Ben's Bio
Ben Leman is a successful and proven business owner. He will fight illegal immigration, he is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment and Ben will work aggressively to lower property taxes.
Ben began his successful business career when he co-founded an oil and gas equipment manufacturing company in 1997. As CEO of Merrimac Manufacturing, Inc., he successfully navigated major growth rates on a very tight budget, growing the complex business ‘from just two of us in my mother’s garage’ to over 100 employees, 25 stocking locations around the world and a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located in House District 13. Ben’s business success was the quintessential American Dream. Ben sold the company in 2012 to a publicly traded company, where he continued to work for one more year.
In 2013, he shifted his focus toward his civic duty and announced his candidacy for Grimes County Judge to help prepare Grimes County for the rapid growth headed its way. Ben won the Republican nomination for County Judge in 2014, then the General Election later that same year. As County Judge, he combined his business acumen with his conservative principles to do some great work for Grimes County. Among the successes during his three years in office were:
- proposed and passed a property tax cut 2 out of 3 years in office while continuing to reduce debt to an almost zero debt balance
- avoided any tax rate increases despite having a nearly $600,000 decrease in revenue in one of those years
- fought and defeated the proposed State Highway 249 toll road and successfully eliminated the toll in Grimes County
- developed and implemented a citizen-driven strategic plan for the County so the Commissioners Court could build consensus and prioritize their needs as the growth occurred
- developed and implemented an economic development plan for the County
- developed and implemented a performance review based compensation structure for all county personnel to ensure employees are responsive to citizens
Ben is most known in public office for being a staunch defender of private property rights and an advocate for rural Texas. As County Judge, he was willing to go as far as file and win a lawsuit in District Court against Texas Central Partners, the corporation claiming the authority of eminent domain for their proposed private project. The lawsuit effectively prevented Texas Central Partners from being able to perform surveys on County property.
Ben is a 4th generation Texan. He graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Finance, and his wife Christie graduated from Texas A&M University with double major in Spanish and History. They married in 2004 and are blessed with four children. The Lemans have called Grimes County home for 13 years, and they live on their family ranch where they raise their kids with strong, traditional, Texas family values. As a family, they run a cow/calf operation, the kids show animals at the county fair, they are active in 4-H club and participate in youth sports (where Ben also coaches), and their kids help take care of the numerous animals on their property – horses, pigs, chickens and cows. The Lemans are active members of St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Anderson.