In the Tuesday morning, Dec. 16 meeting of the Randall County Commissioners, it was announced that Richard Gore, Randall County Assistant District Attorney and the commissioners’ legal counsel, would be retiring in January and it was his last meeting.
Gore has performed legal services for the county in various roles for 26 years.
Gore said that he ran against Ernie Houdashell for Randall County Judge, who was first elected in 2002. Houdashell came up the winner and served for 18 years as Randall County Judge before his untimely death during COVID in 2020.
But, Gore said after Houdashell was elected, he got a call from him saying, “You ready to go to work?”
“There was no animosity or anything,” Gore said. “He offered me the position of Randall County legal attorney, and we went to work cleaning up the drama it had become.” Television media had covered the meetings that had become out of control, and it shed a bad light on the community, according to Gore. Together, the two worked to restore order and decorum, along with committed commissioners, and the Randall County Commission came back together as a viable entity.
Gore said they used to go to conferences and listen to others complain about their commissioners and how hard it was to work with them, and he would just back off and listen, because commissioners in Randall County were top notch. With their leadership, Randall County is now recognized among the top in Texas counties for many reasons, including their financial solvency.
Randall County Judge Christy Dyer said, “Richard has served the county for 26 years. He has been a trusted advisor to the Commissioners Court for about 17. He stepped up to the plate when we had a medical issue that prevented a J.P. from continuing to work.”
“He served as J.P. for about six months so an election could be held, and a replacement J.P. could be elected,” Dyer added. “He served at the DA’s office all 26 years in every prosecutorial role. Richard agreed to run for County Judge when Judge Jim Wood and the Court were struggling.”
Dyer said Gore has been serving the citizens and the Commissioners Court in legal issues and has been a trusted advisor to the court for decades. “He never complained and always has a wonderful sense of humor putting people at ease,” she said. “Richard’s decades of experience will be sorely missed. We look forward to his enjoyment of a well-deserved retirement.”
Randall County Commissioner Bob Robinson also referred to the turbulent times when the court had become a laughing stock due to drama and incompetence. He credited Gore and Houdashell with getting dignity back to the county office.
Randall County Commissioner Eric Barry thanked Gore for answering his many questions, even on his days off and weekends and for keeping the commissioners on track, with levity, while Randall County Commissioner Tam Boatler said he remembered driving from Amarillo and throwing papers on Gore’s desk when he was with the Amarillo Police Department and they still had paper reports.
Dyer said that the entire second floor of the Randall County Finance Building, where they meet, had been decorated in Grinch attire, which is the favorite Christmas character of Gore. In fact, Gore had previously shown up at the last meeting in December in his Grinch outfit.
Gore will be moving with his wife to Albuquerque, N.M.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Respected Randall County legal advisor retires after 26 years
Reporting by Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
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