As the sun rose on the 27th day of May a new day began. This day would mark the end of the Primary season in Bandera and begin the process of moving forward to the general election in November and preparation for the transfer of leadership responsibility in January.
Over the course of the past 167 days since the primary campaign season began on December 11, 2025, there has been a lot of passionate promotion of various candidates by supporters. There has also been some very solid competition between the various campaigns seeking to earn the sacred vote of each and every citizen of Bandera County.
Now in the aftermath of the season as the dust settles and the choice of the people stands, we have time to reflect. We have time to appreciate the great candidates we had to choose from and to thank each one of them for their willingness to serve and the amount they invested to earn our votes.
We have time to thank the various organizations, people, and places that enabled the candidates to meet the people and enabled the people venues and opportunities to evaluate each candidate as fully as possible. Through this time, we as a community had ample opportunity to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate over more than 5 months and we made a decision.
Now is the time for We the People to come together and remember that each one of us truly is Bandera. We are a Texas Hill Country family, and we are Bandera Strong and Proud.
As a family and as a team we now need to work together and both support the leaders we have chosen and also hold them accountable to the commitments they made.
We need to understand that there are some great challenges before us and things do not get fixed overnight. We need to commit as a team to get behind our quarterback and be ready to do the hard work and sacrifice beside them to take the field and achieve success.
That quarterback for Bandera now will be Mrs. Susan Junker. A true proven and committed servant leader who I know will lead us from the front through every challenge and battle we will face as we move forward to a better tomorrow. She will carry on the bright torch of leadership that the great and honorable Judge Richard Evans will pass on to her.
Beside her will be the stalwart men who stand in the post of County Commissioner. This team of leaders, I am sure, will work closely with and for all the people of our community. They will build upon and improve the partnerships with city leaders to make our home a better place to live and work. Alongside them will be our great 1st responders to ensure our home is safer day by day and more ready than ever for the next fire or flood we may have to face.
What they will need is us. They will need us to utilize the various outlets, organizations, methodologies, and means of effective communication available to us through things like school board meetings, Commissioners Court, and the political process. They will need us to do more than just complain about an issue. They will need us to offer our ideas for solutions and give them the opportunity to address our complaints.
We also need to remember, like any family or team, that we will not always agree but we always need to work together. Remember that we can truly trust our choice and that we have the means to verify that trust. Remember it was We the People who have made this choice through the Republican process provided to us by our forefather, founders, and framers and which has stood the test of time for 250 years which we will celebrate this 4th of July.
Throughout all of history there has never been a better process or system of government than the one we were blessed with by our Creator that is founded upon the recognition of the Creator as the ultimate source of all rights and authority.
As the sun rises on Bandera, we can be assured that the leader we have chosen recognizes that Creator. She also recognizes that she is accountable to us and above all to the Lord. She is a leader whose example of leadership is found in the ultimate example of servant leadership exhibited by the Lord Jesus Christ and laid out clearly in His Holy Word.
To that end she has served our community before this election and without question will continue to serve and be available, transparent, and visible after this election as she assumes the post entrusted to her.
As we face this new day we again thank and salute both Kim Manglberger and Dennis Fitzgerald for the great race they ran, the sacrifice they made, and their willingness to serve. We also congratulate and salute Col Susan Junker, US Army (Ret), on her victory and commit to stand united beside her as the Honorable Judge Susan Junker.
Christopher Dion of Rusted Knight Ministries resides in Bandera.
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