Standing for community

Mike Braddock has been Lynn County Judge since 2014, and a resident of the rural Texas county nearly all his life. A rancher, landowner, and former county commissioner, Mike speaks here about his community and the benefits it gets from partnering with Ørsted.

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I’ve lived in Lynn County nearly all my life. I moved away for a couple years a long time ago, but the place drew me back.

I love this community and have always wanted to be an active part of it. I served as a county commissioner for 17 years, and then when a position came up on the court, I decided to run for it. I’ve been the judge here since 2014. My position gives me the opportunity to help people, keep them on the right track from a judicial standpoint. I work hard to manage the county budget and make sure we’re getting funds to the places that need it the most.

I’m also a rancher and a landowner. My father bought a lot of the land I own now, and I rent it out and sharecrop it with my tenants. On the weekends, I work on the land with my son-in-law. It’s really a full-time job, farming and raising cattle. We’re either moving cattle from one location to another, or baling hay. We’ve got about 1450 acres that we use for cattle grazing and for growing wheat and cotton.

A few years back, Ørsted visited the county and said they’d be interested in putting up wind turbines on some of the land here.

As a former county commissioner and current judge, I met with them and with some of the other landowners, and I made sure everyone went over their contracts. This is important: you need to carefully read your contract, and don’t be afraid to contact your state representative to clarify everything. Ørsted was really good at going over the contract with us, making us feel comfortable, and helping us understand every aspect of the deal.

So, my family and I agreed, and now we host two turbines on the dry side of our land where we farm cotton. Ørsted has always been reliable and steady with us.

Ørsted has demonstrated reliability throughout the county, too. They donate quite a bit to the library—backpacks for the children, and so forth. They bring the county a lot of tax benefits. And I believe it’s a good help for the people here that Ørsted brings clean energy into our community. I’m proud of this community, and I want to see it continue to improve and grow, and I think Ørsted’s making a positive impact on that.