About This Voters Guide. What to Take to the Polls. Races & Candidates. Table of Contents LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS

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1 LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS O F T E X A S 2016 P R I M A R Y E L E C T I O N E D I T I O N N O N P A R T I S A N Voters Gude M a r c h 1, Early votng February Electon day, March 1, 2016 Polls open 7am to 7pm Cast an nformed vote n the Prmary Electon Canddates answers on ssues that affect you: E n v r o n m e n t E d u c at o n A c c e s s t o J u s t c e About Ths Voters Gude Ths prnted Voters Gude lsts canddates n contested races who are on the March 1, 2016, Prmary Electon ballot and provdes ther answers to questons posed by the League of Women Voters of Texas Educaton Fund. Addtonal nformaton can be accessed onlne at ncludng an onlne Voters Gude wth canddate races not ncluded n the prnted Voters Gude. VOTE411 allows voters to enter an address and revew races and ballot ntatves specfc to that address. It also ncludes the responses of canddates who mss the prnt deadlne. Ths Voters Gude s funded and publshed by the League of Women Voters of Texas Educaton Fund. For more than 95 years, helpng voters cast an nformed vote when they go to the polls has been the prmary goal of the League of Women Voters. As an organzaton that encourages nformed and actve partcpaton n government, the League beleves that all of us are stakeholders n Makng Democracy Work. Nether the League nor the Educaton Fund supports or opposes any poltcal party or canddate. Races & Canddates Ths Voters Gude lsts canddates for statewde and regonal races n Texas, ncludng Ralroad Commssoner, Texas Supreme Court, Court of Crmnal Appeals, Courts of Appeals, and the State Board of Educaton. Only canddates n poltcal partes that select ther canddates n the prmary electon are ncluded, currently Democratc and Republcan partes. Canddates n other partes are selected by conventon. Questonnares are sent to canddates n races that are contested wthn the same party. Canddate reples are prnted wthout edtng or verfcaton. Due to space restrctons, canddates are gven strct character lmts. Reples exceedng the character lmt are ndcated by slashes (///). Canddates are asked to avod references to ther opponents; those who do not comply are lsted wth the notaton, Response does not meet crtera. Canddates appearng wth no photo faled to submt one. Those who do not respond to our questonnare are lsted wth the notaton, No response receved by prnt deadlne. Ths Voters Gude s organzed by offce, wth canddates lsted alphabetcally by party. Ballot order may vary from county to county. The names of unopposed canddates are also lsted. What to Take to the Polls TEXAS REQUIRES VOTERS TO SHOW PHOTO ID Texas now requres voters to show an acceptable photo ID at the polls. The only acceptable photo IDs are: Texas Department of Publc Safety (DPS) ssued photo IDs Drver lcense Personal dentfcaton card Concealed handgun lcense Electon Identfcaton Certfcate Unted States government ssued photo IDs Passport Mltary dentfcaton card Ctzenshp certfcate or naturalzaton certfcate wth photograph Only the above photo IDs can be accepted at the polls. Other photo IDs, ncludng student IDs, employer IDs and out-ofstate drver lcenses, cannot be accepted. See PHOTO ID DETAILS AND EXCEPTIONS on back page. Table of Contents presdent of the unted states... 2 Ralroad Commssoner VOTING FOR JUDGES IN TEXAS... 4 Texas Supreme Court Court of Crmnal Appeals Courts of Appeals state board of educaton photo ID DETAILS AND EXCEPTIONS SPONSOR RECOGNITION League of Women Voters of Texas Educaton Fund The Voters Gude s protected by copyrght. For permsson to duplcate the gude, please call the LWV-Texas offce at You may brng ths Voters Gude nto the votng booth! In 1995, the Texas law prohbtng use of prnted materals, such as ths Voters Gude, n the pollng place was ruled unconsttutonal. (Texas Electon Code, Secton ) 1

2 p r e s d e n t o f t h e u n t e d s t a t e s The followng canddates qualfed for the Texas ballot accordng to the Secretary of State and wll appear on the Republcan and Democratc ballots. texas Republcan Party Jeb Bush Ben Carson Chrs Chrste Ted Cruz Carly Forna Elzabeth Gray Lndsey Graham Mke Huckabee John R. Kasch Rand Paul Marco Rubo Rck Santorum Donald J. Trump democratc Party Hllary Clnton Roque Rocky De La Fuente Calvs L. Hawes Keth Judd Star Locke Martn J. O Malley Berne Sanders Wlle L. Wlson R a l r o a d C o m m s s o n e r Questons to Canddates 6-year term. Must be at least 25 years old, a Texas resdent, and a regstered voter. Regulates the ol & gas ndustry, gas utltes, ppelne safety, safety n the lquefed petroleum gas ndustry, & surface coal and uranum mnng n Texas. texas Background: What tranng, experence, and characterstcs qualfy you for ths poston? Trans-Pecos Ppelne: How would you balance the envronmental concerns of Bg Bend resdents related to constructon of the Trans-Pecos natural gas ppelne wth ol and gas ndustry nterests? Urban Drllng: What are the man health and safety ssues related to ol and gas drllng (frackng) n urban areas, and how would you address them? Other Issues: Asde from the ssues above, what are the two most serous ssues the Ralroad Commsson wll face durng the next term, and how would you address them? Lance N. Chrstan (R) Background: As a geologst (P.G ) n the Groundwater Advsory Unt, I am the only canddate wth Ralroad Commsson of Texas (RRC) experence. I am a techncally orented person wth no prevous poltcal experence that wll analyze ssues objectvely, whle servng no poltcal nterests. Trans-Pecos Ppelne: Most of the envronmental concerns for natural gas ppelnes are acute ssues durng the ntal constructon phase. Polluton concerns are mnmal compared to denser hydrocarbon products that may enter the groundwater and lnger. If the constructon s carred out wth a mnmal envron. footprnt, the ppelne scar would lkely not be vsble n a few years. Most ppelne locatons today are unknown to the publc. If specal ssues arse then consderaton of those ssues would be requred. Urban Drllng: There are two prmary threats from 'frackng' actvtes. Frst, s the possblty of groundwater contamnaton by nduced fracturng. Effectve John Greytok (R) Background: Ths poston s bascally a judcal one. The Ralroad Commsson functons as a trbunal. Whle there s not space for my full resume, n short I am the only canddate wth the legal tranng, knowledge and experence to do a good job from day one. Trans-Pecos Ppelne: The Ralroad Commsson must balance the rghts of landowners and ndustry across Texas and not solely n regard to the Trans-Pecos ppelne. We must ensure that any development meets the proper standards and protects all Texans. Urban Drllng: All state agences, ncludng the Ralroad Commsson must 2 groundwater samplng programs before drllng, durng well development, and after completon s the most defntve method to dscern polluton ssues. Addtonal casng and cementng may be necessary n well constructon plans to prevent such ssues. Second, are ssues relatng to nduced sesmcty. Those ssues warrant further nvestgaton. Other Issues: The mpendng revew by the Sunset Commsson n 2016 s the most mportant ssue that wll be faced by the RRC. Ths revew, coupled wth the state of the ol & gas ndustry, wll create a storm of scrutny over the next year. As an employee of the RRC, I wll be best suted to explan RRC functons to the legslature. Secondly, nduced sesmcty ssues n North Texas are a concern to resdents n that area. As a geologst, I am the best qualfed canddate to revew sesmcty studes. EDUCATION: Bachelor of Scence - Geologcal Scences, 1994 Bachelor of Arts - Geography, 1995 Masters Program - Geologcal Scences (ncomplete) phone: (512) emal: lancenchrstan@yahoo.com gve prorty to the health, safety, and welfare of all Texans. We must always be alert and open to new nformaton about the costs and rsks of ndustral actvtes. When relable engneerng and other data are avalable, we should take steps to protect the health and safety of all Texans. Other Issues: Frst, stablze the agency by successfully completng the Sunset Revew.Second, contnue crucal technology upgrades. Thrd, we must fght back aganst the Obama EPA s rratonal war on the Texas energy Industry. EDUCATION: B.A. Economcs (wth Honors), UT Austn J.D. (wth Honors), UT Austn phone: (512) emal: nfo@johngreytok.com WEBSITE: Ths race s contnued on the next page 4

