Breckenridge Texan

Roach, Durham win respective races in local 2020 election

Roach, Durham win respective races in local 2020 election
November 04
10:35 2020

By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

With Stephens County’s new electronic ballot boxes in action, the results of the 2020 General Election were quickly tabulated on Tuesday night, Nov. 3, and the local election officials had the final count posted before 8 p.m. In the only contested local races, Kevin Roach and Rob Durham won their bids for Stephens County Sheriff and Breckenridge City Commissioner – Place 2, respectively.

There were a total of 3,818 ballots cast in the election: 2,745 in Early Voting; 287 via Absentee, aka Ballot by Mail; and 786 on Election Day.

The results that were posted at the Stephens County Courthouse on Tuesday night are considered unofficial and will not be declared official until after the votes are canvassed.

Kevin Roach and Rob Durham won their bids for Stephens County Sheriff and Breckenridge City Commissioner – Place 2, respectively. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Sheriff’s Race

In the local race for Sheriff, Stephens County Chief Deputy Kevin Roach prevailed over his opponent, Kathy Marcom, with a total of 3,475 votes for Roach and 251 votes for Marcom.

County Judge Michael Roach takes a photo of the election results at the Stephens County Courthouse on Tuesday night while Breckenridge Police Chief Bacel Cantrell and County Commissioner Mark McCullough check out the numbers. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

In the days and weeks leading up to the election Marcom and her husband and campaign treasurer, Jay Marcom, launched an aggressive campaign against Roach, mailing out postcards alleging or implying a variety of accusations against her opponent as well as against current Sheriff Will Holt. Both Roach and Holt denied the accusations in letters that they posted on their Facebook pages and in the Breckenridge Texan’s Letters to the Editor section. Marcom did not submit a letter to the editor.

Additionally, in September, Stephens County Attorney Gary Trammel submitted a request for an opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton regarding Kevin Roach running for the office of Sheriff while his brother, Michael Roach, is the County Judge. The opinion request was submitted at the request of Jay Marcom, Trammel said. Several legal experts contacted by the Breckenridge Texan said that there is nothing in Texas law to prevent the two brothers from both holding public office. The request for an opinion did not include a request for an expedited opinion, and the Attorney General has not yet issued an opinion on the topic.

Following his victory Tuesday night, Kevin Roach visited with family and friends at The Popular. He said he wanted to thank Stephens County voters for their support and votes.

“Stephens County spoke clearly and loudly on what their wishes were, and I would like to thank them for not believing the slanderous lies and for seeing me for who I am and not what I was reported to be,” Kevin Roach said.

Roach will become Sheriff on Jan. 1, 2021, and said he doesn’t anticipate any major changes to the Sheriff’s Office. “There’s going to be a little bit of restructuring and probably some rescheduling of patrols and stuff like that,” he said.

The biggest problem facing the Sheriff’s Office continues to be staffing, Roach said. The difficulty in hiring results from a combination of problems, including budgeting restrictions and getting qualified people to apply because the salary isn’t particularly enticing, he said.

City Commission Race

The other locally contested race on the ballot was for City Commission, Place 2. Incumbent Rob Durham held on to his position with 999 votes. His opponent, Gary Mercer, received 601 votes. Durham said he was pleased with the results and has nothing but utmost respect for Mercer.

“My door is open for the community because I want to move forward to help make Breckenridge a better place, a place that families want to call home,” Durham said.

Durham got the results of the election shortly after the November City Commission meeting wrapped up. He said he thinks Interim City Manager Scott Dixon has  done a phenomenal job in the short time he’s been here. “He brings some great ideas and great suggestions that we can do as a community to help have some vision for our community,” Durham said. “I think we need to utilize him while we have him and possibly look at what we can do with him long-term.”

Other local races

Several candidates ran unopposed for their local offices and received the following votes:

  • Stephen Bristow, 90th Judicial District Judge, 3,402
  • Dee Peavy, 90th Judicial District Attorney, 3,357
  • Gary Trammel, Stephens County Attorney, 3,396
  • Christie Latham, Stephens County Tax Assessor-Collector, 3,491
  • Wayne McMullen, Stephens County Constable, 3,387
  • David Fambro, Stephens County Commissioner – Precinct 1, 839
  • Will Warren, Stephens County Commissioner – Precinct 3, 649
  • Bob Sims, Breckenridge Mayor, 1,561
  • Russell Blue, Breckenridge City Commissioner – Place 1, 1,495

City Proposition

The ballot also included  a proposition for the reauthorization a ¼ of 1 percent (0.0025) sales tax used for the City’s street maintenance fund. The sales tax used for the street maintenance fund is already in place but is required to be renewed every four years.

The proposition passed with 1,178 votes for and 466 votes against.

The unofficial results of the 2020 General Election were posted at the Stephens County Courthouse just before 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. The results are not official until the votes are canvassed. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Stephens County Elections Administrator Christie Latham addresses the small crowd gathered at the courthouse Tuesday night shortly before the final votes were posted. The results are considered unofficial until the votes are canvassed. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

 

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