meeting those issues in his campaign.

“We went out, listened to the folks in the precinct, we found out what the issues were, what they were frustrated with . . . and, obviously, the fruits of our labor showed tonight that the people believe in our message,” Perry said. “We’re excited with the outcome.”

Perry was endorsed by the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Association of McLennan County and is a proponent of civil service, an issue he and Meadows were sharply divided on.

Perry also favored reining in the county budget and trying to do more business with local contractors.

One of Perry’s chief charges in the campaign was that the county would benefit from having a new face with fresh ideas instead of electing Meadows to a seventh term in office.

Meadows is serving his 24th year in office and had not faced a challenger in the last 16 years.

After receiving 42.1 percent of the vote in the March primary, incumbent commissioner Ray Meadows got just 32.7 percent in Tuesday's runoff.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald, file

Meadows, who waited for the election results at a Bosque County ranch owned by his wife’s family, said that charge alone seemed to drive Perry’s victory.

“Yes, I am surprised (at the margin of the loss),” Meadows said. “I think a lot of it is (my) length of service. Have I made people mad? Of course I have. Will he make people mad if he’s elected in November? Sure, he will. I mean, that’s the nature of the beast. I’ve always tried to represent McLennan County in a manner in which I thought they wanted to be represented.”

Meadows said he plans to spend his remaining eight months in office concentrating on securing inmate housing contracts for the new Jack Harwell Detention Center on State Highway 6. He said he also plans to spend time with his wife, Becky, and their children and grandchildren.

New York Clothiers manager Ed Petrich, who finished a distant third in the March primary, had endorsed Perry in the runoff.

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