Steve Radack will not seek a ninth term as Harris County commissioner for Precinct 3, vacating a powerful position he has held for three decades that Democrats hope to flip next year.

Radack, 70, said he plans to invest his time and significant campaign account into helping Republicans regain seats after disastrous elections in 2016 and 2018.

“I’m not through being involved in public service, and I felt that there’s a lot I can do to help the Republican Party,” Radack said.

Harris County commissioners are among the most powerful Texas politicians, outside statewide elected officials. Though Commissioners Court governs the whole unincorporated county, members traditionally have refrained from meddling in each other’s precincts, effectively rendering each a fiefdom of more than 1 million residents where commissioners individually control tens of millions in annual infrastructure spending.

Court members often serve until retirement; in the four decades preceding 2016, they were more likely to be forced from office by criminal indictments than tossed out by voters. Radack’s retirement creates the first open seat since 2016, when Precinct 1 Commissioner El Franco Lee died unexpectedly.

Radack and Harris County’s other Republican commissioner, Jack Cagle, endorsed Spring Valley Village Mayor Tom Ramsey for the seat.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, said Radack’s impending retirement speaks to the shifting county electorate, which has helped Democrats sweep every countywide race since 2016.

“It is getting harder and harder for Republicans to compete in a rapidly changing county,” Rottinghaus said.

Radack, the longest-serving commissioner on the current court, first was elected in 1988. He has served alongside four county judges, with whom he sometimes clashed even if they were fellow Republicans. He repeatedly has battled — and lost votes to — the three Democrats who took control of Commissioners Court this year, led by County Judge Lina Hidalgo.

Radack has spent much of his tenure focused on building roads and bridges for Precinct 3, which covers much of western Harris County. The precinct, mostly outside the city of Houston, continues to grow rapidly.

A former police officer and county constable, Radack opposed the bail reform settlement approved by Democrats, though he took an interest in improving conditions at the Harris County Jail. He sometimes bucked his own party, including when he called on state’s Republican leaders to expand Medicaid, which he said would shore up the county health system for poor residents.

He also sought to stretch taxpayer dollars, including using captured feral hogs to feed the poor and repurposing dirt used to dig lakes for one park to build a soapbox-derby hill in another.

More Information Steve Radack Precinct 3 commissioner since 1989 Key focus of his tenure: Parks, roads and bridges in the fast-growing precinct. Campaigned for 2018 $2.5 billion flood bond.

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Cagle, who represents Precinct 4, praised Radack for his commitment to what he called “the basics of the job,” ensuring residents have safe streets and robust flood control infrastructure.

“He is a stalwart for taking care of his constituents and focusing on good work,” Cagle said.

Several candidates from both major parties have joined the race. Ramsey, City Councilwoman Brenda Stardig and former West University Place Mayor Susan Sample will run in the Republican primary. The Democratic race will feature Michael Moore, chief of staff to former Mayor Bill White, former state Rep. Kristi Thibaut, educator Diana Martinez Alexander and three other candidates.

Democrats are keen to capture the seat, which would give them a crucial fourth vote to set the county’s tax rate. Their plan this fall to raise property taxes, a move they said was necessary to ensure the county could continue to fund essential services under a looming revenue cap set by the Legislature, was foiled when Cagle and Radack skipped the vote.

A quirk in Texas law requires a quorum of four members, rather than the usual three, for a Commissioners Court vote levying a tax. The no-vote forced the county to adopt a lower tax rate, leaving the county with tough spending choices for the coming fiscal year. Budget hearings began Monday.

Radack has won eight consecutive elections in Precinct 3. He walloped his 2016 opponent by 15 points even as Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump across the county. Democrats believe they can win there, however, pointing to encouraging results in the 2018 election.

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, edged Republican incumbent Ted Cruz in the precinct by4 percentage points in the Senate race, according to data compiled by Democratic consultant Keir Murray.

Radack said as recently as August that he intended to seek re-election, though he did not actively raise money the first six months of 2019. His campaign account contains $1.6 million, which he pledged to disburse to Republican candidates and get-out-the-vote efforts.

zach.despart@chron.com