Local Government

Tray Payne was elected to serve as the 36^th mayor of Lubbock in May 2022.

Tray is a West Texas native. He was born and raised in the small town of Post where he learned the value of hard work and good, old fashioned common sense. He is a Red Raider, having graduated from Texas Tech University in 1996 with a B.B.A of accounting. Tray later went on to earn his law degree from Oklahoma City University in 2000, and in the same year, married his wife Heidi, and promptly moved back to Lubbock to begin practicing law.

Tray joined the Lubbock County District Attorney’s office where he served under Judge Bill Sowder and Matt Powell. He served in many roles as a prosecutor, including trial chief of the 364^th District Court, Chief of homicide, as well as Special Assistant US Attorney, where he prosecuted violent felons under the Project Safe Neighborhood initiative.

In 2009, he opened his private practice law firm, known today as Payne, Powell and Truitt Law Group. Tray is also a licensed real estate broker and partner in ALL real estate and he maintains ownership in Garza County Abstract, a title company in Post.

Tray proudly serves the Lubbock Community, attends Indiana Avenue Baptist Church and is involved in numerous organizations as a volunteer, board member and philanthropist. He has a passion to travel, loves to fly fish and is an avid reader. Tray has been married to the love of his life for 21 years and is raising 4 daughters and Piper the dog.

Christy Martinez-Garcia was elected to the Lubbock City Council, District 1, in May 2022.

She grew up in the Arnett Benson neighborhood in North Lubbock and graduated from Lubbock High School before she went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Relations and Marketing from Texas Tech University.

Mrs. Martinez-Garcia is passionate about her community, and is involved in various boards and is a part of a number of organizations. She is the founder of Los Hermanos Familia, a nonprofit organization whose objective is “Strengthening Families, Building Community.” A popular event hosted by Los Hermanos Familia is the annual “Vamos A Pescar, Let’s Go Fishing” event which uses fishing as a hook to bring families together. Other projects focus on reading and literacy, health, family engagement, financial literacy, Veterans, and cultural arts programs to name a few.

Mrs. Martinez-Garcia is the founder and publisher of Latino Lubbock Magazine, which has been available in print and digitally for more than 16 years and provides Lubbock news from a Latino perspective. She also hosts the Latino Lubbock Update segment on KLBK’s Trends & Friends.

Mrs. Martinez-Garcia worked for the City of Lubbock as a Public Information Officer where she handled and participated in several public affairs projects like the FEMA Project Impact Grant, which helped to build a disaster-resistant and prepared community; the marketing for the Census Complete Count Committee, making sure everyone had the chance to be counted and to bring awareness of the significance of the Census.

She also had the opportunity to work on the Citizen’s Survey, which gave citizens an opportunity to rank their needs; she established the City Speakers Bureau to connect city staff to citizens and to put a face on what is often considered a faceless bureaucracy. She also worked on the City’s Y2K public information campaign, which prepared the community for emergency conditions.

She went on to work for the National Council of La Raza in Washington, D.C. as the Assistant Director of Public Information.

She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Senator Robert L. Duncan Community Champion Award, the National Latina Publisher of the Year by NAHP, and the 2009 Women in Small Business Champion for the SBA Northwest.

Mrs. Martinez-Garcia has been married to her husband Frank Garcia for more than 34 years. Their daughter, Amaris Garcia, has followed her mother’s example and earned a degree in PR and Marketing, as well as an M.B.A and will be pursuing a PhD.

In 2013, Christy and Frank were selected for the Texas Tech Parents of the Year for their support of students and campus organizations.

Shelia is a retired Juvenile Probation Officer/Supervisor, who served approximately 21 years at the Lubbock County Juvenile Justice Center. During her tenure, Shelia not only guided and developed her staff, but personally worked with children, youth, and families, helping them to follow a more positive path and a new direction in their lives. Shelia takes great pride in her work at the Juvenile Justice Center.

Shelia has been an active community volunteer in Lubbock for many years. The past boards and organizations she has served include Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Lubbock Habitat for Humanity, Community Youth Development (CYD) Collaborative Review Committee, Lubbock Citizens United for Equity and Access (LCUEA), Dispute Resolution Advisory Board, and the Zoning Board of Adjustments (ZBA) for the City of Lubbock. Shelia continues to serve faithfully and diligently with Lubbock Habitat for Humanity as a long-time member of the Homeowner Selection Committee, coordinator for T.J. and Bobbie Gean Patterson Scholarship Fund, Vice President and member of the Dunbar International Alumni Association, member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Chatman Hill Neighborhood Association, Left-to-Right Book Club at the Patterson Branch Library, and Dunbar Preparatory School PTA.

Shelia’s goals are to revitalize Lubbock and establish equitability throughout the city for all citizens. She is a big believer in communication and in bringing people together to create working relationships that empower and provide opportunities to address concerns and improve every neighborhood. Shelia’s objective is to work with other leaders, community members and agencies to unify Lubbock, and to initiate collective efforts that are felt and visible throughout her district and throughout Lubbock.

Mark McBrayer was elected to the Lubbock City Council in May 2022.

Mark is an ordained Baptist minister, and he owned and operated several local businesses for 25 years before going to law school. For the past 20 years he has been a practicing attorney, serving now as counsel to the law firm of Crenshaw, Dupree & Milam.

