Candidates for Justice of the Peace and County Commissioner gathered at the Bairfield Activity Center last Thursday, February 10, to state their positions and ask voters for support.
The forum was hosted by the Donley County Republican Party. All local candidates on this year’s primary ballot are Republicans.
GOP County Chairman Bill Word welcomed a crowd of about 40 people on a busy Thursday night.
“It is wonderful to see this level of interest in our election,” Word said.
Word said the party is in a “war against complacency” as voters may be tempted to stay home, but he urged voters to be active and said that a study showed if rural Texas could increase its voter turnout from its current 35 percent to 40 percent, it could overwhelm liberal urban voters.
He also urged local Republicans to consider signing up to be precinct chairs so that the local party can get more involved in state politics.
Candidates for the job of Precinct 1&2 Justice of the Peace took the stage next as Republican voters consider their choice for replacing Judge Pam Mason, who resigned in December.
Sarah Hatley talked about her roots in the community and service on several boards including the Donley County Child Welfare Board. She said she is running for the JP office because she believes the proper administration of the office is a vital part of county government.
“This role must be performed with the utmost care and dedication to fairness, and I believe I have the skills and abilities to fulfill that position,” Hatley said. “I will be fair, honest, and firm as the justice of the peace.”
Hatley, who has had a career in education for ten years, said her profession is not the same as it was when she started and said the opportunity to run for JP would let her make a change while still serving the community where she grew up and has chosen to raise her family.
Connie Lane, who is also running for JP, issued a call for younger people to get more involved in elections and said she has been getting people to sign up to vote. She is a 20-year resident of the county and raised her kids here and said that she worked closely with veterans’ affairs to get services for veterans while working with her late husband at Lane’s Plumbing & Electric.
As a licensed nurse who graduated from Clarendon College, Lane also said that her first career choice was not what it was when she began and that she seeks to serve in a new way.
“Anyone running for Justice of the Peace should be held to the highest code of ethics,” Lane said, and she promised to apply the rule of law without prejudice.
Kristen Taylor discussed her family and said she talked with former JP Pam Mason before deciding to run for office. She knew after that talk that she wanted to be the Justice of the Peace.
“I learned what the job is about and knew that I could do it,” she said.
Taylor called the office the “court closest to the people” and said that she and her husband own a small business. She said she works every day to set an example for her boys about honesty and integrity.
“I will do my best to uphold the office,” Taylor said. “I will be firm, fair, and unbiased.”
Ashlee Savage previously announced her candidacy for the JP of Precinct 1&2. She told the Enterprise on February 1 that she had withdrawn from the election. Her name still appears on the ballot, but she was not mentioned at the candidates’ forum.
Candidates for Precinct 4 County Commissioner were the next to speak.
Challenger Brad Dalton said that the purpose of government at any level is to serve the people. Following a career as a lineman for Southwestern Public Service, he retired to land near Alanreed that was settled by his family at the turn of the 20th century.
“I know about hard work and believe that if a person has a job, they should do that job,” Dalton said. “I will listen and use funds wisely for the best use of the county.”
Incumbent Commissioner Dan Sawyer said his roots in the county go back to 1874 with his great-grandfather serving as one of the early commissioners. He pointed out that Donley County is the fifth poorest county out of 254 in the state due to a lack of mineral and oil wealth, but he said that the county has built a positive fund balance without raising taxes while still taking care of county business in the eleven years he has been in office.
He pointed to improvements like the new JP office in Precinct 3&4, the maintenance and care of the 1890 Courthouse, and his role in negotiating wind energy developments along with other accomplishments during his tenure.
Sawyer was also proud of an outreach the county did this school year by inviting students to participate in commissioners’ court to learn more about local government.
Donley County Judge John Howard was the evening’s final speaker as he discussed the progress the county has made with the efficient use of funds, while still keeping taxes low.
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