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Early Voting Starts Today- Feb. 20, 2018 

MCRW was standing room only this afternoon. Great forum for seeing the standpoint and perspective from the candidates running for local office.

The court races are going to be tough to call. Midland is extremely lucky to have such strong candidates seeking office. We are undecided as the picks are all excellent candidates.

Chris DeAnda, Elizabeth Byer Leonard, Sean Guerrero, Isaiah Roby Jackson, Jeff Robnett, are from our perspective, all very qualified and worthy candidates for the elected office. At this point we are not going to call it one way or another. I know the 2 people that read this, will be saddened with our inability to single out a single individual for the 441st Judgeship and the 238th Judgeship.

For those two readers, please accept our apologies... :) Stay tuned.......

Midland County Judge race is also tough between two candidates that are seeking to represent us, as the Midland County Judge. James Beauchamp is the candidate this home is voting for as Mr. Beauchamp is worthy and well qualified for this office. Believe he will do an excellent job serving Midland County taxpayers, his experience with infrastructure outlays, capital projects, transportation logistics, and temperament makes him the ideal candidate for the position of Midland County Judge. Mr. Beauchamp has a mind for seeking solutions for our young offenders that are stuck within the juvenile criminal justice system in Midland County. Not only do these factors within his plan save us taxpayers money, but most importantly, his idea saves a young person's life. Our home holds the perspective that there is a moral obligation for seeking alternatives to costly incarceration, along with increasing the likelihood for these young offenders to fulfill God’s purpose for their lives. We owe it to our community to decrease the probability of these minor children becoming a lifelong resident of our state and federal prisons and county jails. Mr. Beauchamp’s bold leadership in dealing with a circumstance that is multi-faceted and, in our opinion, a moral obligation- won our vote. The fact that he has a plan for the betterment of life while saving taxpayers money...... Well.... That sounds on par with this "somewhat" important aspect of self-governance. ___________________________________________________ [Amendment V No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.] ___________________________________________________ Limiting young offenders from depriving their own lives with better life choices through mentored leadership programs. At the same time, protects the taxpayer from being deprived of their own private property through taxation. A county judge with a plan aligned with our U.S. Constitution to such a degree, one might just call it the Beauchamp's Champion plan- also known as the fifth amendment. :)

Carla Repman is our pick and most assuredly won this home’s vote. Mrs. Repman is a long-time resident of Midland and not only a business owner, but a successful business owner. Mrs. Repman and her husband have been serving the residents of Midland since 1978 and know by experience the cyclical aspects of our local economy. Mrs. Repman not only knows how to lead through a downturn but also recognizes the need for infrastructure upgrades and build-outs to better serve the residents, not only in her Precinct 4, but for all residents within Midland County. Her experience with serving those in times of personal hardship, make her a servant leader within our community. You had me at servant leader but also as one that holds these goals; better communication, TRANSPARENCY, fiscal stewardship, while also utilizing tax revenues for the equitable betterment of all citizens within Midland County- makes our vote, a vote squared for Mrs. Carla Repman.

The questions and answers this afternoon were surprisingly sparse with the number of local candidates and the amount of MCRW and GOP members in attendance. With the slogan "all politics start local," by the grass-roots, one may surmise there would have been more vetting from the local GOP party establishment based on the volume of GOP taxpayers present.

These two questions I asked, were as follows; (questions and answer are paraphrased as I cannot remember exact words used)

[1] To Randy Prude (Sitting County Commissioner Precinct 4) During a special meeting held on Sept. 6, 2016, Judge Bradford approved $12,332.03 for the free food given away at the Horseshoe Pavilion grand opening. This was paid to Cooley mgmt company. Why and how did you vote to approve that payment based on Judge Bradford’s justification?

From Randy Prude I have been on the commissioner's court for 20 years and had thousands of votes. I cannot remember that specific instance but feel free to contact us about it further.

[2] To All Candidates for Midland County Judge (Terry Johnson, Stephen M. Robertson, and James Beauchamp) This is a two-part question. The first of which is regarding zero-based budgeting. What is your view of zero based budgeting? Secondly, as a previous conversation with a County Judge Candidate led me to confusion on their stance of competition. Didn't know if they held the perspective that competition was good between government (public sector) and private sector, so I would like to get your stance on private sector versus public sector roles in competition? As Mr. Robertson mentioned earlier there is a difference in government budgets and private business budgets. We, in the private sector are constricted with variables in EBITDA, government entities are not- TAXES. What is your view on this?

Three candidates responded and I am not going to record all three. There is one candidate this home is voting for and his answer was spot on. Terry Johnson, also is strong and is absolutely a conservative minded leader based on his answer. Stephen M. Robertson is a spender and confused on what party primary he is running in. Next time around he will be better served running in the party his ideological and identity political perspective belongs, in the DEMOCRATIC primary. Based on his obtuseness and inability with directly answering financial specific questions and the role of public sector restraint, he may even have the “feel the Bern" bumper stickers.

Included as attachments are the minutes from the commissioner's court special meeting for which question [1] was contemplated. Also included the screen shots of the private messages I sent to Mr. Randy Prude as I did as he asked and asked him after the "forum" was completed about the piss poor financial performance of a multi-million-dollar facility, we paid for and continue to pay for.......