Our endorsements

The Republican Primary is early this year – March 1st – but the early in-person voting is underway. We have some opinions in the contested local races and offer our suggestions on how you should vote. In all these cases there are no Democrats on the ballot for the fall, so whoever wins the primary (or the runoff) will get the position.

State Senator

Kevin Eltife’s decision to retire results in the uncommon phenomenon of having an open seat (these days politicians seem to follow the old saying about incumbency, “Few die and none resign).

There are four candidates. Two of them, Mike Lee of Queen City and James K. “Red” Brown of Tyler, haven’t held office before and haven’t made much of a splash on the campaign trail. That’s compared with Bryan Hughes of Mineola and David Simpson of Longview – both incumbent state representatives and both with strong solid conservative voting records.

We are voting for Hughes because he’s represented Mount Pleasant as state rep and knows the area. He’s pleasant and hard-working and clearly shows he wants and will appreciate the job. But Either Hughes or Simpson will make a fine state senator – it’s a close call here.

State Representative

With Hughes trying to make the move to the Senate, his seat is open. There were five candidates but Phillip Hayes of Hideaway has suspended his campaign. At first glance he appeared to be an appealing enough candidate that he was endorsed by the Tyler Telegraph. Hayes was campaigning hard, but proved to be too clever by half; he was caught claiming he had a bachelors and masters degree from SMU, when he was only a former student, and he was caught putting an endorsement on literature that wasn’t approved.  The Tyler Telegraph rescinded its endorsement.

That leaves Jay Misenhiemer of Lindale, Holly Coggins Hayes of Mineola, Randy Davis of Emory, and Cole Hefner of Mount Pleasant. Philip Hayes threw his support to Misenheimer, which probably didn’t help, and we know nothing about the other Hayes. The two candidates that actually rang our doorbell here in Mount Pleasant were Davis and Hefner, and we feel both are good solid men who would make a good state rep. But looking over his endorsements, we are voting for the favorite son, Hefner. He looks like a slightly younger version of Bryan Hughes, and that’s a good thing.

Sheriff

Being sheriff is a thankless job which illustrates the adage “Friends come and go but enemies accumulate”. Your friends want favors and the crooks want to be left alone. But Sheriff Tim Ingram had enforced the law fairly and let the chips fall where they may. Some people don’t like that, but that’s the way the job is supposed to be done.

When Ingram was elected in 2008, the roles of the parties were reversed. There was no Republican in the general election, and he pulled out a victory in the Democratic runoff after finishing second to Paul Lindsey (the other candidates were Bobby Joe Spearman and Jackson Smith; Spearman this election is the last Democrat running for local office, Precinct 2 Constable).

In 2012, Ingram had no opposition, which we believe in general is not a good thing. This year, Glenn Willis is holding him accountable in the primary.

Willis seems eager and enthusiastic, but we’re not sure he has the civilian law enforcement background required. He has similar experience in the military, but it’s hard to tell whether that is equivalent. He also has made a mistake of seeming to listen to every crook and crackpot who has a grudge against the sheriff. He should realize those people would seek him out and try to manipulate him. He’s also exhibited an unseemly touchiness to criticism.

Another day, and handled another way, Willis’ campaign might have made a case for replacing Ingram, but not this election and not this year. There is no reason to turn out a sheriff with such long experience and support, both from the community and employees as well as fellow law enforcement officers.

The most potent opposition to Ingram seems to stem from long-time Republicans who resent he changed parties, especially since in the past he hasn’t gone along with some Republican initiatives. But political partisanship is no reason to put the whole structure of law enforcement in Titus County in peril. I’m voting for Tim Ingram.

Commissioner Precinct 1

Al Riddle has been a gadfly on the commissioners court, prodding the complacency that results in crazy stuff like not knowing how high a bridge needs to be to clear a railroad track. He’s been a bulldog on the budget, speaking out on behalf of taxpayers who are having a hard time holding on to their property in the face of ever-escalating tax bills.

That’s not made him popular with county employees, and the usual bunch of “get along go along” BIMPS who think government jobs are made so they don’t have to work for a living. Although he grew up here, he didn’t spend his adult life in Titus County, returning after retirement, and he’s not one of the usual suspects. Some people, listening in their small circle of friends, think he can be beat. They may be sorely mistaken.

When you have a commissioner who only draws half his salary and actually turns in mileage, instead of taking that $15,600 a year auto allowance, you’re going to have a hard time convincing voters anyone else is more a representative for the people.

He has two opponents. Mack Love seems to be woefully inexperienced in wider civic affairs, although he has long experience as a businessman. Jeff Parchman is with a very successful family owned company and it seems strange that at 34 years old he wants to retire to a government job.

There’s no reason not to give Al Riddle a second term, and we hope the voters in Precinct 1 will agree. This is one case where we can’t say we will be voting for him, because we live in Precinct 3 – but we hope you do.

Commissioner Precinct 3

Phillip Hinton’s decision to retire leaves an open seat, and while Hinton was a Democrat, no Democrat filed to replace him. Instead Republican voters will choose between Dana Applewhite, Gary Murray and Bobby Parr.

All three candidates are men with good, solid backgrounds who would do a good job. There’s no bad candidate in the race, just the difference between good, better and best. Of the three, Bobby Parr is the best, because he has an especially good record of public service to point to. He’s represented the county on the Appraisal District Board since the start of 2010.

The Appraisal District Board of Directors is appointed – not elected – and its members are named by the various branches of government in the county. They are usually the biggest status quo chumps around and will rubber stamp everything put in front of them.

But during his time on the board, Parr has been unusual in that’s he’s been both questioning and diligent while still being polite and agreeable. A lot of times people toss around the term “Agree without being disagreeable” as sarcasm, but Parr manages to do that. He’s served as true watchdog while not being obstructionist.

If he brings the same attitude and dedication to the commissioners court, he will prove to be a big asset. I do live in Precinct 3, and I am voting for Bobby Parr.