Candidates address Bandera County Republican Party

The Bandera County Republican Party met in their quarterly meeting on Thursday, November 18 at the Rockin’ B Ranch in Pipe Creek. After a brief business meeting, the group heard from candidates in local, state and national elections.

Republican Chair Lynn Haueter thanked Janice Riordan and Ken Denny for making their venue available for the meeting on short notice.

The candidates were given three minutes to introduce themselves and outline the issues that concerned them. Nineteen candidates spoke to the group. First to speak were candidates for Republican precinct chairs: Dede Skoglund, Butch Striegl, Rene Leith, and Darcy Hasty.

Chairman Haueter encouraged the membership to consider standing for precinct chairs in Precincts 204 and 410, which are currently vacant.

District Director John Fletcher spoke briefly on Chip Roy’s behalf. He said Roy wanted to secure the border by restoring the Border Patrol. He wanted to support healthcare freedom and opposed vaccine mandates. His focus was to restore federalism and take back the House of Representatives.

Lamar Lewis, former BISD coach and history teacher, introduced himself to the group and stated he was running for the Texas Senate seat left vacant by Dr. Dawn Buckingham. Lewis reiterated that he was extremely familiar with Bandera County after having lived here for ten years. If elected, he would focus on issues that affected the residents of the county. He said he felt his job was to work on a state level to better the lives of the people in District 24.

Another candidate for the Senate seat in District 24 to speak was retired Lt. Colonel Raul Reyes. Reyes spoke to the group by saying he was a neighbor from Castroville. He mentioned several issues like election integrity and border security.

Running for the Texas House of Representatives in District 53, businessman Wesley Virdell said that he was concerned that the current state government had not focused enough on election integrity. He also reported he opposed the reduction of voter fraud charges from felony status to the misdemeanor level. He also opposed the appointment of committee chairmanships on a partisan basis. He said he would support any bill that would not allow transgender surgeries at state expense.

Darcy Hasty spoke briefly for Bandera County Judge Richard Evans as Evans was already committed to attending the Fall Judicial Education Session in Boerne.

Local resident, Retired Colonel Susan Junker, President of the Bandera County Appraisal Review Board, announced her intention of running for Bandera County Judge. Citing her experiences as a Colonel in the Army, she emphasized that she had experience administering a 400-million-dollar budget. She also said that she had the character, moral strength and mental toughness as well as a caring and honest commitment to the people of Bandera County. Dennis Fitzgerald, local businessman,

Dennis Fitzgerald, local businessman, has also decided to run again for the position of County Judge. He ran against Evans in 2014. He said that his focus will be on maintaining the quality of life in Bandera County as well as focusing on the issue of water resources.

Jordan “Jody” Rutherford, County Commissioner for Precinct 4 spoke about his re-election bid and touted his support of local youth by his vote on the control of the Mansfield Park Show Barn. Rutherford focused on transparency in government as a key factor in his platform.

Candidate for Justice of the Peace in Precinct 4, Ben Condrey, introduced himself and said he was running to provide a choice for Bandera County.

Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4, Lynn Holt, reported that he had resided in Bandera County for 42 years and had served as a Justice of the Peace for 18 years. As a veteran, he said his focus was to serve the citizens of Bandera County with whom he had lived the majority of his life.

Justice of the Peace for Precinct 3, Randy Boysen, spoke to the group. He mentioned that he had spent 30 years as a DPS Trooper. He said that even though he had only served one term as JP, he was anxious to run again.

“Experience matters,” said Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1, Mike Towers. He announced his re-election bid and said that he believed in having a Constitutional focus in the office. He encouraged all Bandera County residents to get out and vote.

Gina Grothues introduced herself as “that JP out by the lake.” Grothues is JP for Precinct 2. She spoke briefly about her time as Justice of the Peace and her re-election campaign.

Incumbent Bandera County Clerk Tandie Mansfield introduced herself and spoke briefly about running for a second term. Beverly Schmidt, Bandera County Treasurer, spoke briefly about her role as county treasurer and showed her enthusiasm for the job. She also plans to run again for that position.

The meeting officially adjourned a little after 7 PM, but the candidates continued to visit with the party members and answer questions into the evening.