Christina Drewry declared victory in a statement on March 28 after Smith County Precinct 1 Commissioner Pam Frederick conceded following a recount of votes in the March 5 primary election. (Katecey Harrell/ Tyler Morning Telegraph ) 

Local candidates on the March Republican Primary ballot met for a political forum last week hosted by the Smith County Republican Club at The Grove Greenhouse in Tyler.

Present candidates were given one minute each to respond to a series of questions and two minutes for closing remarks.

The club, an official GOP affiliate, aims to fundraise and grow the party. However, it said it cannot openly support any candidate in a Primary Race.

Pam Frederick and Christina Drewry are candidates for the Precinct 1 Commissioner race, while Terry Phillips, J. Scott Herod and Rusty Smith are vying in the Precinct 3 Commissioner race. Judge Sara Maynard and Judge Amy McCullough are the candidates for the County Court-At-Law 2 race, and Sheriff Larry Smith and Chris Green are running for the Smith County Sheriff.

Frederick and Larry Smith were absent.

The club also swore in the following members: Izzy Ayub-Gentry as President, Jim Evans as Vice President, Emily Brooks as Secretary, Jarad Kent as Parliamentarian and Stacey Hirt-Phillips as Treasurer.

Editor’s Note: Answers include both direct quotes and paraphrased statements from the present candidates.

County commissioner candidates

Question: Now that we are in a polarizing culture. How will you handle prejudice requests?

Herod: As a cattle raiser, Herod said he deals with polarization daily. Conversations are the key to handling polarizing issues. “We want to understand truly what is at the core of the concern. Being able to find really what the root cause is in finding some common ground to understand what is driving the concern and what we can do as a group to tackle that problem,” Herod said. “We can’t always say yes or no to make the other person happy. Sometimes we have to say things they don’t want to hear, but an explanation goes a long way.”

Smith: Referring to the bylaws of the commissioners court and the state is necessary when handling polarizing topics, Smith said. “We’re an administrative body, and you’re only allowed to do those things that the laws of the state of Texas tell you we can do,” Smith said. “There are times where it gives you some leeway, and in that, you need to weigh the request.”

Phillips: It’s a slippery slope, so it’s essential to examine the value of each request, he said. “If you allow this, then you would have to allow them the option to do that too,” Phillips said.

Drewry: The commissioners court should have public meetings and let the people come in and make their statements before deciding on policing issues, she said. “We are living in a polarizing culture, but this isn’t hard,” Drewry said. “This country was founded on the consent of the governed, and one problem that I see in commissioners court is that we don’t have enough public meetings and not enough times that you can participate.”

Q: Can you give your opinion on tax abatements?

Smith: “I’m in favor of tax abatements when they can help bring businesses and jobs into the area and the economy,” he said. “It is a revenue generator. It’s not a tax forgiveness. It’s an abatement; it just puts it off for a little while, and then you can pick them up again after that business is established.”

Phillips: The only time Phillips is in favor of tax abatements is when it is beneficial to Smith County, he said. He opposes abatements that run for an excessive number of years and 100% abatements. “I’m in favor of the most tax abatements,” Phillips said. “There have been a few that I have not been in favor of.”

Drewry: It’s important to discuss all the facts and outcomes of granting large corporations tax abatements, said. She wants to see a cost-benefit analysis to assist in making appropriate decisions. “I’m not in favor of many tax abatements. There is a time to do things and a time to not do things,” she said. “Anytime we cut taxes for somebody else…then that means that burden is shifted to somebody else.”

Herod: Tax abatements are sometimes necessary to draw in businesses, he said. It’s essential to ensure companies maintain reasonable accounting and management. “Some of these companies being able to come in and set their roots is [dependent on] the ability to delay that,” Herod said.

Q: How do you intend to advocate for projects in your precinct?

Phillips: Precinct 3 has the most county roads in Smith County, and Phillips said he has advocated for more money to improve roads during his time on the commissioners court. He believes he’s proven he will fight for projects that benefit his precinct while weighing the needs of other precincts.

Drewry: “When you’re talking about advocating for your precinct, I want to hear from the voters. I want to hear what’s going on with the roads. I want to come out on a visit and see how bad those potholes are,” said. “I’m looking forward to working with the voters. I want to hear what’s going on and advocate for our precinct in a way that is equal.”

Herod: Roads are the No. 1 thing people are talking about while campaigning, Herod said. “We need some better systems in place,” he said. “We got a lot of roads still needing a lot of repair. We need to do things smarter.” The county must utilize its employees who travel these roads daily to identify areas of concern and follow procedures to have that addressed, he added.

Smith: The key to being successful in advocating for projects involves ensuring current projects are efficient and under budget when possible so there are additional funds to take on more.

Q: Can you elaborate on your budget priorities?

Drewry: If the government is spending money, county residents have higher taxes. said she looks forward to working with each department to lower operating costs and incentivize employees to stay in Smith County. “I’m gonna be working in those departments to lower the cost of government,” she said. “It takes getting in there and asking some hard questions.” She wants to implement performance measures and accountability within departments and examine where changes can be made in all areas of the budget.

Phillips: The Smith County budget has grown since Phillips was elected, but despite big-ticket projects like the courthouse and parking garage, the most frequent calls he gets as commissioner are about road and bridge, drainage and animal control issues, he said. Phillips said the issues constituents are concerned about are the most important and worth fighting for. He said he is the only commissioner who voted against lowering the budget for law enforcement. “When elected officials, department heads ask for their budgets. Sometimes it’s more wants,” Phillips said. “I think we need to focus on the needs.”

