(Seguin) — With the primary election decided, Michael Carpenter is poised to become Guadalupe County’s next county judge. In fact, it became clear immediately after the filing deadline in December that Carpenter would stand alone on the Republican primary ballot, facing no challenger last Tuesday. Carpenter will officially assume the role in January, replacing current County Judge Kyle Kutscher, who opted not to seek another term.
During a recent appearance on KWED’s Saturday Topic program, Carpenter spoke about his vision for guiding Guadalupe County into its next chapter.
“Judge Kutscher and the previous judges and commissioners have given us an amazing foundation of a county government. There are some things that I would like to do with regard to organizational culture and cooperation and teamwork that I could not do if that foundation was not there and that organizational culture, I want to build upon again collaboration and teamwork and all of the departments seeing each other and understanding what effect each department has on the other. That is a countywide endeavor. That is not looking to any portion of the county. It’s the whole organization,” said Carpenter.
It should be pointed out that Carpenter’s path to this new leadership role follows decades of public service.
He first entered local leadership as a Schertz City Council member before serving multiple terms as mayor of Schertz. He later brought those leadership skills to the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court.
His move to seek the county judge’s seat, however, created some changes within county government.
Former longtime commissioner Jim Wolverton was appointed to his seat and — just last Tuesday secured the Republican nomination for the unexpired Precinct 3 seat on the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court.
The Precinct 3 vacancy was originally created when Carpenter resigned to run for county judge.
During the interview, Carpenter admitted that he was surprised when no one filed to challenge him for County judge — a rare occurrence in the county’s history.
“I was completely surprised. I was cautiously optimistic and hopeful but I will tell you I sat in the Starbucks in Schertz where the Guadalupe County Republican representative was sitting waiting for filers and I just sat there waiting for someone to walk in and wondering when it was going to happen and it didn’t and I was just very surprised and then there was another representative from the party that was in Seguin and I asked the gentleman that was sitting across from me — did anyone file in Seguin? And he texted ‘no, no one has filed’ and then I went to the website and checked, and I saw that no one filed from the Democratic party, Green party, Libertarian –no other filers at all and I was very surprised. I was very surprised. Just a little insider, I had 24×8 foot signs and they are still in my garage. They were ready to go, and my wife has told me get them out of my garage, “ laughs Carpenter.
As Guadalupe County continues to experience rapid growth, Carpenter says his focus will always remain on “steady leadership, long-term planning and ensuring county government keeps pace with the needs of its residents.”
Carpenter will be administered the oath of office on Jan. 1, 2027.