3 R a l r o a d C o m m s s o n e r, contnued Ron Hale (R) Background: Beng a lcensed professonal engneer and No prvate securty consultant for the Texas energy ndustry for the Photograph last 18 years.. Provded Trans-Pecos Ppelne: Everythng has to be done by the standard provded by Ttle 16. We need to do a better job explanng the benefts to the publc n the area. Urban Drllng: There are no man health ssues related to frackng. Frackng has been around for 60+ years. Thnk about ths the drll hole Doug Jeffrey (R) Background: As an offcer n the USAF I consstently found ways to save mllons of taxpayer dollars. I'll take that experence and help ensure regulatons are standardzed, safe and effectve whle always lookng for ways to be more effcent. Trans-Pecos Ppelne: As Ralroad Commssoner I wll make sure the ol and gas ndustry s dong thngs the rght way. I want my chldren to enjoy Bg Bend just lke I dd growng up n Texas. Urban Drllng: My number one prorty s for the ol and gas ndustry to be safe and effectve. Urban areas want safe producton and my goal s ensure that happens. Weston Martnez (R) Background: My frst had Ol & Gas experence as a busness owner, where I worked wth Operators and land owners wthn the confnes of the regulated ol and gas ndustry n the Eagle Ford Shale.2: My 4 years experence as Texas Real Estate Commssoner. I am the grassroots tea-party conservatve n ths race Trans-Pecos Ppelne: Responsble development through accountablty and transparency s key to energy ndependence n Texas. Enforcng the many rules n place whle keepng the publc nformed s the way to ensure publc confdence and ndustry success whch keeps our economy alve and healthy. Urban Drllng: Ensurng ntegrty of water supply and safety of populatons s the 2 most mportant ssues, whch would be addressed by ncreasng transparency whle contnung to responsbly develop our resources. s 12,000-15,000 feet deep. That's at least 10 Empre state buldng stacked on top of each other. Other Issues: Effcency : Updatng the technology the Texas RRC uses n day to day operatons. Educaton : The Texas RRC needs to do a better job educatng the publc through partnershps wth colleges and publc access TV. EDUCATION: Techncal School TBFAA Tomball College phone: (281) emal: nfo@ronhalefortexas.com webste: Other Issues: The prce of ol s the most serous ssue. If we are smart about how we run the Ralroad Commsson we can ensure the ndustry weathers these challengng tmes. The second ssue s we need to ensure we have a standardzed tranng system to make sure standards are beng met across the board. EDUCATION: Texas Tech Pol Sc Duquesne Masters n Leadershp and Busness Ethcs Squadron Offcer School Ar Command and Staff College phone: (940) emal: doug@dougjeffrey4texas.com webste: Other Issues: We acheve the above goals by ncreasng technology n reportng and fndng new ways to frack responsbly. Ths wll keepng Texas movng forward. Ths s how we develop responsbly and economcally. As Texas Ral Road Commssoner I wll fght for every Texan to have an Energy Independent Future. The conservatve leaders across Texas are supportng me because I know the ssues, I know the Process, and I know how to fght for Texas Values. vst and share EDUCATION: BACHELORS BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION TEXAS CERTIFIED MEDIATOR AT&T ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM phone: (210) emal: nfo@westonfortexas.com webste: Wayne Chrstan (r), Gary Gates (r), Lon Burnam (D), Cody Garrett (D), Grady Yarbrough (D) v o t e r I N F O Facts about Texas Prmares Votng n the prmares does not make you a Republcan or a Democrat You do not regster wth a party n Texas Voters n a Texas prmary sgn, I am a (nsert approprate poltcal party) and understand that I am nelgble to vote or partcpate n another poltcal party s prmary electon or conventon durng ths votng year." You can vote for any canddate n the general electon Vote n the prmary f you want a say on who s elected. Texans vote n the Democratc or Republcan prmares for canddates who are runnng n federal, state, county and local electons. Canddates n other partes, such as the Lbertaran and Green partes, are selected by conventon. Votng n the prmary electon allows you to select the canddates who wll be on the ballot n the General Electon n November. In the 2016 prmary, you choose ether the Democratc or Republcan Party canddate for Presdent. You can vote for any canddate n the General Electon n November; all canddates, who are selected n the prmares, from all partes are on the same ballot. 3

4 Votng for Judges n T e x a s Although n some states judges are apponted, most judges n Texas are elected. Votng decsons n judcal races are among the most mportant that a Texas voter makes. Why are judcal electons mportant? Judges make decsons about fundamental ssues that affect all of us famly lfe, educaton, health care, housng, employment, fnances, dscrmnaton, cvl rghts, publc safety, and government actons. Those decsons can have a long-lastng mpact on ndvduals, groups, and the publc as a whole. It s crtcal that our judges make far decsons based upon open-mnded and unbased consderaton of the facts and the law n each case. Judges must know the law and not be nfluenced by any external poltcal or economc factors. What should voters look for when electng judges? Accordng to the Amercan Bar Assocaton, prncples to consder n selecton of judges nclude: Judges should uphold the rule of law. Judges should be ndependent and mpartal. Judges should possess the approprate temperament and character. Judges should possess the approprate capabltes and credentals. Judges and the judcary should have the confdence of the publc. The judcal system should be dverse and reflectve of the socety t serves. Judges should be constraned to perform ther dutes n a manner that justfes publc fath and confdence n the court. Unlke canddates for most poltcal offces, judcal canddates cannot make promses about decsons they would make when certan ssues or types of cases come up n ther court. Questons posed to judges, therefore, focus on mprovements they would make to ther court, the need for mpartalty and how they would ncrease access to justce. How s the Texas court system organzed? The Texas court system s made up of a statewde network of tral courts and appellate courts. In tral courts, judges and/or jures evaluate the facts and the law and make a decson n a cvl or crmnal legal dspute. When decsons n most tral courts are appealed, they are sent to an appellate court where judges consder what happened at the tral court, evaluate legal arguments, and then decde f a mstake was made. See for a chart of the Texas court structure. The state s two hghest courts, the Texas Supreme Court and the Court of Crmnal Appeals, have both admnstratve and appellate responsbltes. The Supreme Court s the fnal court of appeals wthn Texas for both cvl and juvenle cases. The Court of Crmnal Appeals hears crmnal cases that are appealed from one of the 14 Courts of Appeals and death penalty cases that by law go straght to the Court of Crmnal Appeals. All members of each court are elected for sx-year terms, wth three elected every two years. Any vacances are flled by gubernatoral appontment untl the next general electon. Identfy the Court of Appeals Servng Your Texas County: 1 ST COURT OF APPEALS: Austn, Brazora, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grmes, Harrs, Waller & Washngton 2 nd COURT OF APPEALS: Archer, Clay, Cooke, Denton, Hood, Jack, Montague, Parker, Tarrant, Wchta, Wse & Young 3 rd COURT OF APPEALS: Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Coke, Comal, Concho, Fayette, Hays, Iron, Lampasas, Lee, Llano, McCulloch, Mlam, Mlls, Runnels, San Saba, Schlecher, Sterlng, Tom Green, Travs & Wllamson 4 th COURT OF APPEALS: Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Brooks, Dmmt, Duval, Edwards, Fro, Gllespe, Guadalupe, Jm Hogg, Jm Wells, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kmble, Knney, La Salle, Mason, Maverck, McMullen, Medna, Menard, Real, Starr, Sutton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb, Wlson, Zapata & Zavala 5 th COURT OF APPEALS: Colln, Dallas, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman & Rockwall 6 th COURT OF APPEALS: Bowe, Camp, Cass, Delta, Fannn, Frankln, Gregg, Harrson, Hopkns, Hunt, Lamar, Maron, Morrs, Panola, Red Rver, Rusk, Ttus, Upshur & Wood 7 th COURT OF APPEALS: Armstrong, Baley, Brscoe, Carson, Castro, Chldress, Cochran, Collngsworth, Cottle, Crosby, Dallam, Deaf Smth, Dckens, Donley, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Hale, Hall, Hansford, Hardeman, Hartley, Hemphll, Hockley, Hutchnson, Kent, Kng, Lamb, Lpscomb, Lubbock, Lynn, Moore, Motley, Ochltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Swsher, Terry, Wheeler, Wlbarger & Yoakum 8 th COURT OF APPEALS: Andrews, Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davs, Lovng, Pecos, Presdo, Reagan, Reeves, Terrell, Upton, Ward & Wnkler 9 th COURT OF APPEALS: Hardn, Jasper, Jefferson, Lberty, Montgomery, Newton, Orange, Polk, San Jacnto & Tyler 10 th COURT OF APPEALS: Bosque, Brazos, Burleson, Coryell, Ells, Falls, Freestone, Hamlton, Hll, Johnson, Leon, Lmestone, Madson, McLennan, Navarro, Robertson, Somervell & Walker 11 th COURT OF APPEALS: Baylor, Borden, Brown, Callahan, Coleman, Comanche, Dawson, Eastland, Ector, Erath, Fsher, Ganes, Glasscock, Haskell, Howard, Jones, Knox, Martn, Mdland, Mtchell, Nolan, Palo Pnto, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens, Stonewall, Taylor & Throckmorton 12 th COURT OF APPEALS: Anderson, Angelna, Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Houston, Nacogdoches, Rans, Rusk, Sabne, San Augustne, Shelby, Smth, Trnty, Upshur, Van Zandt & Wood 13 th COURT OF APPEALS: Aransas, Bee, Calhoun, Cameron, De Wtt, Golad, Gonzales, Hdalgo, Jackson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Lavaca, Lve Oak, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugo, San Patrco, Vctora, Wharton & Wllacy 14th COURT OF APPEALS: Austn, Brazora, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grmes, Harrs, Waller & Washngton 4

5 t e x a s s u p r e m e c o u r t Questons to Canddates 6-year term. Must be age years, a U.S. ctzen, a Texas resdent, lcensed to practce law n Texas, a regstered voter, & have 10 years experence as a lawyer or judge. Hears fnal appeals of decsons on cvl cases & attorney dscplne, ssues wrts of mandamus/ habeas corpus, & conducts proceedngs for removal of judges. texas Background: What tranng, experence, and characterstcs qualfy you for ths poston? Impartalty: How do you mantan mpartalty, gven the need to rase funds for poltcal campagns? Publc Protecton: The Texas Supreme Court oversees and controls Debra Lehrmann (R) Background: Wth a total of 28 years judcal experence, I have served on ths Court for 6 years and have wrtten on a vast number of complex legal matters ncludng ol and gas, contract nterpretaton, commercal, corporate and securtes law, tax, torts, famly and probate law, cvl procedure & evdence. Impartalty: The mportance of judcal ndependence that s, the duty to apply the law equally and neutrally to all partes cannot be overstated. It s mperatve that judges serve wth humlty, that they exercse restrant, and that they farly and neutrally apply the law equally to all ltgants. I am bound by the Code of Judcal Conduct to apply these prncples across the board, and never waver n my oblgaton to do so. Publc Protecton: I have the honor of servng as the Court s lason to the Board of Dscplnary Appeals and the Commsson for Lawyer Dscplne. In ths capacty, I have devoted many hours to ensurng that complants are handled rules and standards for the legal professon. What changes to the attorney dscplnary rules are needed to provde better protecton to the publc? access to justce: How have you worked toward mprovng access to justce for all Texans and what role should the Texas Supreme Court play n ensurng access to justce? justce place 3 n an effcent and just manner. The recently enacted Cvlty Oath s an example of the Court s ongong concern that lawyers conduct themselves wth utmost professonalsm at all tmes. access to justce: As an attorney, I provded pro bono work n a varety of areas; as a judge, I have worked on many projects to ensure that legal assstance s avalable to the ndgent. I worked trelessly wth the State Legslature to ensure that funds are avalable. The Court must contnue ts work n ths crtcal area because f justce s avalable only to those who can afford legal representaton, justce s avalable to no one. EDUCATION: A member of Ph Beta Kappa, I graduated wth hgh honors from The Unversty of Texas n 1979 and The Unversty of Texas School of Law n 1982; I am a canddate for an L.L.M. n Judcal Studes from Duke Unversty School of Law. phone: (512) emal: Debra@judgedebralehrmann.com webste: Mchael Massengale (r) Rck Green (R) Background: Lcensed medator, former TX Legslator, author and teacher for over 15 years on the proper jursdctons of the government as outlned n the Consttuton. Impartalty: My donors are made up manly of grassroots supporters and not law frms who practce n front of the court. Addtonally, I have a proven legslatve record of not lettng contrbutons nfluence my decsons and that wll not change. Publc Protecton: Sometmes publc servants take acton, just to take acton, and make thngs worse. I m open to learnng about specfc needs for changes to the Texas Dscplnary Rules of Professonal Conduct, but I am not personally advocatng for specfc changes at ths tme. justce place 5 access to justce: In addton to my practce of law for nearly 20 years, I have educated ctzens about ther consttutonal rghts and how to assert them, ncludng wthn the cvl courts. The Supreme Court, actng only wth authorty granted by the people n the Texas Consttuton and va the people s elected representatves n the legslature, should promulgate rules that provde/ensure justce, not just farness; and decde cases wth respect for and strct adherence to the state and federal consttutons. EDUCATION: J.D., U. of Texas School of Law, B.B.A. Fnance, Angelo State Unv., Wyle Hgh School, Wyle, Texas phone: (512) emal: campagn@rckgreen.com webste: Student Voters Paul Green (r) Students may use ether ther parents address or ther college address for voter regstraton, whchever they consder to be ther permanent address. Students cannot be regstered at both places. The general rule of thumb s that wherever students clam resdency s the place where they should be regstered to vote. Students who wll be away from ther address on Electon Day and durng early votng may request ballots by mal. Student IDs are not adequate photo IDs for votng and wll not be accepted at the polls. 5

