County Attorney and Sheriff and Party Chairs, oh my!
By Paige Wright
UPDATE, 11:45 a.m. THURSDAY December 7, 2023: As of late Wednesday evening, the News emails and phone calls to Republican County Chair Susan Williamson have remain unanswered; however, there has been some information released on the organization's Facebook page, Menard County Texas Republican Party.
At approximately 10:45p.m. Wednesday night, the page responded to a Facebook user's comment requesting information on applicants who have filed. This response was the first public information provided by the page since November 21. The post states there are no contested races so far, and that aside from Sheriff, all incumbents have filed to run for reelection. Sheriff Buck Miller plans to retire and Deputy Burl Hagler has filed to run on the Republican ballot for the position. The comment, which can be seen here, reads:
*UPDATE*
I’ve been waiting to be able to share the exciting news that we have a contested local race, but we don’t, yet.
I have spoken to all of the incumbents in the races up for election this year. With the exception of Sheriff Miller who is retiring, all have indicated they are running. Some have turned in applications and I expect to see the rest of them by Monday at 6pm.
Burl Hagler has filed for Sheriff.
If I have any new applicants before Monday’s deadline, I’ll post it here. Otherwise, I will update as soon after 6pm as possible.
Just a suggestion, don’t wait until the very last minute or you may risk not being able to cure mistakes on your application.
6pm is a hard deadline.
And if you are filing for a position requiring a fee, it is recommended to file soon enough for your check to clear before the deadline.
Call me with any questions or to make an appointment.
Susan J Williamson
Menard County Republican Chair
210-827-2325
Email: susanjwilliamson@verizon.net
In a Facebook user's request for information on filing for county or precinct chair, the page responded:
I would invite you to re-read the second paragraph above.
Gary Roberson is your precinct chair. If you would like to file to run against him, fill out an application, get it notarized and email it to me, or meet me at the courthouse Monday 4-6.
Thank you for your question.
_________________
ORIGINAL ARTICLE, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6-- Although Christmas joy is in the air, primary election deadlines loom. The filing deadline to run for a Menard County position in the March 2024 Primaries is quickly approaching.
On Monday, December 11, 2023, candidate filing will close at 6 p.m. County positions up for election in March are Sheriff, County Attorney, Tax Assessor, Constable, County Commissioners 1 & 3. Commissioners will be elected by their respective precincts. All other positions will be voted on by the entirety of Menard County.
Additional positions on the March primary ballot include all county party Precinct Chairs and County Chair. The County Chair, described by the Texas GOP site as “the leader of the local party in each county throughout the state,” is elected by all Menard County voters. Each of Menard’s 6 precincts will also elect their own party chair. If there are no qualified candidates filed to run in a precinct— resulting in no elected precinct chair— the position will be appointed by the County Chair at a later date. To find your precinct, check your voter registration card, or contact Tim Powell, Elections Officer, at 396-4523.
Currently held County Republican Party Precinct Chairs are speculative due to News requests for information going unanswered by the County Chair. The Secretary of State (SoS) site lists Menard’s Pct. 5 Chair to be Jimmy Mc-Collum. This information contradicts what was reported from the last known Menard County Republican Party Executive Committee meeting in mid-September, where Pct. 5 appeared vacant according to meeting attendee and concerned citizen Barry Kniffen. Kniffen offered his observation of precinct chairs as was reported in the September 14, 2023, edition of The News: Pct. 1- Lisa Clark. Pct. 2- Gary Roberson. Pct. 3- Virginia Hill. Pct. 4- Penny Wade. Pct. 5- Vacant. Pct. 6- Janice Hardesty. Again, the “official” SoS listing does list Chair Susan Wiliamson at 210-827-2325. Applications may also be accessed on the SoS site, www.sos. state.tx.us. A November 21, 2023, post of the Menard County Texas Republican Party Facebook page states that Williamson will be at the courthouse to assist last-minute filers from 4-6 p.m. on Monday, December 11. Requests to confirm this timeframe also went unanswered.
As of press time, Elections Officer Tim Powell reports several candidates have submitted their filing paperwork to his office for the March 2024 Republican primary ballot in their respective positions. These potential candidates should be considered as assumed to have been filed— Powell has turned over each of these candidates’ filing applications to Menard County Republican Party Chair Susan Williamson, who is responsible for the official filing and reporting to the state. These candidates are assumed to be filed, though not confirmed through the County Chair or State: Sheriff: Burl Hagler; Constable: Lee Callan; County Attorney: Luke Davis; Commissioner, Pct. 1: Frank Davis; Commissioner, Pct. 3: Ed Keith; Tax Assessor: Tim Powell.
Tim Powell currently serves as elected County Tax Assessor and (non-elected) Elections Officer, which is not uncommon in a small county. The only non-incumbent (assumed) filed so far is Burl Hagler for Sheriff. Sheriff Buck Miller has not filed to run for reelection through Powell’s Elections Office as of press time. It is unknown who has submitted filing paperwork directly to the County Chair.
Menard County Republican Party Chair Susan Williamson has not responded to 2 separate News email requests for a list of filed candidates, and a voicemail remained unreturned as of Wednesday morning.
Powell said the Texas Secretary of State (SoS) website is the “official” list of filed candidates for a county, and the County Chair is responsible for reporting that information to the state. The state’s available links do not show updated data for Menard County Republican candidates at the time of printing. A SoS representative within the state office confirmed the filing is to be done by the Chair “in a timely manner, but it does sometimes get delayed."
“With the filing deadline coming up soon, Dec. 11, it will need to be posted,” wrote the SoS rep. via email to The News.
There has been no reported election activity with Democrats in Menard County. Anyone interested in filing to run for an above-listed position as a Democrat should contact Tim Powell, at the Elections Office: 325-3964523. The deadline to file as a Democratic candidate is also 6 p.m. Monday, December 11. The Democratic ballot in the March primary will contain district and state offices.
If you have voting registration inquiries or questions about candidacy requirements, visit the SoS website at www.sos.state.tx.us.
If filed candidate information is provided to the News by Chair Williamson, or obtained from the state’s site once reported, the News will update the online link to this story.*
*Please see update posted above.
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Additional edits have been made periodically to correct typo-type errors.