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Party chairs busy with candidate filings
By Linda Bailey Potter / Staff Writer
At press time Wednesday, four county candidates had officially filed on the Democratic ballot, according to Dale Christophersen, Brewster County Democratic party chair. They are Steve Houston (incumbent), county attorney; Ronny Dodson (incumbent), sheriff; Betty Joe Rooney (incumbent), tax assessor/collector; and John "Bit" Robertson, county commissioner Precinct 1.
This is the first primary election for Rooney, who was appointed tax assessor/collector in 2003 by the commissioners court to serve out the balance of Jerry Ratcliff's term, who died while in office.
On the Republican side, Bob Posey, Brewster County Republican party chair, said, "No one had yet filed." However, he "anticipates Precinct 1 Commissioner Asa "Cookie" Stone will file soon." Stone is the only Republican on the commissioners court. "It is important that candidates know to turn in their application for a place on the ballot to the party chair and not to anyone in the courthouse," said Posey.
Rooney said the tax office is handing out information packets to anyone interested in running for office on the primary ballot.
In multi-district races, applications are filed with the secretary of state. District Judge Kenneth Dehart said he mailed in his application for a place on the Democratic primary ballot. He has served more than two terms. DeHart was appointed to office when his district was created in 1995. He ran for re-election in 1996 and 2000, winning both races.
The last day for candidates to file an application for a place on the primary ballot is Jan. 2. The primary election is March 9.
Rooney met with Christophersen and Posey Dec. 5 to discuss the possibility of holding a joint primary. This is an issue that the Secretary of State is pushing for, according to Christophersen. "His funds for the Democratic primary have been cut 16.5 percent, making it difficult to hold primary elections in each voting precinct as in prior years. Having a joint primary this year could prepare us for what it looks like we will have to do in the future," said Christophersen. The main concern is that "along with keeping costs down is keeping voting convenient for the public," he said.
"A joint primary will be central to all voters, same as early voting," said Rooney. She said the chairs are reviewing their budgets to see if it would be advantageous for both parties. In a joint primary, the tax assessor/collector will run the election, hire and pay workers and process election returns. The party chairs will reimburse the county.
A resolution will have to be presented to the commissioners to approve a joint primary.
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