6 T E X A S S U P R E M E C O U R T, contnued Eva Guzman (R) Background: The depth and breadth of my experence ncludes servce at 3 levels of the Texas Judcary. As a Supreme Court Justce, I have ruled on thousands of cvl appeals. I brng to my work a conservatve judcal phlosophy, a strong work ethc, superor credentals and a frm commtment to excellence. Impartalty: As judcal canddates, we have an oblgaton to nform the publc about our qualfcatons and the ssues n judcal races. Under the present system, fundng for judcal races comes from many sources, ncludng lawyers. But, mportantly, the many Texans that have supported my campagn expect and ask only one thng: that I perform my dutes wth the dgnty, honor, honesty and ntegrty that s expected of the offce -- t s a request that I am proud to uphold each and every day. Publc Protecton: As a Court, we serve the publc nterest well when we promulgate rules and standards that protect the publc and that are also far to all stakeholders n our system of justce. The present rules are mperfect and should justce place 9 be revsted to address changes that may be necessary due to new technologes, 21st century practce models, and other substantve defcences. An effectve rule-makng process wll nclude nput from the publc and the Bar. access to justce: I am the Supreme Court of Texas Lason to the Access to Justce Commsson. In that role, I have led and partcpated n local and natonal efforts to mprove access to our courts by the almost 6 mllons Texans who lve at or below the poverty level. But, even people makng a modest wage cannot afford lawyers. The Court should contnue to lead efforts that promote and support polces, procedures, court rules, and legslaton that open the courthouse doors for all Texans, especally Veterans. EDUCATION: Duke Unversty School of Law, L.L.M. Judcal Studes South Texas College of Law., Jurs Doctor Unversty of Houston, B.B.A. phone: (512) emal: nfo@evaguzman.com webste: Unopposed Canddates JOE POOL (r) texas supreme court, justice, place 3: Mke Westergren (D) texas supreme court, justice, place 5: Dor Contreras Garza (D) texas supreme court, justice, place 9: Savannah Robnson (D) v o t e r I N F O Regsterng to Vote You must regster to vote at least 30 days before the electon date. The last day you can regster to vote n the 2016 Prmary Electon s February 1. Who can regster? To regster to vote, you must be a ctzen of the Unted States, a resdent of the county, and at least 18 years old on Electon Day. You must not have been declared mentally ncapactated by a court of law. If you have been convcted of a felony, you may regster to vote only after you have completed the punshment phase of your convcton, ncludng any terms of ncarceraton, parole, supervson, or perod of probaton ordered by the court. Where do I regster? You can regster n person at the voter regstraton offce n your county, or fll out an applcaton that can be maled (or faxed wth follow-up by mal) or returned n person to the voter regstrar n your county of resdence. Applcaton forms are avalable at many lbrares, government offces, and hgh schools. The applcaton s avalable onlne at and These webstes also allow you to search to see f you are already regstered. After you apply, a voter regstraton certfcate wll be maled to you wthn 30 days. Ths certfcate ncludes your precnct for votng on Electon Day as well as your congressonal, state legslatve, county, and local dstrcts. More About Regsterng to Vote For how long s my regstraton effectve? The regstraton wll reman n effect untl you move or change your name, and a new certfcate wll be sent to you every two years wthout further applcaton on your part. If you move, however, your regstraton certfcate wll not be forwarded to your new address. If you move wthn the same county or change your name, you must notfy your county clerk or electon admnstrator n wrtng or onlne of your new address or your new name as soon as possble. Then a new certfcate wll be maled to you. If you move to another county, you must re-regster by applyng to the electon offce n your new county. When & Where to Vote Early Votng: All regstered voters may vote early by personal appearance at any early votng locaton n ther county. Check wth your local newspaper or the county clerk or electon admnstrator for early votng tmes and locatons. Early votng days for the March 1, 2016, Prmary Electon are February Electon Day Votng: On Electon Day you must vote n your precnct of resdence (unless your area s partcpatng n countywde vote centers). Your precnct s lsted on your regstraton card, or you may fnd out where to vote by callng or gong onlne wth your county electon admnstrator. County electons addresses and fax numbers are avalable at or at Votng places are also lsted n most newspapers. If you report to the ncorrect pollng place, you wll be redrected to the correct ste or offered a provsonal ballot. You can vote by provsonal ballot, but f t s determned that you are not regstered n the precnct where you vote, your ballot wll not be counted by Texas law. More nformaton on provsonal votng appears on the Texas Secretary of State webste Ballot-by-Mal Votng: Only specfc reasons enttle a person to vote by mal (no longer called absentee votng). You may request a ballot by mal f you wll be away from your county on Electon Day and durng early votng. are sck or dsabled. are 65 years of age or older on Electon Day. are confned to jal. You do not need a photo ID to vote by mal, but photo ID wll be requred of frst tme voters f a drver lcense or Socal Securty number was not ncluded wth the voter regstraton applcaton. Request an Applcaton for Ballot by Mal from the early votng clerk n the county where you are regstered, or download the form from The completed form must be receved by mal, fax or emal by February 19, Note: postmarks don t count. A ballot wll be maled to you, and you must return your completed ballot to your county electons department by 7 p.m. on Electon Day, March 1. The ballot must be receved, not just postmarked, by that date. If you are malng your ballot from outsde the Unted States, the early votng clerk must receve your ballot by the ffth day after Electon Day. (You must mal t no later than 7 p.m. on Electon Day.) 6

7 t e x a s C O U R T O F C R I M I N A L A P P E A L S 6-year term. Must be age years, a U.S. ctzen, a Texas resdent, lcensed to practce law n Texas, a regstered voter, & have 10 years experence as a lawyer or judge. Revews all death penalty cases & applcatons for habeas corpus n felony cases, hears fnal appeals on crmnal cases, & admnsters publcly funded judcal and attorney educaton. texas Questons to Canddates Background: What tranng, experence, and characterstcs qualfy you for ths poston? Impartalty: How do you mantan mpartalty, gven the need to rase funds for poltcal campagns? Mary Lou Keel (R) Background: Felony tral court judge, 1995-present. Tral and appellate prosecutor Brefng attorney, Frst Court of Appeals, Board certfed n crmnal law snce Top-rated among my peers n the 2015 Houston Bar Assocaton Judcal Poll for mpartalty and followng the law. Impartalty: Iron dscplne. Accomplshment: The Court of Crmnal Appeals hears crmnal cases on appeal, nothng else. Canddates for that court should demonstrate an apttude for that knd of work. I do. I represented the State n 279 Chrs Oldner (R) Background: Fearless ntegrty and an entre professonal career commtted to the mprovement of the crmnal justce system. I am the top rated judge n Colln County. Wth 15 years as a tral judge, I have never been reversed n a felony case. My statewde judcal leadershp s unmatched n ths race. Impartalty: Ths s the constant tenson n judcal races. The best counter-measure to the concern for bas due to poltcal contrbutons s requrng full transparency n flngs wth the Ethcs Commsson that are easly searchable and thorough. In addton, I beleve t s ncumbent for any judge hearng a case to dsclose to all partes f a sgnfcant donor represents a party before hm or her. The system must not only be far to all partes, but also be perceved as far by all. Accomplshment: In 2007 I served as the Local Admnstratve Judge for all the Colln County dstrct courts. In August of that year, we were moved from the courthouse we had occuped snce 1979 nto the new courthouse. The move Ray Wheless (R) Background: I offer the broadest legal experence. My twenty-one years pre-judge experence tryng crmnal and cvl cases and my AV ratng placng me n the top 5% of all lawyers s unmatched. As a judge, I have dsposed of over 23,000 cases, conducted over 500 jury trals and sat as an appellate judge. Impartalty: I was apponted to my frst bench as a County Court at Law Judge and apponted by the Governor as a Dstrct Judge. I have never had an opponent. Because I ddn't have to campagn, I dd not accept campagn contrbutons untl a few years ago. I have now receved contrbutons from a broad cross secton of ctzens. Most of these people are not crmnal defense lawyers and wll never have cases before me. I pledge that I wll follow the Rule Of Law and admnster justce blndly. Accomplshment: I created the frst DWI/Drug Court Program n Colln County and serve as the Charman of the Specalzed Courts Advsory Councl to Governor Greg Abbott. My role s to establsh best practces and recommend fundng to the Governor for alternatves to ncarceraton such as Veterans Court Accomplshment: Descrbe an accomplshment of whch you are proud and how t would help make you a better justce on ths court. Other Issues: Asde from the ssues above, what are the two most pressng ssues facng the Court n the next term, and how would you address them? JUDGE place 2 crmnal cases on appeal when I was a Harrs County prosecutor. My opponents have handled crmnal appeals numberng n the sngle dgts. Other Issues: (1) I would lke to see the court ssue ts opnons more decsvely,.e., wthout the need for rehearng. (2) I would lke the court to ssue ts opnons n a more tmely fashon. I would address these ssues by lendng my three decades of experence to the job and workng hard. EDUCATION: JD, Unversty of Houston, 1985 BA, Unversty of Texas, 1982 phone: (713) emal: judgemlkeel@gmal.com webste: nvolved several offces that serve the courts and every dstrct court. I led a team of judges and clerks that orchestrated the complete move wth less than two days of normal court operatons dsrupted, and mantaned at least one operatonal court to address any emergency. Other Issues: Frst, mantanng pace wth scentfc advancement to ensure that the rules of evdence and post convcton remedes keep pace and attorneys are nformed. Second, contnung the postve momentum and advancements n ndgent defense so that counsel for the defense s not only adequately compensated, but also thoroughly traned and prepared to provde representaton that meets and exceeds consttutonal mnmums. EDUCATION: Texas Tech Unversty School of Law - Jurs Doctorate, 1993 Baylor Unversty - Bachelor of Arts, 1989 Plano East Senor Hgh School - Hgh School Dploma, 1985 phone: (972) emal: judgeoldner@chrsoldner.com webste: Programs and Drug Court Programs. As a member of ths Court, I wll help to shape our crmnal justce system polcy and help admnster State funds to tran judges n these specalzed courts. Other Issues: 1. Statewde electronc flng of all documents n crmnal cases stll needs to be mplemented. A hearng s scheduled n Aprl of ths year to address these ssues. Provsons wll have to be made to allow pro se ctzens to fle paper documents. 2. The Court s strugglng wth ssues surroundng the Mchael Morton Act requrng prosecutors and law enforcement to turn over all exculpatory evdence. Ths Court must affrm proper convctons but reman vglant aganst wrongful convctons. EDUCATION: I earned my GED n the Ar Force durng the Vetnam War era and attended college at nght. I earned a Bachelors n Busness Admnstraton at Calforna State Unversty and a Doctor of Jursprudence from the Unversty of Texas at Austn, Texas' top law school. Double Board Certfed. AV rated. phone: (214) emal: ray@judgeraywheless.com webste: 7