Herod: Law enforcement, animal control and employee retention would be the top priority for Herod in Precinct 3, and, therefore the entire county. “Retaining employees is a great way of reducing your expenditures. We need to retain the good employees. We need to train the employees that can be good and just don’t know it yet,” Herod said. “My safety and my ability to leave the house and not knock my truck out of alignment are two things I wake up in the morning and hope to have and if I come across an animal and I need to be able to rescue it.”

Smith: It’s important not to penalize departments for saving money by taking it away, he said. “When you’re on a government budget and you don’t spend what you had allocated for this year next year, it’s taken away,” Smith said. “So there’s an incentive to go spend what’s left in your budget whether you need to or not.” Smith County needs to find a way to incentivize people to save the money in their budget without being penalized the following year, Smith added.

County Court-At-Law 2 candidates

Q: What jurisdiction will your docket cover?

Maynard: County Court 2 is a court of general jurisdiction which covers civil, criminal, and family law. “It’s a little bit of everything,” Maynard said. “It’s important to have a judge that’s willing to consider the full range of punishment.”

McCullough: County Court 2 covers cases that McCullough said she’s very familiar with because she crosses paths with defendants handling higher and serious criminal charges as presiding judge of the City of Tyler Municipal Court. “What’s very interesting about courts in Smith County is that all of the judges are expected to handle cases of every kind, rather than specializing in either criminal or civil,” McCullough said. “In this court, there will be a large variety.”

Q: Can you share with us your worldview and judicial philosophy in which you discern?

McCullough: One of the most important things McCullough said she does is listen to the facts and apply to law as it is written. “My personal conservative conviction is this: I feel certain that the Lord has put me in this place for such a time as this,” McCullough said.

Maynard: Although it may be unpopular, men and women are different, and having women judges provides a unique type of justice outcome. “As far as my judicial philosophy, I believe in limited government, and that is definitely applicable on a regular basis in County Court 2, because there are opportunities to have heavy government intervention, and I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Maynard said.

Q: How do you plan to expedite your cases while also being thorough and sensitive to family law resolution?

Maynard: The court handles cases on an alternating basis – one week is a criminal docket and then the next week is a civil and family law docket. “I find that very helpful, in that it gives the practitioners, the attorneys, the opportunity to have a week off to meet with their clients to meet with witnesses and to be prepared when it’s their turn to come into court,” Maynard said. Maynard mentioned having reduced the backlog in Smith County Court of law 2 by almost 30%.

McCullough: She said it requires task management and organizational skills to handle a court dock with so many cases. “One of the primary objectives for us is to keep those cases moving, but at the same time, I have to be able to take time to listen to the facts and to dialogue with those defendants,” she said. “I have to be compassionate and I have to understand what the situation is before I can make a judicial decision.”

Q: How do you see your role as judge is to address mental health issues?

Maynard: Having worked in the community for more than 27 years, Maynard is comfortable working with local mental health providers. There is also extensive mental health training. “I’ve got their phone number, they’ve got my phone number and they’ve been very helpful in collaborating with the court,” Maynard said.

McCullough: Applying more policy and procedure to evaluate a person’s competence, especially for inmates housed in the jail, is needed, but there are new programs the county is involved with to address these issues, she said. “There are a lot of mental health problems, and I think we’ve got to address that in some form or fashion. But there’s also a difference between having mental health issues and being competent to stand trial,” McCullough said.

Smith County Sheriff candidates

Q: Senate Bill 4 creates a state crime for illegally crossing the border from Mexico. How will the Sheriff’s department manage the implementation of SB4 under your leadership?

Green: While he isn’t familiar with SB4 exactly, Green said illegal immigrants are already here. All that would do is make taxpayers responsible for their incarceration, he said. Just because Gov. Greg Abbott said it’s legal to arrest all illegal immigrants doesn’t mean the Sheriff’s Office should do that, he said. “Do I want to watch illegals coming across the border? Course not. It’s the most dangerous thing we have because we don’t know who’s here, but it’s just not people from Mexico,” Green said.

Q: What is your plan to increase the employment of jail staff and patrol?

Green: The county has to get creative when it comes to retaining hires, he said. “We’ve got three chief deputies and if you eliminated one, you’ve got $100,000,” Green said. If the positions can’t be filled where they’re needed, eliminating other positions could create money for signing bonuses, redistribute schedules to be more family friendly and more incentives for employment.

Q: What process can you say you’ll implement to manage mental health issues?

Green: Many inmates housed at the Smith County Jail are low-risk. That means there is the possibility of working with county judges to get inmates out of confinement and able to reenter the community with monitoring and tracking technology and ordering treatment with local mental health entities. “We have a need to make sure that our folks that need mental health care get it and incarceration for these people it’s not the answer,” Green said.

Q: Can you explain how you will integrate with schools to help share concerns over trafficking and exploitation?

Green: The sheriff’s office needs to be involved in as many school and education programs at as many levels as possible, Green said. Human trafficking is an issue people don’t think happens as frequently as it does in reality. Smith County has a major corridor for sex and labor trafficking. “We’ve got to educate all of our teachers so they know the signs,” Green added.

The joint primary elections will be held March 5. Feb. 5 is the last day to register to vote and Feb. 20 is the first day of early voting. For more information, visit www.smith-county.com/government/departments/elections/current-election-information.