Meet Rich Lyles

Rich Lyles is running for Abilene City Council Place 4 because he believes strong communities are built through practical leadership, responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and a genuine commitment to improving everyday life for local families.

Professional Experience

Rich currently serves as the Director of the APEX Accelerator Program at Texas Tech University. In this role, he leads a program that helps businesses across 130 counties in West Texas secure government contracts at the federal, state, and local levels.

Through training, counseling, and strategic networking, Rich and his team help locally owned businesses strengthen supply chains, grow their workforce, and compete in government procurement markets. His work directly supports the defense industrial base and strengthens economic development across rural and urban communities alike.

This background gives Rich a unique skill set: he knows how to identify and pursue the state and federal funding opportunities that many cities overlook — and he intends to put that knowledge to work for Abilene.

Roots in Abilene

Rich has called Abilene home since 2020. Before moving to West Texas, he spent 27 years in southern Nevada, two years in Casper, Wyoming, and two years in Raymondville in South Texas.

Community & Professional Leadership

Throughout his career, Rich has been deeply involved in professional and community organizations focused on economic development and government procurement:

• Chair, Partnership Committee — National Institute of Governmental Procurement
• Strategic Partnerships Committee & Professional Review Committee — National APEX Accelerator Alliance
• Past Board Member — Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC)
• Appointed Member — Business Development Advisory Council, Clark County, Nevada (3-year term)
• Speaker — Rotary Clubs and Lions Clubs throughout the Big Country and High Plains of Texas

Why Rich Is Running

Rich decided to run for City Council after seeing several challenges facing Abilene that require practical solutions and long-term thinking.

Infrastructure is his top concern. Like many residents, Rich sees the need to dramatically improve Abilene's roadways and drainage systems. Through his professional experience working with federal programs, he believes significant outside funding opportunities exist that the city has not fully pursued.

Rich is also focused on housing stability — supporting homeownership programs through the Housing Authority and HUD-administered initiatives that help families build equity and reduce vulnerability to rental market shocks.

And as someone who has spent his entire career championing locally owned small businesses, Rich believes the best path to a healthy local economy runs through the entrepreneurs already invested in Abilene — not through subsidies to large corporations.