8 T E X A S C O U R T O F C R I M I N A L A P P E A L S, contnued Sd Harle (R) Background: Apponted to the 226th Dstrct Court Bench n 1988 by Gov Wllam Clements; prevously Prosecutor and Defense Attorney State and Federal Courts; I have prosecuted, defended and presded over every concevable type of crmnal case, ncludng Death Penalty ltgaton; I have a proven track record. Impartalty: Contrbutons are a necessary evl n the current system, I lmt amounts, much less than the maxmum under the law and return when no opponent fles. Contrbutors are aware I rule on the law and the evdence, no favortsm and full publc dsclosure on all contrbutons. Accomplshment: Apponted by Supreme Court to presde over the State of Texas vs. Mchael Morton n Wllamson County. It led to the dscovery that Steve Smth (R) Background: I served as a Texas Supreme Court justce and authored numerous opnons. My conservatve judcal phlosophy s another mportant qualfcaton. My pror ltgaton experence ncludes ltgatng the Hopwood v. Texas case that elmnated unconsttutonal racal preferences at Texas unverstes. Impartalty: I beleve that state judges should contnue to be elected. The core task of the judcary s to effcently and farly resolve cases by applyng Texas law to the facts. Drect electons make the state judcary accountable to Texas voters, allowng ctzens to remove judges who are neffcent, unfar, or who legslate from the bench. However, because of the nherent conflct of nterest that arses, campagn contrbutons from attorneys to judges should be strctly lmted. Accomplshment: I am proud of my servce on the Texas Supreme Court. My judcal phlosophy mrrors that of U.S. Supreme Court Justce Scala: textualsm and rejecton of the lberal "lvng consttuton" theory. When revewng a Brent Webster (R) Background: I ve practced Crmnal law snce 2006, and I have very dverse crmnal, tral and appellate experence. I ve handled everythng from msdemeanors to murder and I ve wrtten appeals. I currently served as the General Counsel for the Wllamson County Dstrct Attorney s offce. Impartalty: I am runnng a grassroots campagn and have receved many donatons from a broad group of people. They are donatng to me because they beleve n me. They trust that I am Conservatve and wll always do the rght thng. As an appellate judge, the qualty of my work wll be judged by the opnons that I wrte. Therefore, f I were to do somethng that s contrary to what the law requres (n a way that s not mpartal), then the voters would, and should, hold me accountable for that acton. Accomplshment: I am proud of how hard I fought for chldren that have been physcally abused. I have been very successful helpng multple chldren get out of bad envronments where ther lfe and physcal safety was at rsk. I beleve JUDGE place 5 Mr. Morton had served 25 years n prson but was proven actually nnocent by DNA. In addton, the prosecutor wthheld favorable evdence that would have exonerated Mr. Morton. The actual perpetrator commtted another murder whle Mr. Morton was n prson. I exonerated Mr. Morton and nsttuted a crmnal proceedng aganst the prosecutor, who wthheld evdence. Other Issues: The current ssues on problems nvolvng forensc scence, ncludng DNA, whch have led to a multtude of appeals on numerous cases. The Court must contnue to protect the Consttuton, Bll of Rghts, and ndvdual lbertes. EDUCATION: Austn College ; Unversty of Texas ; Bachelor of Arts wth Honors; St. Mary's Unversty School of Law - Jurs Doctorate 1980 phone: (210) emal: sdharle@gmal.com webste: consttutonal or statutory provson, judges should enforce the plan meanng of the text. See, e.g., my majorty opnon n the landmark case of Texas Department of Protectve and Regulatory Servces v. Mega Chld Care, 145 S.W.3d 170 (Tex. 2004). Other Issues: Frst Issue: Whether the death penalty s consttutonal n Texas. My vew s that nether the Unted States Consttuton nor the Texas Consttuton prohbt the death penalty. Others, ncludng some Republcans, dsagree. Second Issue: Whether the Texas Court of Crmnal Appeals should be merged wth the Texas Supreme Court. I beleve that such a merger would mprove the state s jursprudence, mprove the effcency of both courts, and make hgh court justces more accountable to the voters. EDUCATION: I graduated wth Honors from the Unversty of Texas School of Law n UT Law s generally recognzed as not only the best law school n Texas, but the best law school n the Southwestern Unted States. phone: (512) emal: campagn@provenconservatve4texas.com webste: ths wll make me a better judge because, not only wll I be a strong advocate for our consttutonal rghts, but I also have a deep and profound understandng of what vctms of volent crme must lve wth for the rest of ther lves. Other Issues: Frst, there s always a hgh volume of cases that can result n a backlog. I am runnng to work hard for Texas and I wll use my sklls and energy to help move the caseload at the Court of Crmnal Appeals. Second, I beleve that our Consttutonal Rghts are under attack around the naton by the Government. As a Judge, I wll make sure that your rghts are protected, especally your 1st Amendment rght to Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Relgon, and your 2nd Amendment rght to bear arms. EDUCATION: J.D., Unversty of Houston Law Center B.A. n Poltcal Scence, Southwestern Unversty phone: (512) emal: brent@websterforjudge.com webste: SCOTT WALKER (R) v o t e r I N F O Donate! Support the Voters Gude wth a tax deductble contrbuton to the League of Women Voters of Texas Educaton Fund, 1212 Guadalupe # 107, Austn, TX or make a secure donaton onlne at Access the Interactve Voters Gude An nteractve verson of ths Voters Gude s avalable onlne at VOTE411.org. Enter your address and zp code and vew the races and canddates that appear on your ballot. You wll be able to compare the canddates responses to the questons sde-by-sde and create a prntout of a ballot that you can take to the polls. 8

