Breckenridge Texan

Last week was the first week for candidates to file to run for county or state offices in the Democratic and Republican primaries scheduled for March 3 for the 2020 election. As of Friday, several candidates had signed up to run for county offices in Stephens County.

County Commissioner Precinct 1

So far the race that has attracted the most attention — and the only one with more than one candidate — is the County Commissioner Precinct 1 position. In October, incumbent Ed Russell announced he was going to retire and not run for re-election.

As of Friday, three candidates had officially filed to run for the position and be placed on the ballot for the Republican primary in March, according to Stephens County Republican Chairman Graham Reaugh. Those candidates are David Fambro, Chad Ezell and Malcolm Bufkin.

However, County Clerk Jackie Ensey said four additional candidates have taken the first step to run for that office by filing an application for an “Appointment of Campaign Treasurer by a Candidate” in her office. But, as of Friday, none of those four candidates had yet filed with their party chairman to be on the Primary Election ballot.

Candidates running for other county offices

In the race for County Commissioner Precinct 3, incumbent Will Warren is the only candidate so far who has said he will run for the office in the Republican Primary.

In the race for Stephens County Sheriff, incumbent Will Holt has filed to run for a second term in the Republican Primary. Also on the Republican side, Wayne McMullen has filed to run in the Republican Primary for Stephens County Constable, and Stephens County Tax Assessor-Collector Republican Christie Latham has said she intends to run for re-election in 2020, according to Reaugh. The County Attorney position for Stephens County is also up for election, but no candidates had filed by Friday evening.

Democratic Party

On the Democratic side, Stephens County Democratic Party Chairman Tommy Thompson, who is running for re-election as county chairman, said that as of Friday no candidates had filed to run in Democratic Primary for any of the other county offices.

Candidate filings to continue until Dec. 9

Ensey said residents interested in signing up to be a candidate on the ballot in the March Primary Election have until Monday, Dec. 9, at 6 p.m. to file the paperwork. She said in order to register, they need to name a campaign treasurer, come by her office and fill out an “Appointment of Campaign Treasurer by a Candidate” form and take a copy to either the Democratic or Republican County Chairman, depending on which party’s primary they choose to run in. The Stephens County Democratic Chairman is Tommy Thompson, and the Republican County Chairman is Graham Reaugh.

A filing fee is required when the candidates submit their applications and must be paid to the county party chairman. The amount of the fee depends on the office they are seeking. For constable, the fee is $375, and most of the other county offices are $750.

In lieu paying the fee, a candidate has the option to have a petition signed by 50 registered voters. For county-wide offices, the petition must be signed by registered voters in the county. For positions that represent a certain precinct in the county, like a county commissioner, all the signatures on that petition must be registered voters just from that precinct. Once the petition is turned in, each signature will be verified by county election officials and the county political party chairman.

(Story by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Editor’s Note: This article was edited on Dec. 10 to correct the Precinct that Will Warren represents. The Breckenridge Texan regrets the original error.