220th District Attorney: Republican
B. J. Shepherd
B.J. Shepherd has announced that he will seek re-election to the office of District Attorney for the 220th Judicial District, comprised of Bosque, Comanche and Hamilton Counties. Shepherd will be running in the Republican primary.

“I am very proud of the work we have accomplished in the years that I have served the citizens of Bosque, Comanche and Hamilton Counties as District Attorney. I pledge to continue to do all that I can to make our communities a safe place to raise our children and to preserve and protect those conservative values of family, faith and community which our law abiding citizens hold dear,” says Shepherd.

Shepherd has been a dedicated prosecutor with 25 years of experience in the prosecution of criminal cases. Shepherd has served as the 220th Judicial District Attorney for the past 15 years and as Bosque County Attorney for 9 years prior to becoming District Attorney.

Shepherd is the son of the late G.A. (Jack) Shepherd and the late Essye Gaston Shepherd of Cranfills Gap. He graduated from Cranfills Gap High School, Baylor University with a degree in accounting, Baylor Law School, and he is also a Certified Public Accountant.

He is married to the former Stephanie Walker of Hico, daughter of Harold and Betty Walker. Stephanie practices as a Nurse Practitioner at the Hico Medical Clinic.

B.J. and Stephanie have two sons, Jack and Brian, students at Baylor University.

Texas State Representative: Republican
Dr. Mike Jones

Dr. Mike Jones, a veterinarian from Glen Rose has announced his candidacy for Texas State Representative, District 59, opposing incumbent Rep. Sid Miller.

Dr. Jones says his legislative concerns center on the agricultural industry, border security and bioterrorism, school finance reform, tax reform, and term limits. He supports Pro 2nd Amendment, Pro Life and State’s Rights.

Jones says, “Our financial stability in the state must be addressed. In ten year of Robin Hood, the current members of the legislature still can’t figure out an equitable school finance plan while the school districts are left in August trying to figure out their budget. Texas needs to rethink its method of taxation and collection for school finance.”

Jones graduated from Tarleton State University with an undergraduate degree and from Texas A&M University in 1979 with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving active duty from 1979 to 1984 and in the reserves from 2006 to 2008.

His public service record includes the Glen Rose Chamber of Commerce, the American Legion, the Somervell Co. Extension Service, the Glen Rose ISD board of trustees and the Glen Rose EDC.

My agricultural career has taken me through the encephalitis outbreak, brucellosis eradication, and Avian influenza. “I worked at a biological laboratory for the Army before bioterrorism was a word used in public. The protection of Texas agriculture is paramount to our state and national security and economy.”

Dr. Jones adds, “I have a plan for sales tax reform, for streamlining the tax collection system. Also, he says, “Career politicians cannot seem to keep government out of our pockets, and they don’t seem willing to re-enter the private sector. Send them home.”

For more information see “Mike Jones for Texas” on Facebook; email: mrjones@valornet.com or office phone 254-897-4339.

Comanche County Attorney (re-election): Democrate
Craig Willingham
I am announcing that I will seek re-election to the office of Comanche County Attorney, and will be running in the Democratic Primary.

I am proud of everything that we have accomplished during the four years I have had the privilege of serving the citizens of Comanche County. I will continue to work with the County Judge, County Commissioners, and local law enforcement to make Comanche County a safe and enjoyable place to live and raise a family.

I have over 12 years experience in the prosecution of criminal cases, having served in the District Attorney’s offices in Brown County and Nacogdoches County prior to serving the last four years as Comanche County Attorney.

I graduated with a BBA from the The University of Texas, and a law degree from Southern Methodist University.

I was born in Comanche County and currently live near Gustine. I am the son of David and Jackie Willingham, and the grandson of Lois Allen, all of Gustine. I have a daughter, Tana, a student at Cisco Junior College in Abilene.

Comanche County Constable (Re-Election): Republican
Mark McDonald
I am Mark McDonald and I am seeking re-election as Comanche County Constable. I was born and raised in Comanche County, and I am descended from the strong roots of the early day settlers of Comanche County. I am married to Elda McDonald, and have a daughter, Alaina, and a granddaughter, Abbygail, who live in Lubbock, Texas.

After careful consideration of the changing political views of this state and nation, I have decided that my beliefs are more in line with the Republican Party, and so I am asking for your vote and support in the upcoming Republican Primary Election, and again in the General Election in November.

I have faithfully served the people of Comanche County as a Law Enforcement Officer since February 18, 1983. I have continued my training in law enforcement to its fullest. I currently hold a Master Peace Officer Certification, and I am cross trained and certified by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) in several areas of study. These areas of study include Special Crimes Investigator Certification, Mental Health Officer Certification, Instructor Certification, and Civil Process Proficiency Certification.

I was first elected, and began serving Comanche County as its Constable, on January 1, 2001. As your Constable, I have had one major goal, and that goal was to take over and handle a large percentage of the civil process that requires county law enforcement services, thus allowing the Sheriff's Office to devote more time to the crime within the county. I have accomplished that goal. Your Constable's Office now handles all of the civil process of the county, including, by written agreement between the Sheriff and Constable and approved by the Commissioners Court, all of this process that is address to the Sheriff's Office.

I did not only take over all of the civil process of the county, I have also become a well trained specialist in the studies of civil process. I have over 200 classroom hours of training, with at least 100 of those hours being in an advanced level of training in writs that require the seizure of properties and collection of civil judgments. I am actively involved with the Justice of Peace and Constable's Association of Texas, and I have served on their training committee. I have also served on committees for TCLEOSE, where I and four other specialists have made legislative updates in 2009 and 2011 for the mandatory civil process training throughout the state. I also teach civil process for the West Central Texas Council of Government Law Enforcement Academy in academy level training and law enforcement continuing education training.

As an elected administrator within your county government, I have been actively involved. I have been the Chairman for the Comanche County Community Planning Meetings for the past six years.

I have also created a misdemeanor warrant collections program. With this program, the Constable's Office tracks down and locates persons that elude justice by avoiding paying fines to the court system. This program, through the collections of these unpaid revenues, has allowed the Constable's Office to employ one more person within the county, in turn helping to keep our unemployment rate lower than the state's unemployment rate.

If re-elected Constable, I will continue to devote my fullest attention to the rising needs of the citizens, law enforcement, the courts, and the county government of Comanche County. I will continue to strive to improve the quality of professionalism and responsibilities within your Constable's Office.

In closing, I would like to thank you in advance for your vote and support in the upcoming elections subject to the Republican Party.