9 T E X A S C O U R T O F C R I M I N A L A P P E A L S, contnued Mchael E. Keasler (R) Background: 17 yrs Judge, Court of Crmnal Appeals, 17 yrs 292nd Dstrct Judge, 12 yrs Dallas Senor Felony Chef Prosecutor 432 jury trals, former char State Bar Judcal Secton, 7 yrs dean, Texas Judcal College, 25 yrs Natonal Judcal College faculty, teach ethcs and consttutonal law natonally. Impartalty: So far, snce I have been on the Court, I have not taken contrbutons from lawyers who appear before me. Most of my contrbutons have come from frends and college fraternty brothers. But I sncerely beleve that the overwhelmng majorty of judges are prncpled, honest men and women who are not nfluenced by campagn contrbutons. And to do away wth the appearance of mproprety n judcal fundrasng, you need to do away wth judcal electons. That won't happen n my lfetme. Accomplshment: In 2011, wth professors Joseph Hoffman and Penny Whte and attorney Robn Wosje, I co-wrote and taught a Natonal Judcal College JUDGE place 6 currculum for appellate judges handlng captal murder cases. Judges from all over the country attended the course and were very complmentary of ts content and teachers. My work on ths currculum and preparaton for teachng t has been helpful n analyzng the captal cases I deal wth regularly. Other Issues: The most pressng ssue facng the Court s the new scentfc nformaton dealng wth DNA analyss. Ths may result n a sgnfcant ncrease n our habeas corpus ltgaton. We are currently coordnatng wth the scentfc communty, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges to deal wth the ssue justly and effectvely. Ths s a natonal ssue, and, thanks largely to the efforts of our Court,Texas s the leader natonally n addressng t. EDUCATION: B.A. Unversty of Texas at Austn, 1964 L.L.B. Unversty of Texas School of Law, 1967 phone: (512) emal: mekeasler@yahoo.com webste: Unopposed Canddates RICHARD DAVIS (R) texas Court of Crmnal Appeals, judge, place 2: Lawrence "Larry" Meyers (D) texas Court of Crmnal Appeals, judge, place 5: Betsy Johnson (D) texas Court of Crmnal Appeals, judge, place 6: Robert Burns (D) t e x a s C O U R T O F A P P E A L S 6-year term. Must be age years, a U.S. ctzen, a Texas resdent, lcensed to practce law n Texas, a regstered voter, & have 10 years experence as a lawyer or judge. Hears appeals on cvl and crmnal cases from lower courts n ts dstrct texas Questons to Canddates Background: What tranng, experence, and characterstcs qualfy you for ths poston? Impartalty: How do you mantan mpartalty, gven the need to rase funds for poltcal campagns? Accomplshment: Descrbe an accomplshment of whch you are proud and how t would help make you a better justce on ths court. Other Issues: Asde from the ssues above, what are the two most pressng ssues facng the Court n the next term, and how would you address them? Background: Only those wth a conservatve judcal phlosophy and who refuse to legslate from the bench should be judges. My legal sklls are demonstrated by a 30-year legal career, a board certfcaton n Cvl Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specalzaton, and my publshed artcles on the law. Impartalty: My gudng prncples on the bench wll be honesty and a commtment to a conservatve judcal phlosophy that dctates total fdelty to the rule of law. Certanly, I am grateful to everyone who has supported my campagn. But the cases of those who supported me wll receve the same treatment as everyone else s a far and tmely resoluton based on the law and the facts. Accomplshment: My proudest accomplshments are a marrage that has lasted almost three decades and rearng a strong and able daughter. A long Dabney Bassel (R) JUSTICE 2 N D Court of Appeals, PLACE 3 The League of Women Voters marrage, rearng a chld, and a thrty-year legal career has taught me patence, dlgence, and farness. These lessons wll help me serve humbly and n the way that all judges should serve -as a neutral arbter who lstens carefully, works hard, and apples the law equally and farly. Other Issues: Every Justce on the Court of Appeals faces two prmary challenges decdng appeals correctly and tmely. The frst challenge requres: 1) careful consderaton of the arguments; 2) care n the research, analyss and wrtng of opnons; and 3) an open-mnd to the vews of the other justces. The second challenge requres the dedcaton to put n whatever tme s needed to make sure the partes have ther appeals resolved tmely. EDUCATION: B.A.-Trnty Unversty-1979 J.D.-Baylor Unversty School of Law-1982 phone: (817) emal: dbassel@dabneybassel.com webste: Ths race s contnued on the next page 4 The League of Women Voters never supports or opposes canddates for offce, or poltcal partes, and any use of the League of Women Voters name n campagn advertsng or lterature has not been authorzed by the League. 9

10 T E X A S C O U R T O F A P P E A L S, contnued Mary Colchn Johndroe (R) Background: I have decades of lead attorney experence handlng cases over a wde breadth of substantve areas of law. Repeatedly named one of Texas' Top Attorneys, I am also recognzed as AV Preemnent. I beleve n Integrty, Impartalty, and Farness and have a genune enthusasm and love of the law. Impartalty: Ths s an excellent queston, for whch I am grateful. I have expressly declared my commtment to Integrty, Impartalty and Farness n my campagn. There s no ambguty on ths pont. My campagn has not and wll not elevate fund rasng to a top ter prorty. Accomplshment: I am proud of my dverse professonal and communty nvolvement and beleve t provdes a well-rounded perspectve as a justce. I have taught as an Adjunct Professor at Texas A&M Unversty School of Law, Bll Ray (R) Background: Board Certfed, Crmnal Appellate Law and Crmnal Law, over 450 appellate matters n Texas Appellate Courts. Brefng Attorney, Court of Crmnal Appeals, Austn, Prosecutor, Tarrant County Dstrct Attorney's Offce Prvate Practce, Crmnal Defense Attorney Impartalty: You have to vew a campagn contrbuton as a necessary evl n poltcal campagns. In order to mantan mpartalty, I beleve that the amount of contrbutons and the frequency of solctatons should be kept n check. Addtonally, there s no need to mantan a huge "war chest" but rather, only have the funds avalable to seek relecton. If I am elected and seek reelecton, I would only seek mnmal contrbutons n an unchallenged electon. Accomplshment: I am Board Certfcaton n two areas by the Texas Board of Legal Specalzaton, Crmnal Appellate Law and Crmnal Law. Only a small number of attorneys are certfed n a sngle area, and an even smaller number are JUSTICE 2 N D Court of Appeals, PLACE 3 served as a board member of the Women's Bar Assocaton, am a Lfe Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundaton, and have been nvolved wth many other communty and professonal groups. Other Issues: Two of the most pressng ssues are (1) case overload, and (2) far representaton and access to the Court. I would address (1) by ncreasng the use of alternatve dspute resoluton, such as medaton, by referrng cases to attorneys wth expertse n the substantve area of law n the case. I would address (2) by expanson of pro bono representaton, coordnatng wth the Texas Bar Foundaton and pvotal law frms n the communty to secure representaton from junor attorneys. EDUCATION: Baylor Unversty School of Law-JD, 1986 phone: (817) emal: mary@maryjohndroe.com webste: certfed n two. I beleve that my experence n crmnal law matters, especally n appellate law, combned wth the experence I had at the Court of Crmnal Appeals as a brefng attorney n gves me an nsght and advantage to ht the ground runnng f I am elected, (///) Other Issues: Statewde, the Second Court of Appeals has the hghest clearance rate n crmnal cases, the thrd hghest n cvl cases, and the hghest overall. I beleve that mantanng the consstency and tmelness of ssung decsons s paramount to the legal system for all ltgants. If I am elected to ths poston, I wll work hard to keep these numbers hgh, whch ultmately saves publc funds and results n a better system overall for everyone. EDUCATION: R. L. Paschal Hgh School, Texas A&M Unversty, B.B.A. Marketng, St. Mary's School of Law, Jurs Doctorate, U.S. Army Armor Offcer Basc School, Fort Knox, Kentucky, AOB U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps Offcer Basc Course, phone: (817) emal: bll@bllraylawyer.com webste: Elzabeth Kerr (R), Wllam Anthony "Andy" Porter (R) Davd Hanschen (R) Background: As a successful venture captalst n the 1980's, and an attorney and a Dstrct Court judge; I am able to evaluate cases from a broad perspectve. Beng a former tral judge, I better understand how the courts actually conduct ther cases. These nsghts wll assst me n makng better rulngs. Impartalty: As a former tral judge, I am well practced n separatng the need for a judge to evaluate matters before the Court ndependently from the the attorneys presentng the case. Whle I apprecate the support the legal communty has shown, contrbutons never have and never wll nfluence the court's rulng n a case. Accomplshment: Whle a Dstrct Judge, I challenged the consttutonalty of a law that lmted the avalablty of DNA evdence. I later testfed to the Davd John Schenck (R) Background: Snce my appontment last January, I have been servng as a Justce on one of the most profcent the courts n the state. I had more than 20 years of appellate practce, ncludng leadng the Issues & Appeals practce n the Dallas offce of Jones Day. I am board certfed n cvl appellate. Impartalty: I fnd mantanng mpartalty to be farly smple. I smply do t. Contrbutons to a judge cannot be allowed to nfluence the result n any case. That's an ssue of personal ntegrty and character that should be present n anyone seekng the offce for the rght reason. I suspect anyone who knows me would not expect anythng dfferent. Accomplshment: I receved the Texas Bar's Presdent's Award for my work leadng the brefng n the defense of the Texas IOLTA program before the U.S. Supreme Court. IOLTA s desgned to provde fundng for pro bono and low cost JUSTICE 5 t h Court of Appeals, PLACE 7 Texas state legslature to correct ths problem. The legslature changed the law to better conform wth the current state of scentfc testng. Ths change has allowed for collecton of proper chld support n 1000's of cases. Other Issues: Opnons need to be more tmely ssued. The current delay for many cases s far too long. 2.Ths court has vastly ncreased the tmes t would Rule and Render, nstead f Rulng and Remandng the case back to the tral court. The tral court s unquely equpped to fnd the truth, whereas the Court of Appeals only has a wrtten transcrpt as ts record of the tral proceedngs. By becomng Judge and Jury, ths Court of Appeals has all too often usurped the role of the of the ctzens. EDUCATION: NTSU 1975 BA cum laude SMU Law School 1992 JD emal: davdhanschen@yahoo.com legal servces to those could not otherwse access the system. I beleve strongly n the rule of law and that t apples equally and to everyone. For that to be true all need far access to the system. I adhere to that vew as a justce. Other Issues: We have a very heavy caseload and have been workng wth a short staff throughout my tme on the court due to unusual crcumstances that wll obtan for the foreseeable future. Each of us wll contnue to take on addtonal work and pull on the oars a lttle harder. Separately, our mandamus and parental termnaton dockets are actve and requre nearly mmedate attenton gven the nature of the cases. I wll contnue to work wth my fellow justces n gvng prorty to these mportant cases EDUCATION: J.D., wth honors, Baylor Law School (1992) B.A., Crmnal Justce, Rockefeller College of the State Unv. of N.Y.--Albany phone: (214) emal: davd.schenck@sbcglobal.net webste: 10

