Election Filing Starts TODAY!!

If you are thinking of running for office this year in the GOP Primary or serving as a member for the county Executive Committee then here are some important dates for the upcoming March 2018 Primary Election.

September 12, 2017 – First day to file for office for the positions of Precinct Chair.

November 11, 2017 – First day to file for a place on the 2018 Primary Ballot.

December 11, 2017 at 6:00 pm – Last day to file for a place on the 2018 Primary Ballot.

January 1, 2018 – First day to apply for a ballot by mail.

February 5, 2018 – Last day to register to vote in the 2018 Primary Election.

February 20-March 2, 2018 – Early Voting for the 2018 Primary Election.

February 23, 2018 – Last day to apply for a ballot by mail (received, not postmarked).

March 6, 2018 – Primary Election Day.

Along with the state and federal elections, this years slate of local Milam County Offices up for elections are as follows:

County Judge

Commissioner, Pct. 2

Commissioner, Pct. 4

County Clerk

District Clerk

County Treasurer

Justice of the Peace, Pct. 1

Justice of the Peace, Pct. 2

Justice of the Peace, Pct. 3

Justice of the Peace, Pct. 4

If you have any questions or concerns just contact me at williamwhitmire@yahoo.com

Thanks,

Bill

Getting Ready for the 2016 Election

I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s time to start getting ready for the 2016 Primary Election leading up to the 2016 General Election. I have been pretty quiet and for most 2015 as the Presidential field has more than made up for anything I could come up with.

This will be an exciting time for the country as we have a wide open Presidential race and lots of things to think about as we move towards 2016 and the upcoming elections.

But right now it’s time to start preparing for the upcoming Primary election here in Milam County. Filing for Party and Precinct Chair for the Republican Party of Milam County is already available. If you are interested, please feel free to call me at 254-482-0354, or email me at williamwhitmire@yahoo.com and I will be happy to get you the application. Filing for a Chair position will close on December 14^th.

Filing for county office will begin on November 14^th. We will have Opening Day Filing on November 14^th at a place to be determined. Filing for county office will continue until December 14^th and the specifics will be upcoming here and on the Milam County GOP website once we have it updated sometime this week.

If you are interested in running for county office, contact me and I will get you the Application for a place on the Ballot. Also, prior to filing for office you need to pick up a Treasurer’s Packet at the County Clerk’s Office in Cameron.

County Offices up for election in the campaign cycle are:

District Judge

County Sheriff

County Attorney

County Tax Assessor

County Commissioner, Precincts 1 and 3

Constable, Precincts 1, 2, 3, and 4

There will be more information to come. If you have any questions please feel free to call or email and I will do my best to answer your questions.

Thanks,

Bill

When is misconduct justified? UH NEVER!!

With all the commotion made about the Milam County District Judge’s race, Liberal Democrat Hollis Lewis has insisted with a new radio ad from an “unattached” third-party that he did nothing wrong as District Attorney and acted in a manner that benefited Milam County – REALLY!!

The ad tries to discredit incumbent Judge John Youngblood as too inexperienced to continue on as District Judge; however, in actuality, Judge Youngblood’s background and expertise are comparable to his predecessor whom recommended Judge Youngblood as did many other well-respected community leaders and state and federally elected officials. And I doubt anyone would be so bold to challenge or discredit Judge Magre in a similar manner as they have Judge Youngblood.

But the question remains that if Mr. Lewis is so well qualified to serve as District Judge then why didn’t he apply to be appointed to the position? There’s really little wonder when you take a stroll through the Milam County District Clerk’s offices.

When your behavior as an elected official receives a mistrial from the court you are serving as District Attorney (and the court you are wishing to be the judge of), followed by an official reprimand from the State Bar of Texas, you are definitely NOT doing the citizens of Milam County any favors and anyone with a modicum of decency would know so. The truth is that if Mr. Lewis had been acting in an ethical and honorable manner as District Attorney then the people of Milam County would not have voted him out of office!

But since there are a few in Milam County who wish to overlook the poor conduct of Mr.Lewis then I am happy to oblige them and post copies of the official documents from the District Clerk’s office here on this blog. These are public records which anyone can look up in the Milam County District Clerk’s office, as well as those at the State Bar Association, so I am not posting anything privileged. It just seems that these documents need to be made more easily available since there is a disinformation campaign going on in support of Mr. Lewis.

As a result, today I am posting the District Court’s FINDING OF FACT AND CONCLUSION OF LAW in a case from March of 1997 when Mr. Lewis was acting as Milam County DistrictAttorney.

Decide for yourself!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Election Year Mail

One of the quirky things about this time of year is all the election mail we all get. Now I don’t normally get anything from the Democrats; it seems they know my address and refuse to send me their liberally rewritten propaganda but I usually have more than my fair share of well-meaning conservatives who are more than happy to share their mail with me.

Today I came home and found a new bit of propaganda from Hollis Lewis. I found a letter from Hollis Lewis starting out with a crying session about how his opponent had been running a negative campaign – Hysterical. Mr. Lewis likes to use his experience as the main reason folks should vote for him and to just shrug off a State Bar of Texas’ reprimand as nothing more than an attack against him for seeking justice as District Attorney – REALLY.

