Wilkins won’t seek House seat

Ector County Democratic Party chair John Wilkins has decided not to run for state representative.

Wilkins likely would’ve been the party’s best challenger in the strongly Republican district, a local political scientist has said, and his decision leaves Wilkins’ party without any candidate filed for the race and any legitimate candidate even considering the District 81 seat.

Wilkins’ wife, Yollie, is “99.9 percent” sure she’s running for Ector County Independent School District Board of Trustees Position 5 in May, John Wilkins said, adding that having two campaigns in the same year in the same household would be too complex.

“It becomes something that probably isn’t in the best interest of our family right now,” John Wilkins said.

Yollie Wilkins has already filed a campaign treasurer report for the May trustee election, John Wilkins said. Randy Rives, who’s running for state representative as a Republican, currently holds Position 5.

“I think she should have a fairly good chance of winning, but I think my odds would be fairly long,” John Wilkins said.

Wilkins said he’s disappointed that the Democratic Party probably won’t have a November opponent to challenge for the District 81 seat. The timing is right to challenge, he said.

Wilkins is revered around Odessa and the Permian Basin for his success as Permian High head football coach in the 1970s and early 1980s as well as his time as the school district’s athletic director.

In 13 seasons at Permian, he finished with a 148-16-6 record with two state championships and his teams never finished with more than two losses in a season.

Name recognition and the respect Wilkins garners would make him a formidable opponent for the Republican Party, UTPB political science professor Craig Emmert has said.

Now, the race for the seat will likely be determined in March during the Republican primary when incumbent Buddy West will face three challengers for the seat he’s held for eight terms. Thos challengers are Rives, former district judge and Odessa attorney Tryon Lewis and Odessa businessman Jesse Gore.