11 T E X A S C O U R T O F A P P E A L S, contnued Steven Hughes (D) Background: Handled over 500 appeals n 28 years of prvate practce. Board Certfed n Cvl Appellate law for over 20 years. Selected a Texas Super Lawyer n Appellate Law 10 straght years. Selected a Top 50 Super Lawyer n Central/West Texas n Lsted n Best Lawyers n Amerca Impartalty: As long as Texas elects ts judges, mpartalty wll reman a problem. I have chosen to be bound by the voluntary lmts of the Judcal Campagn Farness Act, whch lmts the amounts of poltcal campagn contrbutons. I wll contnue to evaluate any case that comes before me to determne f I should voluntarly remove myself from consderng the case based on the partes and attorneys nvolved. Accomplshment: Before I became a lawyer, I made my lvng as a muscan, prmarly playng n symphony orchestras (wth a lot of jazz, rock, and Dxeland thrown n). Becomng a muscan who can play at a hgh level requres hours and hours of practce and a dedcaton to perfecton. Beng a Justce on the Court of Gna M. Palafox (D) Background: I ve been a lawyer over twenty years wth experence n ltgaton, busness, educaton, and publc health care ncludng trals and appeals. These experences requred strong communcaton sklls, analytcal thnkng, researchng, and wrtng. Impartalty: Impartalty s very mportant to the ntegrty of our courts. Impartalty s mantaned by a strong commtment to ethcs and deep respect for the mportant role of the court n our communty. Although poltcal contrbutons are needed, these funds should never overrde ethcal standards and responsbltes. Accomplshment: I am proud of my work on cases, among others, that ncluded publc polcy and consttutonal ssues. One n partcular was very challengng and I reached a professonal hghlght of presentng an oral argument to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ffth Crcut - just one level below the U.S. Mara Ramrez (D) Background: I have practced law for 27 years, ncludng msdemeanor and felony tral experence and cvl ltgaton n state and federal court. For the past 18 years I have focused on appellate law n the famly and crmnal law area. In 2001, I was elected as Judge,Muncpal Court No. 1 n El Paso, Texas. Impartalty: It has been my aspraton for years to serve El Paso and the 16 other countes as a Justce n the 8th Court of Appeals. Although I do beleve that Judges are able to mantan mpartalty despte havng to rase funds for ther campagns, I antcpate that I wll not request or take contrbutons to fund my campagn. Accomplshment: I am most proud of my educaton and my work ethc that was nstlled n me by my parents. I am a frst generaton Amercan. My parents mmgrated to the US and worked very hard to make sure ther chldren obtaned Arturo Vazquez (D) Background: 20 years helpng famles unted, by gettng them a green card or preventng ther deportaton. Sales experence wth IBM and Kodak to Project Manager wth IBM to años mantenendo a las famlas undas, ya sea consguendoles la resdenca o evtándo la deportacón. Impartalty: I do NOT accept poltcal campagn contrbutons. Anybody that accepts contrbutons cannot be mpartal. Yo no acepto nngún tpo de contbucones para m campaña. No veo como alguen que acepta donatvos puede ser mparcal. Accomplshment: My bggest accomplshment are my chldren. I have seen how lves are changed for better when a person becomes legal n ths country. I have handled thousands of mmgraton cases. I am far and I have the "Wal-Mart" guarantee: ether 11 JUSTICE 8 t h Court of Appeals, PLACE 3 Appeals requres those same attrbutes -- hard work and a dedcaton to gettng t rght. Musc has made me a better judge. It taught me to never stop half-way. Everythng can be mproved. Other Issues: Work on the Court s always a balance between ssung tmely decsons and craftng wrtten opnons that cover every ssue and fully explan the bass for the Court's decson. The 8th Court of Appeals consstently ranks near the top of the 14 courts of appeals n sgned opnons ssued per judge. We have recently nsttuted changes to speed up our decson-makng process by dentfyng cases that can be decded on an expedted bass by the use of shorter and qucker memo opnons. EDUCATION: J.D. (Law Degree) Unv. of Texas at Austn (wth honors) Master of Musc Texas Tech Unv Bachelor of Musc Texas Tech Unv. (wth hgh honors) Doctoral Programs (Musc) Unv. of Mchgan and Unv. of North Texas phone: (915) emal: stevehug@aol.com webste: Supreme Court. I am better prepared as a judge because I had these experences and apprecate the mportant responsbltes of ths Court. Other Issues: I feel t s mportant for the Court and all other publcly funded nsttutons to provde tmely servce and strve for qualty outcomes. Two pressng ssues and challenges for the Court are (1). Reducng the length of tme that people or partes wat for appeals to conclude; and (2). Mantanng balance as a revewng court so as actng to correct reversble error, but not overly actng and undermnng tral court judges and jures. EDUCATION: Jurs Doctor (JD) - Pepperdne Unversty School of Law; Master of Publc Admnstraton (MPA) - Unversty of Texas at El Paso; Bachelor of Scence n Accountng (BS) - Pepperdne Unversty, Seaver College. phone: (915) emal: palafoxforjustce@gmal.com webste: a hgher educaton. They also taught me not to forget my roots. For the last 18 years I have run a successful law practce and presded as Judge of a muncpal court for 15 of those years. It s ths work ethc and my lfe experence that I beleve wll make me a better Justce. Other Issues: More appeals are beng fled and the countes the 8th Court of Appeals handles are growng. Although all cases should be gven proper attenton, I beleve the backlog of work should be addressed to expedte a fnal decson of a case. Appellate courts are mportant not only because they decde ndvdual cases but that decson sets precedent for all smlarly stuated ndvduals n those 17 countes. As such, t s mportant that the justce and court consder ths when ssung a decson. EDUCATION: I receved a Bachelor of Scence n Crmnal Justce from UTEP. I graduated from Indana Unversty School of Law wth a Doctor of Jursprudence. I am lcensed by the State Bar of Texas, the Western Dstrct of Texas, the 5th Crcut of the Unted States and the Supreme Court of the Unted States. phone: (915) emal: judgeramrez@aol.com you get what you pad for or I return your fees. Should I screw up, I wll cover your expenses. I gve over 500 hours of free consultatons every year. I am here n ths lfe to help. I am a follower of Mcah 6:8: Strve to be just, mercful and humble. Other Issues: The most pressng ssue n the 8th Court of Appeals s that t s the most neffcent Appeals Court n Texas. I wll work hard and effcently. I promse that I wll work a mnmum of 40 hours per week. El problema mas grande de la corte de apelacones #8 es la nefcenca. Trabajaré duramente y en forma efcente. Prometo que trabajaré un mínmo de 40 horas por semana. EDUCATION: Creghton Unversty School of Law Unversty of Phoenx. MBA UTEP. Electrcal Engneerng phone: (915) emal: abogadoelpaso@aol.com webste: Robert J. (Bobby) Perez (D)

12 T E X A S C O U R T O F A P P E A L S, contnued Letca Hnojosa (D) Background: My thrty-four year experence as both, a tral attorney and as a tral judge, makes me unquely qualfed to serve as an appellate judge. I have ether partcpated as an attorney or as a judge n vrtually all cases that are decded by a court of law and come under revew by the Appellate Court. Impartalty: I have always made t very clear to those who have made contrbutons to my judcal campagns that they should not expect any preferental treatment. If that s what they expected, a contrbuton was not accepted. In all my campagns, I have receved contrbutons from countless ndvduals who never had a case n my court, yet wanted to support my campagn effort. Both plantff and the defense attorneys have contrbuted as well, whch beleve speaks to my farness and mpartalty. Accomplshment: The accomplshment I am most proud of s havng become lcensed as an attorney by the tme I was twenty-three years old. Although my Father passed away when I was eleven, both parents nstlled me wth ther Carlos Valdez (D) Background: Assstant County Attorney , Nueces No County Attorney , Dstrct Attorney , Cty Photograph Attorney , Prosecutor, Defense Attorney, Crmnal Provded and Cvl ltgator, Extensve government law experence Impartalty: Insst on transparency n all dealngs nvolvng campagn fnancng. Conduct should comply wth all applcable ethcal, judcal and legal standards at all tmes. Make t known through words and conduct that nothng s to be expected from makng a poltcal contrbuton other than the performance of one's dutes to the best of one's ablty. Accomplshment: I have been personally nvolved n several hgh profle and sgnfcantly mportant cases n my career. These cases nvolve a varety of Kevn Jewell (R) Background: 23 years as a lawyer specalzng n ltgatng state and federal appeals. Equty shareholder at natonally recognzed law frm. Board Certfed n Cvl Appellate Law snce Texas Super Lawyer snce Presented over 120 arguments n appellate courts, ncludng the Texas Supreme Court. Impartalty: Servng as a Justce on an appellate court s one of the most mportant jobs n the Texas legal system. Integrty and mpartalty are absolutely essental to the proper functon of an appellate court. If elected, I vow to apply the law farly to the ndvdual facts of each dspute that comes before me so that the court reaches the correct result under the law. I wll not legslate from the bench. Nor wll the source of any campagn funds be a factor n my decson-makng. Bud Wesedeppe (R) Background: I am a husband, father, lawyer and Republcan. The order of those thngs gets moved around from mnute to mnute, but each of those hats make me who I am today and, I beleve, gve me both the qualfcatons and experence to serve. As an attorney, I handled cases n both Tral and Appellate Court Impartalty: If elected to the 14th Court of Appeals, I pledge to be entrely mpartal n my rulngs. However, I understand that even the appearance of partalty damages the publc's vew of the Judcary. To that end, a majorty of the funds I ntend to spend on ths campagn are from my own account. When attorneys donate to my campagn, I wll make t a pont to ask whether they currently have cases before the 14th Court and through that dscusson, determne whether to accept ther donaton. Accomplshment: I am proud of the balance I have acheved between my JUSTICE 13 t h Court of Appeals, PLACE 3 strong work ethc and commtment. My strong work ethc and commtment to accomplshng my goals wll serve me well on the 13th Court of Appeals. I wll be dlgent n revewng my assgned cases and render opnons n an expedent manner. I beleve justce delayed s justce dened. Other Issues: An ssue that needs to be addressed s the court securty. Ednburg currently does not have metal detectors and wth the growng concern of safety, ths matter needs to be addressed. Another ssue has been the repeated efforts to splt up the 13th Court of Appeals nto two dfferent courts. My Republcan opponent supports ths effort. The creaton of another court would be neffcent, unnecessary, and more expensve to the taxpayers of the State of Texas. EDUCATION: Homer Hanna Hgh School (Brownsvlle, Texas) 1975 Unversty of Texas (Austn, Texas) BA, Magna Cum Laude, 1978 Unversty of Texas (Austn, Texas) JD 1981 phone: (956) emal: lhnojosalaw@gmal.com webste: cvl and crmnal matters that have gven me the experence necessary to be a better justce on the court of appeals. Other Issues: Issue 1. The constant number of cases that are beng appealed. The only way to address ths s through sheer hard work and applyng the dedcaton that I have brought to other governmental postons. Issue 2. The ncreasng complexty of ssues that need to be addressed. The way to address ths s by relyng my vast and vared experence n dealng wth most legal ssues and by persstently stayng ahead of the ssues through contnung legal educaton. EDUCATION: AA Degree-Del Mar College, BA Degree-TxA&I Unversty at Corpus Chrst, Jurs Doctor Degree-Unversty of Oklahoma phone: (361) emal: carlosv7843@gmal.com JUSTICE 14 t h Court of Appeals, PLACE 2 Accomplshment: I have handled 20+ cases n whch the Texas Supreme Court has granted revew. I m proud to say that I obtaned relef for my clents n all but one of those cases. That knd of substantve experence has greatly helped me develop the necessary sklls to fully analyze both sdes of an argument and apply the law correctly, farly, and mpartally. Other Issues: I beleve those Justces currently sttng on the court are better suted to provde a helpful answer to ths queston. EDUCATION: Unversty of Houston Law Center, J.D., 1993 Unversty of Texas at Austn, B.B.A., 1990 phone: (713) emal: kevn.jewell@chamberlanlaw.com webste: professonal and personal lves. My judcal phlosophy s Textualsm and I beleve any Court's rulngs should be founded n the law as t s wrtten. My wfe and chldren have kept me grounded and centered, contrbutng to my ablty to nterpret the law justly and unformly n all stuatons. Other Issues: Consstency and Restrant. I beleve lberty s best protected through the dvson of powers between the three branches of government and, perhaps more mportantly, between the Federal government and the states. As an Appellate Court Justce, my job would be to consstently nterpret the law n accordance wth that belef. EDUCATION: SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, Dallas, Texas, Jurs Doctor, May 1997 KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY, Manhattan, Kansas Bachelor of Scence, Poltcal Scence, May 1994 Bachelor of Scence, Phlosophy, May 1994 emal: campagn@budforjustce.com webste: Ths race s contnued on the next page 4 12

