Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey describes his technical background as ideal preparation for the job. Before becoming a commissioner, Ramsey served as Mayor of Spring Valley Village from 2012 to 2020.
Ramsey earned a civil engineering degree from Texas A&M and spent 45 years designing infrastructure across Texas. Growing up in Crockett with a hometown pastor for a father, Ramsey says he brings both precision and moral conviction to his approach as a public servant.
Elected to the Harris County Commissioners Court in 2020, Ramsey represents a rapidly growing section of the county that includes parts of Cypress, Tomball and unincorporated Northwest Houston. The majority of his precinct lies outside of city limits.
A Republican in a county that is increasingly Democratic, Ramsey says, political labels do not define his service. Instead, he believes residents on both sides of the political aisle care more about infrastructure, low taxes and credibility, over the official’s party affiliation.
“When I was first elected, Precinct 3 at the time was the most diverse precinct in the county…there were a lot of Republicans who lost in that area,” he told the Defender. “I was one who won. You can call me a Republican or a public servant…people are more interested in what you are, what your priorities are.”
Public safety
With 75% of his precinct in unincorporated areas, Ramsey pushed to expand Harris County’s contract deputy program, which allows communities to directly fund additional law enforcement patrols through partnerships with constables and the sheriff’s office. Today, the crime rate in the unincorporated area is five times less than it is in the city of Houston, he added.
But Ramsey is quick to point out that success doesn’t come easy.
“If there is no patrol in the neighborhood, if the response to a crime 9-1-1 call takes 30 minutes, that’s not safe. We can do better,” he added.
Fighting for fair infrastructure funding
Ramsey’s other major frustration has been what he sees as an unfair distribution of infrastructure funding. Despite being responsible for 47% of all unincorporated Harris County, 6,750 lane miles of roadway, 69 parks, 10 Community and Nature Centers and 9 hike and bike trails and the nation’s longest urban-forested corridor, the precinct receives 19% of the funds.
“That’s just not fair,” he said. “I’ve had four or five years of frustration and being underfunded, having these responsibilities, but not having the resources to respond.”
However, after years of advocacy at the Texas Capitol and legislative pressure, the Commissioners Court recently approved a new funding formula to increase Precinct 3’s allocation to 33% beginning in fiscal year 2026.
Flood mitigation and preparedness
With extreme weather becoming more common, Ramsey says disaster readiness is a core responsibility of county government. In 2023 alone, his precinct faced three major weather events, including severe flooding and the derecho storm that left widespread debris.
“We picked up over a million cubic yards of debris,” Ramsey recalled. “We are very well organized and try to be vigilant.”
He’s also critical of how the 2018 flood bond program dollars, a $2.5 billion voter-approved initiative, have been distributed. Per the bond, the Harris County Flood Control District has to complete mitigation projects over 10 years.
Ramsey says too many of the highest-priority or Quartile 1 projects, which are scored based on drainage levels and social vulnerability indexes, are going to areas outside his precinct. However, Precinct 3 sees 75% of the regional water flow.
“When I have underserved neighborhoods in Precinct 3 that get left behind, I’m gonna say something,” Ramsey vowed, arguing the county follows a flawed formula. “Precinct 3 gets the least number of quartile one projects.”
“When they put more than half the money in Quartile 1 and I get the fewest number of projects, I’m gonna say something,” Ramsey clarified. “We’re not gonna mistreat homes in Precinct 3 just because they’re in Precinct 3.”
On social services and spending
Ramsey voted against the now-defunct Uplift Harris program, a guaranteed income pilot that would have allowed participating households to receive $500 per month for 18 months. It was blocked due to ongoing litigation filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“Why did they do that? Was it to get 80,000 phone numbers?” he asked. “That program was never about poverty or helping anybody.”
Ramsey says the county should instead rely more on nonprofit partners and stay focused on its statutory duties, such as courts, law enforcement and flood control.
“We pay way too much [in] taxes,” he said. “We’re $140 million over budget…my biggest problem with doing a large number of social programs is it’s not our responsibility.”
Ramsey has also focused on a parks and trails master plan to create greenways linking neighborhoods and stormwater infrastructure for improved drainage and flood control. The precinct is engaged in asphalt and concrete roadway rehabilitation projects, including bridge maintenance, sidewalk construction, and community centers.
Legacy
As Harris County continues to evolve politically and demographically, Ramsey insists his core mission won’t change: to listen to people. Even today, he gives out his personal phone number to anyone he meets.
“I actually answer the cell phone,” he said. “It would be that dirt-kicking civil engineer from Crockett that actually answers the phone. And when you need something fixed, I’ll come fix it.”
