1. Tyler Paper retracts endorsement of House District 5 candidate Philip Hayes

Editor’s note: The Tyler Paper editorial board has since retracted our endorsement of House District 5 candidate Philip Hayes. 

In the race to replace state Rep. Bryan Hughes in the Texas House District 5 race, voters have some excellent choices. The candidates – Cole Hefner, Jay Misenheimer, Randy Davis and Philip Hayes – are, as a whole, well-informed and capable. (There is a fifth candidate, Holly Coggins Hayes, who has not actively campaigned.)

But one candidate stands out. Philip Hayes has an in-depth understanding of how Austin works – and how his district thinks. He served two terms on the Hideaway City Council and worked on political campaigns, and also as a staffer in the Texas Senate. He has a real grasp of the process and won’t face the steep learning curve the other candidates would.

More importantly, Hayes is focused on the issues that matter to his district – education, water rights and access, and transportation. He’s not making speeches about federal issues that state representatives can do little about.

The editorial board meeting with Hayes was, in fact, refreshing. He answered questions about complex matters in a manner that shows he’s done his homework and will approach the job with the kind of pragmatism and rigor we believe would benefit his district best.

 

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Eltife’s pending retirement from the Senate left a rare open seat, and the battle for it has been intense. Two area representatives, Hughes and David Simpson, announced early on. But it’s a later entrant into the race who gets our endorsement. Gen. James K. “Red” Brown brings a pattern of leadership and service to the table that stands out in contrast to the records of Hughes and Simpson.

Hughes and Simpson have been less-than-effective legislators, mostly because of ill-considered decisions to oppose the Speaker of the House at the outset of the legislative sessions. Those decisions limited their ability to pass legislation or to gain leadership positions on key committees.

Brown’s career in the U.S. military and his tenure on the Lindale School Board demonstrate a record of service.

We believe Brown is best positioned to tend to the issues that are important to the district.

 

SHERIFF

Sheriff Larry Smith earns our qualified endorsement in his rematch against Chris Green. Smith’s first term was marked by some difficulties that were largely self-inflicted. The transition from being a federal law enforcement officer to serving as an elected sheriff wasn’t as smooth as we could have hoped. There were problems getting cases to the District Attorney’s Office in a timely fashion, there were problems in the jail, and there was a dispute with the Commissioners Court over staffing levels – a dispute that culminated in a you’re-either-for-us-or-against-us pep rally for the Sheriff’s Office at a budget hearing. It appears many of these issues with other county departments were rooted in personality conflicts between the sheriff and other elected officials.

Smith has acknowledged shortcomings in communication with the media and has pledged to improve in that area if re-elected.

 

COMMISSIONER, PRECINCT 3

Incumbent Commissioner Terry Phillips also gets a qualified endorsement. It’s true, he opposed the traffic camera debacle that has shaken the community’s confidence in the Commissioners Court. But he can do more to demand transparency in county government. He has promised to do so, and we will hold him to it.

He has two opponents, Ronnie Pilcher and Bill Bala. Pilcher, a local businessman, doesn’t have the kind of experience we look for in a candidate. And while Bala, a former Smith County engineer, brings expertise to the table, his election to the seat would mean a return to the toxic atmosphere and contentious interests that marked previous Commissioners Courts.