13 T E X A S C O U R T O F A P P E A L S, contnued Candance Whte (D) Background: I have a Masters n Law (LLM). Practced law for 28 years. I have handled legal ssues rangng from corporate legal ssues n ol and gas, envronmental, human resources, contracts, safety and health, cvl, crmnal, admnstratve, appeals. Served as muncpal court judge Impartalty: Contrbutons do not equal a promse for a specfc outcome n cases. The Judcary s to make decsons based on the applcaton of the law to the facts. The Appeals court s to make ths decson based on the case record before them. I beleve a far and unbased decson s what the judcal system was desgned to acheve. As a judge I am not to make decsons nfluenced by donatons. Whle the need to rase funds s a fact of the poltcal process, a judge s to be unnfluenced. Accomplshment: I have served n dfferent capactes n my career: corporate n-house counsel, solo practtoner, state agency attorney/managng attorney, chld welfare drector, adjunct professor, and muncpal court judge. The ablty JUSTICE 14 t h Court of Appeals, PLACE 2 to excel n these dfferent areas of my career s an accomplshment I am most proud of. As a result of my dverse career experences I analyze complex legal ssues wth an understandng of potental mpacts from a global perspectve. I am objectve and far. Other Issues: Two of the ssues the court wll most lkely face surround the areas of Open Carry and Same Sex Marrage ssues. Both ssues wll present challenges as new factual scenaros become legal ssues n the lower courts. The ssues wll most lkely surface n both cvl and crmnal courts. As a judcal canddate I cannot gve an opnon on how I would rule on matters that may come before me whle on the bench. As a Justce I wll analyze the law and the underlyng record objectvely and farly. EDUCATION: The Unversty of Houston Law Center Masters of Law (LLM), August 2001 Thess: The Clean Ar Act and Envronmental Justce The Unversty of Texas School of Law Doctor of Jursprudence- May 1993 Texas A&M Unversty Bachelor of Scence, Socology- May 1988 phone: (713) emal: candancewhteforjudge@gmal.com Unopposed Canddates JIM SHARP (D) texas Court of Appeals, chef justce, 1 st court of appeals: Sherry Radack (r) Jm Peacock (d) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 1 st court of appeals, place 4: Evelyn Keyes (r) Barbara Gardner (d) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 2 nd court of appeals, place 4: Bonne Sudderth (r) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 3 rd court of appeals, place 2: Cndy Olson Bourland (r) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 3 rd court of appeals, place 4: Melssa Goodwn (r) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 4 th court of appeals, place 6: Jason Pullam (r) Irene Ros (D) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 5 th court of appeals, place 4: Lana Myers (r) Gena Slaughter (D) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 5 th court of appeals, place 7: Dennse Garca (D) texas Court of Appeals, chef justce, 6 th court of appeals: Josh Morrss (r) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 7 th court of appeals, place 4: Jm Campbell (R) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 9 th court of appeals, place 2: Charles A. Kreger (R) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 10 th court of appeals, place 3: Al Scoggns (R) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 11 th court of appeals, place 3: John Baley (R) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 12 th court of appeals, place 2: Bran Hoyle (R) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 12 th court of appeals, place 3: Greg Neeley (R) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 13 th court of appeals, place 3: Greg Perkes (R) texas Court of Appeals, justce, 14 th court of appeals, place 9: Tracy Elzabeth Chrstopher (R) Peter M. Kelly (D) v o t e r I N F O Helpful Webstes Secretary of State League of Women Voters of Texas League of Women Voters (U.S.) Republcan Party Democratc Party Lbertaran Party Green Party What s Provsonal Votng? The Federal Help Amerca Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 provdes for provsonal votng f a voter s name does not appear on the lst of regstered voters due to an admnstratve error. If your name s not on the rolls of regstered voters n your precnct, but you beleve you are regstered, the electon judge wll attempt to determne f you are regstered somewhere n your county. If your regstraton cannot be found, you may cast a provsonal vote by fllng out an affdavt and a paper ballot. Ths ballot s kept separate from the regular ballots, and the case wll be revewed by the provsonal votng ballot board. The ballot wll be counted only f the voter s determned to be a regstered voter n that precnct. Provsonal voters wll receve a notce n the mal by the tenth day after the local canvass advsng them f ther provsonal ballots were counted and, f they were not counted, the reason why. 13

14 S T A T E B O A R D O F E D U C A T I O N 4-year term. Must be 26 years old or older, a U.S. ctzen, a Texas/ dstrct resdent, & a regstered voter. Sets polces & standards for Texas publc schools & oversees the Texas Permanent School Fund. texas Questons to Canddates Background: What tranng, experence, and characterstcs qualfy you for ths poston? Currculum: What crtera should be used n developng and approvng currculum standards for courses? Lynn Olver (D) Background: As a retred classroom teacher and extracurrcular sponsor, I have a workng knowledge of the challenges of teachers and students n our publc school system. It requred motvatng students, desgnng and delverng currculum, admnsterng standardzed tests, drectng and hostng U.I.L events. Currculum: Standards set grade specfc goals. Classroom teachers should be consulted on sequental concepts and materals to support students. Educaton s a collaboratve process whch requres the nvolvement of all stakeholders for effectve algnment wth standards. Currculum should focus on a career path or college readness. Many students arrve n my UTSA classroom, unsure of expectatons, ll prepared for college crtcal thnkng and wrtng. However, they respond to project based teachng. Testng: I would lke to change the overemphass on and reduce the number of requred standardzed tests. Elementary school students should be learnng Georgna Perez (D) Background: I'm the only canddate that has partcpated n currculum development and communty advocacy. I have fought for equal access to educatonal resources and materals. I posses over a decade n the classroom teachng students from elementary and hgh school levels wth a focus on lteracy. Currculum: No Response Testng: Elmante standardzed testng and standardzed currculum. Standardzaton s great for producton of nanmate objects but Testng: What changes, f any, would you make to testng requrements n the publc schools and why? Other Issues: What are the two most serous publc educaton ssues facng the State Board of Educaton durng the next term, and how would you address them? DISTRICT 1 to "love learnng" not be terrorzed by testng. Test prep and tests of basc sklls that rely on rememberng facts and the rote applcaton of procedures consumes nstructonal tme from hgh level currculum and nqury. Educaton reformers have reled on standards testng for decades whch rases some serous questons concernng valdty of outcomes. Other Issues: The Legslatve under-fundng of local school dstrcts has restrcted operatonal resources requred for student success. By becomng nvolved, I hope to understand how I mght be of servce n addressng ths ssue..i am also concerned about the rapd expanson n Texas of prvately operated charter schools whch are not held to the same accountablty polces as publc educaton. I would try to ncrease transparency EDUCATION: B,S., Unversty of Houston, Major Drama, Mnor Educatonal Psychology Graduate study: NYU / Stenhardt, Educatonal Theatre Texas State Unversty, Costume Desgn phone: (210) emal: lynn.olver.11@gmal.com terrble for educatng our future. There has been an over-emphass on standardzed testng at the expense of classroom learnng. Ths prepares students for nether hgher educaton nor the modern workforce. We don't have enough students graduate wth collegate degrees because of the focus on stardarzed testng. It s smply a faled experment. Other Issues: No Response phone: (915) emal: GeorgnaPerezSBOE@gmal.com webste: Joe Ferro Jr. (D) R. Dakota Carter (D) DISTRICT 6 Background: Traned n chld development and learnng, autsm-spectrum, and ntellectual/pervasve developmental dsorders; prevous substtute teacher, mentor n Shamrock and Denton ISDs; currculum development, UTHealth and Baylor College of Medcne. Educatonal research, currcula and nstructon background Currculum: The standards must be backed by evdencebased, research-proven, and factual nformaton; educaton s no place for poltcs, and currcula should not be based. We must nclude experts and educators n our decson-makng process; each subject should represent up-to-date, broadbased knowledge that develops crtcal thnkng sklls and well-rounded youth prepared for college or the job force. The current currcula n TX represents a poltcal agenda to the detrment of students and educators. Testng: Testng s a dffcult ssue; evaluaton s needed to gauge students, but the emphass on the numerous tests can be extreme. A compromse s needed between testng and supportng other methods of learnng. Many students 14 struggle wth passng the current exams despte the AYP statng we should reach a 100% pass rate n We must set reasonable goals (especally n demographcally-dverse or low SES dstrcts) and provde the resources to help strugglng students, teachers, and schools. Other Issues: 1) TX has the lowest graduaton rate n the naton, and we need to better prepare our graduates wth knowledge and sklls for college/workforce, where we are currently falng. We must re-evaluate testng and develop better tracts of developng basc sklls to ad students n meetng potental. 2) TX s n the bottom-ter of educatonal qualty natonally. Students deserve to have a broad, non-based currculum wth expert-revewed textbooks and resources that promote evdence-based knowledge. EDUCATION: 2014-Present, UTHealth, Dept. of Psychatry, Adult/Chld and Adolescent Psychatry, 2015-Present, Unversty of Houston, Ed.D n Healthcare Leadershp and Educaton, , Unversty of Texas Health Scence Center at Houston, M.D., , Unversty of North Texas, Bachelor of Arts phone: (806) emal: dakotafortx@gmal.com webste: Ths race s contnued on the next page 4

