Somewhere during my adult life, someone encouraged me to be a volunteer fireman. I served 13 years with the Decatur Fire Department in various capacities, such as fire captain and training officer, with the last four years as chief. I guess I could say I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up.

A Glimpse in the Life of Wise County Commissioner Kevin Burns

Kevin Burns served 13 years as a volunteer firefighter with the Decatur Fire Department, including his last four years as chief.

I had been employed as a tractor and automotive mechanic and a business manager at a tractor dealership, and I had spent a decade as a trade and industrial education instructor at Decatur High School. I was then self-employed in a multifaceted automotive business prior to running for Commissioner. Throughout my life, I have supplemented my income as a small farmer and rancher, or maybe I supplemented my farming and ranching habit with full-time employment.

Kevin Burns previously worked as a tractor and automotive mechanic and business manager at a tractor dealership, taught trade and industrial education at Decatur High School, and was self-employed in an automotive business. He has also worked as a small farmer and rancher.

Kevin Burns (R)
Last modified on: 03-16-2026 12:05:58

 Back to Wise

County Commissioner
(Wise)
Term Ends: 12-31-2030
District: 2
General Information

Kevin Burns (R) | Texas Directory

Kevin serves as Wise County Commissioner for District 2. His term ends December 31, 2030.

Kevin Burns - Texas State Directory Online

2026 Texas General Election

As of July 22, 2026, Kevin Burns did not have a website or any information online.

Economy

My favorite part of being a County Commissioner is meeting people throughout the county, throughout the state, and throughout the country, and meeting their needs if possible. I tell my employees to empower themselves to deliver service to constituents if it is legal, moral, ethical and affordable while they are out on the road. Of course the road hands are conservative, careful and usually ask prior to doing anything in the right of way, but that is okay because I then get to interact with our citizens, which offers me the opportunity to get to know my neighbors.

Directs employees to provide constituent services when the work is legal, ethical, and affordable.

- Directs employees to provide constituent services when the work is legal, ethical, and affordable.

Public Services

Housing & Urban Development

Public Safety

It is extremely hard to tell a person “No” when they are asking to have their road paved next. We started by spreading the work around between communities as much as possible so very rural areas would get some improvements, but my foreman and I determined that traffic count would be the easiest way to justify the schedule. It is tough to tell a person who has been paying taxes on property for a lifetime that they have to wait years to see any improvement to a dusty road, but traffic has to be the determining factor.

Prioritizes traffic counts when scheduling road paving, while seeking to extend improvements to rural areas.

- Prioritizes traffic counts when scheduling road paving, while seeking to extend improvements to rural areas.

Transportation & Infrastructure

I didn’t expect to be as involved as an advocate in state or national policies or budgets. Wise County maintains 108 flood control structures in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Natural Resources Conservation Services. A direct benefit from those flood control dams and small watershed protection measures is the protection of roads and property in Precinct 2. It is easy to be an advocate for continued investment in those activities.

“Our conservation work and flood control dams in Wise County protect the county’s soil and water resources as well as improving the water quality downstream in Tarrant County,” says Kevin Burns, Wise County Commissioner. But we also look upstream in Jack and Montague Counties where their dams and conservation work helps protect the Decatur water supply via Lake Bridgeport. Flooding and sediment from soil erosion doesn’t stop at county lines, so partnerships that extend across county boundaries are really important to do a good job in conservation.”

Texas Partnerships Protect Water Quality and Quantity of Ft. Worth Water Supply

I didn’t expect to host out-of-state groups for tours in the oilfield or help with the research and development of curriculum and workforce courses for universities in the Marcellus gas play. I was fortunate to host a group sponsored by and accompanied by the Bradford County Pennsylvania Commissioners in 2008, then many others in the following years. Since then, we have formed America’s Counties for Energy Independence. The organization provides a knowledge base of county personnel who have experience responding to the demands of gas play on county infrastructure and services to help other counties prepare for those activities. The group supports responsible and best/safe practices in the production of energy resources.

Advocates continued investment in flood-control dams and small-watershed protections to protect roads and property in Precinct 2.

Supports cross-county conservation partnerships to protect soil and water resources, downstream water quality, and Decatur's water supply.

Helped form America’s Counties for Energy Independence, which supports responsible and safe energy-production practices.

Advocated for America’s Counties for Energy Independence, which supports responsible and safe energy-production practices.

- Advocates continued investment in flood-control dams and small-watershed protections to protect roads and property in Precinct 2.
- Supports cross-county conservation partnerships to protect soil and water resources, downstream water quality, and Decatur's water supply.
- Advocated for America’s Counties for Energy Independence, which supports responsible and safe energy-production practices.

Energy & the Environment

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LinkedIn

Kevin Burns

As of July 22, 2026, Kevin Burns’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Kevin Burns is currently Wise County Commissioner representing District 2.

Primary draws contested races - Wise County Messenger

Texas Partnerships Protect Water Quality and Quantity of Ft. Worth ...

For Candidate Kevin Burns on Issue energy-and-environment:  
Supports manageable growth.

Kevin is the Wise County Commissioner for District 2. He works at the Wise County Commissioners Court, where he oversees conservation projects and flood control dam operations that protect local soil and water resources and improve water quality downstream in Tarrant County.

Kevin Burns is currently Wise County Commissioner representing District 2. He was appointed chair of the National Watershed Coalition in 2011 and served for two years.

Kevin is a County Commissioner for Wise County’s District 2. He works at the Wise County Commission. He previously worked as a tractor and automotive mechanic and a business manager at a tractor dealership, spent ten years teaching trade and industrial education at Decatur High School, ran his own automotive service business, and operated a small farm and ranch.

Kevin Burns is currently a Wise County Commissioner representing District 2. He was first elected in 2000 and has served multiple terms.

For Candidate Kevin Burns on Issue energy-and-environment: Supports manageable growth.

Buket Urgen

Alejandra Gracias

- County commissioners vote on the budget and appropriations, which fund essential county services like road maintenance.
- They create and enforce civil and criminal laws that align with state regulations, including land use and construction codes.
- Commissioners implement state and federal mandates while overseeing county agencies and public buildings.
- They also set tax rates for the county and its subdivisions.
- Each Texas county has four commissioners and a county judge, forming the local governing body known as the Commissioners Court.