Taylor Assistant DA Phil Crowley announces plans to run for Taylor County judge

Taylor County Assistant District Attorney Phil Crowley announced via a news release Wednesday his plans to run for Taylor County judge in 2022.

Downing Bolls, who has served as county judge since October 2010, will retire once his current term ends Dec. 31, 2022.

Crowley told the Reporter-News by telephone that a combination of experience and passion for "delivering good government to the people and the county that I love" prompted him to announce his candidacy.

His decision to announce early reflected his enthusiasm for the job, he said.

 "My campaign isn't about anything except I believe I'm uniquely qualified to be the next county judge," he said. "It won't be about who else runs or anything like that. I just want the job, and I'm ready to get out there and earn it."

In a statement, Crowley said "serving the people of Taylor County as a prosecutor has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life."

"I want to continue serving the people as their next Taylor County judge,” he said.

Home-grown candidate

Crowley was born at Dyess Air Force Base and raised in Abilene, his statement says.

He graduated from the Abilene Independent School District and Hardin-Simmons University summa cum laude while working full time. He then graduated from Texas Wesleyan School of Law (now Texas A&M School of Law) and immediately returned home to practice law.

Crowley serves on the boards for the Alliance for Women and Children and Regional American Red Cross. He is adjunct professor of criminal law at HSU.

He was a small businessman in private practice prior to joining the Taylor County district attorney’s office and still maintains a small civil law practice.

Experience important

Crowley said his "experience and legal knowledge" would serve him in probate, guardianship, mental health commitment and occasional juvenile law matters heard by the county judge.

"I think you need someone who can hit the ground running on those cases from day one and won't need any on-the-job training," he said,.

His experience, he said, would help "efficiently manage the court’s civil docket." 

Crowley said he will bring "strong conservative leadership and knowledge of Taylor County government structure" to the judge's role as the county's administrator.

He also wants to bring his experience as a small businessman and a "capability to make tough decisions daily on felony cases" to the county's annual budget process, he said.

Crowley said it was important to him as a prosecutor to keep the county safe, with a focus on "law and order."

That means setting budget priorities to make sure the county's public safety needs are being met, he said.

He said he wanted to "continue the work" Bolls and county commissioners have done "in regard to staffing our sheriff's office, making sure we have expanded ambulance service in the county and also making sure we're giving the money that we should to volunteer fire departments."

Familiar role

Crowley said someone in the county judge's chair needs to be familiar with the structure and organization of county government, something he said he already has as a county employee.

He said he also wanted to foster healthy relationships with city government, where roughly 82% of the county's residents live, and said he looks forward to bringing a "proven track record and positive message," based on a motto of "Securing Our Future Today."

"I want to make sure we have someone in that job who cares about government and cares about delivering good service to our constituents," Crowley said.

If elected, he plans to build on the foundation established by Bolls and commissioners for "people in every corner of Taylor County’s over 900 square miles," he said.

Crowley said he plans an in-person announcement at the Taylor County Courthouse at 5:15 p.m. Monday.

Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News.  If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.