Map of precincts on the Smith County Commissioners Court. (Brian Crane/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Tyler City Councilman Bob Westbrook has announced a run for the Smith County Commissioners Court in the March 3 Republican Primary.

Westbrook will run against Commissioner Terry Phillips, a real estate investor who is in his third four-year term. Phillips was first elected in 2009.

Westbrook lives in The Woods subdivision, which is part of Precinct 3. The precinct also includes portions of Tyler, New Chapel Hill, Lindale, Winona, Hideaway, Arp and Overton, and some of the county’s most rural areas.

“The citizens all over Precinct 3 have basically been underrepresented for the time he’s been in office there, and they need more than just an advocate occasionally from the County Judge,” Westbrook said.

Westbrook is in his second two-year term on the City Council after first being elected in 2017. His City Council district includes The Wood subdivision and neighborhoods near the University of Texas at Tyler, among others.

For the past year, Westbrook has been doing constituent outreach, including morning coffee events at Tyler fire stations. He has been an advocate for increasing the city of Tyler’s tax rate in order to fund infrastructure.

Westbrook is a past chairman of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and has held other leadership positions within the business group. He made his living for 19 years owning and running restaurants under the CiCi’s Pizza franchise.

Westbrook made the announcement through the consulting firm dot the i. He said he would resign his City Council seat in December 2020 if elected to the Commissioners Court.

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