Past history when serving in the courtroom has to have some bearing on an attorney’s status. The attacks Mr. Lewis claims were made against him were in the form of an official reprimand by a Democrat District Judge. His actions as referenced in the reprimand were so egregious that the District Court’s findings resulted in the assault case in question being dismissed and not eligible for retrial. The court found and listed six (6) different incidents where Mr. Lewis, while serving as the Milam County District Attorney, acted in a manner that was unethical, unconstitutional, and was misrepresentative of the facts that “…deprived Defendants of their Constitutional rights...”

Mr. Lewis claims these were attacks against him but in reality the court said that his were deliberate acts that led the court to the several conclusions the first of which is as follows: “The intentional and deliberate misconduct of the District Attorney of Milam County, Texas, Hollis Lewis, bars any subsequent retrial of the Defendants pursuant to the Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution.”

Well I’m not a legal scholar but I can get the gist of this and I think Mr. Lewis is a little more than misleading when he claims that he “will always stand for Justice, regardless of the consequences.”  Makes one wonder what consequences he is talking about. Apparently, in the past, these consequences have included sanctions by district courts and by the State Bar of Texas that resulted in either criminal defendants being freed or innocent people being unfairly tried – WE DON’T NEED THOSE CONSEQUENCES!!

In 2011 Mr. Lewis had the same opportunity to put his application in to be chosen to replace Judge Magre when he retired and he did not do so. It would seem logical to ask that if Mr. Lewis had the experience and history that would make his selection so clear, then why didn’t he make an attempt to be the appointee to this office? I think we know that reason.

We need the good solid Conservative Leadership of a Judge who is dedicated to doing things in a manner that protects us all as well as our Constitutional Rights.

Judge John Youngblood was selected by the Governor with the recommendation of many community principals, congressional office holders, and judicial leaders as well as that of his immediate predecessor. Apparently they felt that Judge Youngblood was experienced, prepared, and fully qualified to serve as the Judge of the 20^th District Court.

So I guess the question comes down to whom do you trust? Do you trust our elected officials and community leaders, or are you going to listen to a former County Official who was voted out of office following a term in office that was punctuated with a reprimand from the same 20^th District Court he seeks to lead and the State Bar of Texas for actions that deprived citizens of their Constitutional Rights.

The Choice is clear:

Keep

Judge John Youngblood

as Judge of the 20^th District Court!!

Can’t wait to see what’s in tomorrow’s mail,
Bill

Shame on You Texas Home School Coalition!

While I appreciate most of the work done by the Texas Home School Coalition Political action Committee (THSC), I fear that they have bitten off more than they should have in the case of Heather Moody. Mrs. Moody is claiming that Judge Youngblood has given temporary custody of her kids to her estranged husband simply because she home-schooled her kids and the THSC President Tim Lambert has bitten hook, line, and sinker.


Now I’m sure Mr. Lambert works hard to support the political agenda of the THSC, but I also know that Judge Youngblood is a good and respected member of the community and works hard to run the 20th District Court in a professional manner abiding by the law and not rewriting of law as he sees fit. Unfortunately in some cases following the law is not always the easiest of decisions for a judge to follow, but regardless of whether that judge is a Democrat or a Republican, a Liberal or a Conservative, following the law should be their primary concern, not creating or rewriting law.

This divorce is a sad and tragic event as is any divorce in the course of any American family; however, as with any divorce involving children, there are extenuating circumstances that are usually not know by the general public and as with this case they are ruled on as a matter of law and not as a matter of the personal opinion of the sitting judge.

The THSC has presented Mrs. Moody as a saint who has been wronged mightily by the court, but what is the whole story? Do you know? Is she saintly? The truth is we don’t know. And what about this third-hand statement the father made as you have reported? Is this the truth? Has Mrs. Moody been completely truthful in this matter? We don’t know that either. It will be the job of the jury to determine the status of this case and how it plays out if mediation does not work.

Judge Youngblood has ordered Mediation and that is a hard concept for many of us to understand and it is not easy to get through; however, it is successful in many cases and does keep many families out of a jury trial situation thereby keeping many children away from the trauma of having to go into a courtroom and see their family torn apart.

Family law in the state of Texas is very precise about certain issues and requires them to be handled in the certain manner that is not privy to the spot decisions of the judge in charge. What has been presented by the THSC is a compelling argument but it is only one side of the story. There are two sides of the story and unfortunately it appears that the THC has chosen the side that benefits their PAC regardless of the actual facts of the case.

The THSC suggest the voters of Milam County should remove Judge Youngblood for following the Family Law Code as written by the Lawmakers in Austin and replace him with Hollis Lewis. The THSC has officially endorsed Mr. Lewis even though he has a history that includes a 1999 reprimand from the Grievance Committee of the State Bar of Texas finding him guilty of Professional misconduct? A Reprimand he received while serving as County Attorney for Milam County.

In Closing I would say this; I doubt anyone who knows Mr. Lewis and Judge Youngblood would support the THSC’s claim that Mr. Lewis is the more conservative of the two. What they have presented here is a nice hit piece; however, before the THSC and their supporters endorse a candidate I think it important that they look into that candidate’s background. They might be surprised of the skeleton’s hiding in that closet!

All Rise!!
Bill