SALADO, Texas — Bell County residents had a chance to meet candidates running for top positions in the county on Thursday, Jan. 18.
The Salado Area Republican Women, PAC hosted the forum where eight different candidates across three offices, District Attorney, Sheriff, and Constable Pct 2 had a chance to introduce themselves to voters and answer the question of what they would do if elected.
Here is a breakdown of who is running for which office, and links to their campaign sites for more information:
District Attorney
Sheriff
- Frank Hernandez
- William (Bill) Cooke
- Fred Harris
Constable Pct. 2
Jim Nichols is also running for County Attorney. He is currently running unopposed.
During the forum, each candidate had three minutes to introduce themselves. Then, they were allotted three additional minutes to answer "What will be your top priorities if you are elected?"
"I have been the voice of victims here in Bell County for 18 years for those who could not speak for themselves. And that's a job that I'd like to continue doing," said Stephanie Newell, who is currently the county's First Assistant District Attorney. "I am tough on crime, I will continue to be tough on crime."
Newell told the crowd that she is the only candidate who has prosecuted capital murder. She said changing the intake system in the office, like other candidates would want to, wouldn't be fiscally responsible for the county.
"I want to maintain the integrity and also be fiscally responsible as we move forward in the district attorney's office," Newell added.
James "J" Stapler is a local defense attorney who is looking to transition into the District Attorney seat. He told the crowd he would like cases to be handled more efficiently if he was elected.
"I feel like justice delayed is justice denied and we need to move those cases faster," Stapler said. "We got violent crimes, drug crimes, we've got the crimes associated with illegal immigration, which are, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and those things need to be addressed. I think I can bring better, more productive, more efficient things here to Bell County and that's what I intend to do as your district attorney."
Jeff Parker is also seeking to become Bell County's next District Attorney. He is currently serving as an assistant district attorney in Coryell County.
"If you come to Bell County and commit crime, you got a 50% chance you're not going to be prosecuted, 50 percent chance you might," Parker explained about the county's current screening system on cases. "That sends the wrong signal to criminals. If elected, priority number two is we're gonna prosecute all crime within Bell County, not half the crime, all the crime."
Also participating in the forum were three candidates to replace Sheriff Eddy Lange, after he decided not to seek reelection.
There's Frank Hernandez.
"I'm going to continue the legacy of Eddy Lange," Hernandez said. "I'm gonna build from that and keep moving forward."
Hernandez said his top priorities are competitive deputy pay, addressing the growing mental health crisis and ensuring the department is adequate to serve the growing population.
"We need more deputies out there serving these people," Hernandez said. "When the county grows, we have everything else that grows, including crime."
Fred Harris is also running to be the county's next sheriff.
"I'm not planning on carrying all the same policies and legacies because I don't think they're working very well," Harris said. "We need somebody in modern-day police actions and law enforcement to know exactly what's going on and how to do it."
Harris also talked about his priorities, including overspending in the jail and border control.
William "Bill" Cooke is another candidate for sheriff. He joked with the crowd that he's been "waiting in the wings to announce he's running for sheriff."
"Letting you know that I am a fiscal conservative and I will let you know that I want to keep an eye on your tax dollar," Cooke said. "We have to collaborate. We have to work together as a team, all the agencies here in Bell County work as a team."
Constable Precinct 2 has two Republicans running for the seat as well.
Jesse Mondragon is one.
"I would gather some ideas on how and if we can make the Constable office more efficient, so I can ensure we're providing the best service possible to the citizens of Precinct Two," Mondragon said.
Chris Bazar is also running for Constable.
"One of the goals that I have is, being that we do civil process, is doing an outreach to those attorneys, to those law firms that file cases inside our Justice of the Peace Court Precinct Two and have those documents served by us," Bazar said. "We are truly, truly prideful in the rapid response and how we quickly get those documents served because it is a definite reflection not only on us as an office, but it helps our constituents get their needs met expediently."
Only Republican candidates were present at the forum.
The election will be held on Tuesday, March 5. The last day to register to vote in the election is Feb. 5.
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