Candidate Forum held in Talco

Some of the candidates at the Thursday night forum included, from left, Woody Hughes, Esther Holliday and Steve Agan.

Candidates at the Thursday forum included, from left, Marcus Carlock, Sharyn Cary, Denise Reichert and Brian Lee.

By LOU ANTONELLI
Editor-in-Chief
Republicans in northern Titus County joined in meeting and questioning candidates in the upcoming spring primary Thursday night in Talco.
The Republicans of Talco Precinct 9 hosted a Candidate Forum in the second floor meeting room of Talco City Hall. The moderator was Precinct Chairman Michael Mars.
Titus County has a number of contested races this year, and candidates in three of them attended - Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1, 3 and 4, District Clerk, and County Judge.
The JP and district post are up for grabs with neither incumbents Kay McNutt and Debra Abston running for re-election.
County Judge Brian Lee, first elected in 2010, is seeking a third term versus challenger Denise Reichert.
Running to succeed McNutt for JP are Woody Hughes and Steve Agan. Running to replace Abston as District Clerk are Esther Holliday, Marcus Carlock and Sharyn Cary.
Mars introduced the seven candidates in attendance and noted two candidates in the packed audience running for county commissioner in two other districts, John Fitch for Precinct 2 and Judy Kent in Precinct 4.
Each candidate was given three minutes to introduce themselves.
A retired Titus County Sheriff’s Deputy, Hughes said he’s a Titus County native and graduated Mount Pleasant High School in 1982. He said he worked his way up in his career, and his first job was working at the Piggly Wiggly “which tells you how old I am.”
He said Sheriff John Moss gave him his start in the sheriff’s office when he hired him as a dispatcher in 1992. He later moved to working at the jail, and after graduating the law enforcement academy at NTCC he went to work as a deputy. He retired in 2016.
Another Titus County native, Agan said he served 18 years as a volunteer firefighter and 15 years as a reserve deputy sheriff, also starting under Sheriff John Moss. He additionally served two terms on the Mount Pleasant City Council.
Carlock said he attended the academy at NTCC and started as a patrol officer at the Mount Pleasant Police Department in 2002. While there he was named both Rookie of the Year and Officer of the Year, and was eventually being promoted to Patrol Sergeant
After Tim Ingram was elected sheriff in 2008 he joined the sheriff’s office in 2009. In both the police department and sheriff’s office he was a member of the SWAT team, honor guard, and served as a canine officer.
He left in 2016 and currently owns and operates his own business, a coffee shop. He said that as a result of his law enforcement experience and being a self-employed businessman “I love paperwork” and is qualified to be district clerk.
Holliday said she is has been the intake clerk in the office of County Attorney John Mark Cobern since 2014. “I do all the paperwork,” she said, and that is similar to the post of District Clerk, who manages and administers the county’s court system.
She said she is a member of the Titus County Fair %K Committee, and the Mount Pleasant Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Cary said she is not a Texas native but grew up in Wisconsin and joined the military when she was 18, serving 20 years as a quality assurance financial specialist.
“:I’ve worked with plenty of budgets,” she said, “I’m good with numbers and budgets.”
Before taking military retirement, she spent her last year taking police academy classes at night, and 14 days after her formal retirement from the military she started as an officer with the Gatesville Police Department.
She joined the Mount Pleasant Police Department in 2005, and headed up the CID before retiring as Patrol Commander in 2016.
She said her background in finances while in the military as well as police administration qualified her for District Clerk.
“I’ve handled lots of paperwork” she said.
Reichert said she has been self-employed and she was running for County Judge with a philosophy of “cutting waste and clipping coupons”.
“We need to be diligent,” she said.
The county needs to work harder to “entice” new businesses after economic setbacks such as the closing the of the Luminant power plant.
She noted the county judge does not have any authority over the unit road system.
“I do have to respect that,” she said.
Lee cited his experience as a CPA and his business background as the owner/operator of the local El Chico from 1987 to 2007.
After two terms in office he has extensive training for the position, and he believes in “multi-faceted problem solving and team building.”
He said most people think the county judge is primarily an administrative position, “but 70 percent of my time is taken up in courts.”
The county judge handles certain criminal cases, probate, guardianships and mental health commitments, among others, he said.
“I would like one more term,” he concluded.
The candidates then fielded questions submitted by members of the audience.
When asked whether as JP he would perform same sex marriages, Hughes said that Kay McNutt has never done them and he would continue that policy.
Agan said marriages should be done by ministers, and since he is not a minister he would not do any marriages.
When asked about their qualifications, Hughes pointed to his 24 years in law enforcement and numerous professional certifications. Agan cited his years as a reserve deputy sheriff.
“I know what they have to go through,” he said.
When asked about what they feel it means to be a Republican, Cary said she grew up in a very different political environment in Wisconsin.
“I’ve learned I have to be willing to stand up for my rights,” she said noting she is a big gun rights supporter.
Holliday said she supports President Trump, which means as a Hispanic she often can’t discuss politics with family members.
Carlock said he also supports President Trump. “I’m happy we have finally have a president who supports the military and law enforcement,” he said. “I also love guns.”
When asked whether there is waste in county government, Reichert said “every county has waste. You have to go over the budget line by line.”
She added that she felt “the county doesn’t need to be in the real estate business” and should sell any buildings it owns that is it not using.
Lee agreed that “it’s foolish not to say there’s some waste, but there’s not a whole lot of waste.”
The problem is there are no “glaring opportunities to shave large hunks of money off.”
He said the county is trying to cut personnel, benefits and retirement, “but we’re basically looking for nickels and dimes.”
Still, small efforts add up, he said.
When asked what can be done by the county to attract more business, Lee said he is proud to have been named to the Search Committee to replace Charlie Smith, who recently retired after 15 years as executive director of the Mount Pleasant Economic Development Corporation.
He said there seems to be an impression in the public that little is being done for economic development, but that’s not true.
The problem is efforts to lure new business to the county have to be kept confidential.
“We can’t share that information,” he said. “As a result, the public is kept in the dark.”
Reichert said the county needs lower taxes and better roads to entice new business.
In conclusion, Mars thanked the many people who attended and urged all Talco voters to vote in the primary. Early voting starts Feb. 20; March 6 is Primary Day.