Lubbock’s District 3 has been Mark’s home for more than 50 years. He learned the values he lives by from his church and from his parents. Mark and his wife Cindy are Texas Tech graduates and proud Red Raiders. Cindy taught public school for 29 years and now works for the Baptist Student Ministry at Texas Tech. They have two children who grew up and attended public schools in District 3. Their daughter is a local dentist, and their son served his country as a Navy Seal before coming back to Lubbock to work and raise his two children with his wife, who is also a teacher.

As a Council member, Mark says he is “grounded in Lubbock’s values and focused on Lubbock’s future.” Mark hopes to focus on keeping Lubbock’s taxes low, lowering the City’s current debt, prioritizing citizen safety and essential services, supporting police and firemen, maintaining streets and critical infrastructure, enforcing city codes, reducing regulations on business, bringing good businesses with good paying jobs to Lubbock, and promoting greater transparency and accountability at the City Council.

Steve Massengale was elected to the Lubbock City Council, District 4, on May 7, 2016.

Steve grew up in Lubbock where he attended Monterey High School and later graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Business. Steve’s wife Stephanie is a Lubbock native who works with Steve in their family-owned, local businesses. Stephanie is also active in the community, and recently completed her term as President of the Civic Lubbock Board of Directors. Steve and Stephanie have a daughter, Audrey.

Steve serves as CEO and Owner of Advanced Graphix, a company that manufactures and distributes promotional products. He is also owner of The Matador, a local retail business that specializes in Texas Tech apparel and gifts. Having owned and operated businesses from an early age and having previously served as an elected official, Steve believes that working with people and leveraging their strengths to produce successful results is a key dynamic in both business and in community service.

Steve is passionate about Lubbock, and strongly believes in giving back to the community and in serving others.

Steve was elected to the Lubbock ISD Board of Trustees in 2006 and served for eight years. During that time, Steve chaired the LISD Board Facilities Committee, which proposed the 2010 Bond Election that was approved by Lubbock voters later that year. Steve has served the Lubbock community in many volunteer roles including the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, Committee for Champions, Covenant Health System Foundation, Communities in Schools, South Plains Association of Governments, United Way of Lubbock, West Texas Kidney Foundation, and several other non-profit organizations. Prior to being elected to the City Council, Steve served on the City of Lubbock’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

Steve is an Eagle Scout, and supports and has served on the Boy Scouts of America South Plains Council.

Dr. Jennifer Wilson was elected to the Lubbock City Council District 5 on May 7, 2022. District 5 is located in southwest Lubbock.

Dr. Wilson is a lifelong Lubbock resident. After graduating from Texas Tech University with her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, Dr. Wilson attended medical school at the American University of the Caribbean to pursue her passion of caring for children.

She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, where she completed both her residency and fellowship after medical school. For the last several years, Dr. Wilson has dedicated her professional life to training and mentoring medical students, residents and fellows at TTUHSC; and works as a Pediatric Hospital Physician for UMC Children’s Hospital, Covenant Children’s Hospital and Trustpoint Rehabilitation Hospital. She is board certified in Pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics. Dr. Wilson is a member of American Academy of Pediatrics, Society for Hospital Medicine and Texas Pediatric Society. She also serves as the Medical Director for Camp New Beginnings summer camp for children with Type 1 diabetes.

As a City Council member, Dr. Wilson’s focus is community service and conservative principles. She believes citizens can, and should, expect effective and efficient basic city services. Her priorities include further strengthening public safety, encouraging growth and development, improving our city’s infrastructure, supporting small business and maintaining Lubbock’s small-town values.

Dr. Wilson’s husband, Nick, is a firefighter with Lubbock Fire Rescue, and they have two daughters, Alyssa and Adi. In her community, she serves as an officer for Regency Park neighborhood association and participates in numerous charitable activities. Dr. Wilson is a dedicated wife, mother, community leader, and is a proud resident of Lubbock.

Latrelle Joy was elected to the Lubbock City Council, District 6, on May 12, 2012. Her district is located in north/northwest Lubbock.

Ms. Joy is a long-time resident of Lubbock, Texas, having moved to Lubbock to attend Texas Tech University as a freshman. She earned her Bachelor of Science in education, her Doctorate of Jurisprudence in 1982 from Texas Tech University and was admitted to the State Bar of Texas that same year. Ms. Joy is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Lubbock County Bar Association, and is a life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. She has been Board Certified in Family Law since 1993 and has been a trained mediator since 1999.

Ms. Joy has served on the State Bar of Texas Family Law Council, the Collaborative Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, and as a member and Trustee of the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas. She is a Past President of the Collaborative Law Section of the Lubbock County Bar Association and served as a member of the State Bar of Texas Judicial Administration Task Force in 2007. 

Ms. Joy has volunteered at St. Johns Legal Clinic, was appointed as a member of the Homelessness Committee by the Lubbock City Council in 2011, and prior to her election to the Lubbock City Council for District 6 was a member of the United Way Homeless Oversight Committee and the Tax Increment Finance Board for the City of Lubbock.

Ms. Joy currently serves on the City of Lubbock Facilities Committee and chairs the Homelessness Committee and Short Term Rental Committee. She serves as Region 3 Director of the Texas Municipal League and is actively involved with legislative issues affecting the City of Lubbock.

Ms. Joy is a long-time director and part president of Lubbock Girls Basketball, a sustaining member of the Junior League of Lubbock and a board member and a past Vice-President of the Lubbock Rotary Club. She is a member of Broadway Church of Christ. She has three children, Craig, Gery, and Anice and has eight grandchildren. She is a passionate soccer fan and supporter, loves to hike the mountains, and is an avid reader.