15 S t a t e B o a r d o f E d u c a t o n, contnued Mchael Jordan (D) Background: I am a lfelong educator at both the K-12 and Unversty level Prncpal (ncludng PDAS Appraser and ILD) ESL Supplemental (EC 12) Specal Educaton (EC 12) Socal Scences Composte 8 12 Generalst (4 8, All Subjects) Generalst (EC 6, all Subjects) Currculum: Wll the knowledge and sklls ganed by the student result n meanngful advancement n knowledge and skll that wll enable to student to mature and be employable upon completng hgh school and enterng the workforce and/or also contnung ther educaton beyond hgh school nto a feld of study and occupaton of ther choosng. Testng: I would seek to greatly reduce the amount of standardzed testng allowng more opportunty for students to learn and teachers to teach. I would also adjust testng to favor the beneft of students so that students and ther parents would be dstrct 6 empowered to learn and test n subjects that excte and motvate them to learn further so that the student wll mature and be employable upon completng hgh school and enterng the workforce and/or also contnung ther educaton beyond hgh school. Other Issues: Our students are no longer able acqure knowledge and sklls that excte them and motvate them to be lfe long learners. I would seek to return our schools to the standard that student may graduate hgh school already employable n felds of ther choosng because they earned certfcatons such as nursng assstant, mechanc, electrcan, plumber, teachng assstant, computer programmng, cosmetology etc. permttng the student to gan employment and advance ther educaton as they choose. educaton: 8/98 Ph.D. Poltcal Scence. Unversty of Mssour St. Lous 5/97 M.A. Poltcal Scence. Unversty of Mssour St. Lous 7/94 Master of Publc Admnstraton, Unversty of New Mexco 5/91 B.A. Crmnal Justce, Unversty of New Mexco phone: (409) emal: electmchaeljordan@gmal.com Jasmne L. Jenkns (d) Mary Lou Bruner (R) Background: I have 36 years experence as a teacher, specal No ed. counselor, and educatonal dagnostcan n Texas Publc Photograph Schools. I taught kndergarten, 2nd, and 4th grade classes n Provded elementary school. In junor hgh school I taught Englsh, Amercan lterature, Amercan hstory, and TX Hstory. Currculum: The State Board of Ed. should not only hear testmony from experts n educaton, but from more parents and local busnessmen who have an nterest n the youth of ther communtes. The textbooks adopted n Texas should meet a mnmum of 95% of the TEKs nstead of 60%. The currculum should not be guded by poltcal correctness but by factual nformaton and truth. The currculum should tell the schools what should be taught at the dfferent levels not how to teach the materal. Testng: The schools are dong far too much testng. Twenty to forty days each year are spent takng practce tests and the actual tests. The chldren lose almost two months nstructon tme each year practcng for and takng tests. The Keven M. Ells (R) Background: In 2012 I was elected to the Lufkn ISD Board of Trustees and was elected to serve as Presdent of the Board n Servng on the local school board has gven me a keen perspectve of the needs and challenges of educatng our chldren. I brng a level headng approach to problem solvng. Currculum: Texans know best how to educaton Texas chldren so we need to contnue to keep the development and approval process away from Washngton DC and n the hands of Texans. Improvng the TEKS standards s an ongong process and we need to keep Common Core from workng ts way nto our currculum standards. As standards are revewed we must make sure that they are concse enough to allow our great teachers tme to focus on what s most crtcal for our students. Testng: The 2013 the Legslature dd a great job n passng House Bll 5 whch decreased the number of end of course tests from 15 to 5. Now we must focus on decreasng the amount of tests for grade 3-8. The goal should be to test DISTRICT 9 chldren could be spendng ths tme learnng. The students who do not do well on the md-february tests have to remedate so they can pass the test at the end of the year. Sometmes the students who dd well on the tests n md-february act lke the year s over. Other Issues: The scence currculum teaches evoluton as a fact and not a theory. The soluton s to requre students to dscuss the strengths and weaknesses of the evoluton theory. The health currculum s desgned to make the homosexual lfestyle more acceptable or desrable and to make homosexual marrage and adopton more acceptable. The schools should not teach poltcal correctness. Sex educaton does not belong n the elementary schools. Health classes should teach hygene and healthy habts. EDUCATION: M.Ed. n specal educaton from East TX State Unv. (TX A&M) Commerce. BA n Englsh and Ele. Ed. from TX Wesleyan Unv., Ft. Worth. 6 other TX teachng certfcates: Ed. Dagnostcan, Language-Learnng Dff., Early Chldhood, Kndergarten, Sp. Ed. Counselor, All Level School Counselor. phone: (903) emal: mlb4sboe@gmal.com webste: no more than requred by federal law. In 2015 the legslature passed HB 743 whch lmted the length of STAAR tests to 2 hours for grade 3-5 and 3 hours for grade 6-8, currently these tests are 4 hours. We need to make sure ths law s fully mplemented as soon as possble. Other Issues: Frst would be the rewrte of No Chld Left Behnd nto Every Student Succeeds Act. The key components of ths s that the Federal Government passed the "challenge" of ncreasng student success down to the states and we must do ths thoughtfully. Second would be narrowng our TEKS. Our standards are a mle wde and an nch deep and students are not taught the depth of knowledge requred. The challenge wll be the narrow the TEKS wthout decreasng the rgor that s necessary for success. EDUCATION: 1992 Western Washngton Unversty Pre-med undergraduate studes Texas Chropractc College Doctor of Chropractc (Cum Laude) Omega Ps Honor Socety Texas Chropractc College Who s Who among Amercan College Students Natonal Dean's lst phone: (800) emal: nfo@ellsfortexas.com webste: Unopposed Canddates State Board of Educaton, Dstrct 5: Ken Mercer (r) Rebecca Bell-Metereau (d) State Board of Educaton, Dstrct 6: Donna Bahorch (r) State Board of Educaton, Dstrct 8: Barbara Cargll (R) State Board of Educaton, Dstrct 10: Tom Maynard (r) Judy Jennngs (d) State Board of Educaton, Dstrct 14: Sue Melton-Malone (R) State Board of Educaton, Dstrct 15: Marty Rowley (R) Hank Herng (R) 15

16 Voters Gude 2016 P R I M A R Y E L E C T I O N E D I T I O N N O N P A R T I S A N LWV-Texas Voters Gudes are funded by the League of Women Voters of Texas Educaton Fund, a 501(c)(3) corporaton that s supported by contrbutons from ndvduals, corporatons, and foundatons. LWV-TEF gratefully acknowledges major contrbutons n the past year from Laura Blackburn, Elane Brdges, Los Carpenter, Patrca Cheong, Estate of Sondra Ferstl, Estate of John Johnson, Estate of Barbara Swartz, Estate of Dorothy Persohn, Mram Foshay, Ruthann Geer, Margaret Hll, Jule and Mchael Lowenberg, Marlene Lobberecht, Gene Mtchell, Susan Morrson, Carole Mullan, Karen Ncholson, Lnda Pavlk, Kaylene Ray, Betty Sanders, Elane Want, and Nancy Vnes Wlson. d o n o r r e c o g n t o n v o t e r I N F O Photo ID Detals & Exceptons See "What to Take to the Polls" on the front page for a lst of accepted photo IDs. Ths secton provdes addtonal nformaton about the photo ID requrements. The photo ID needs to be current or have expred no more than 60 days before votng (ctzenshp and naturalzaton certfcates have no expraton date). The name on the photo ID should match the voter regstraton card. If names don t match, a voter may be accepted f names are substantally smlar. If names match, addresses don't need to match. If the names don't match exactly, the voter can be accepted f names are substantally smlar; poll workers wll look at address, date of brth, and the photo. If names are substantally smlar, the voter wll ntal a box for smlar name when sgnng n to vote. To avod confuson, you can change the name on your voter regstraton to match that on your photo ID at least 30 days pror to the electon. Voters wth a documented dsablty from Socal Securty or Veterans Affars can apply for a voter regstraton certfcate exemptng them from the photo ID requrement. Voters wthout acceptable ID can obtan an Electon Identfcaton Certfcate (EIC) from Texas DPS at no cost by provdng proof of ctzenshp and dentty and regsterng to vote at DPS or showng a voter regstraton card. Requrements for the EIC can be found at There s no charge for the EIC but the necessary documentaton may have a cost. Photo ID s not requred to vote by mal. Voters may apply for a mal ballot f 65 or older, ll or dsabled, or absent from ther county durng early votng and on Electon Day. Note: Photo ID wll be requred of frst tme voters f a drver lcense or Socal Securty number was not ncluded wth the voter regstraton applcaton. Voters who do not show an acceptable ID at the polls can vote a provsonal ballot and have sx days to show the requred photo ID. Those who lack a photo ID because of a relgous objecton to beng photographed or because of a natural dsaster declared by the presdent wll be allowed to vote a provsonal ballot and complete an affdavt wthn sx days of the electon. Check the League s webste for other helpful nformaton about electons, votng and ssues: ADVOCATING AGITATING EDUCATING LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS O F T E X A S Who else but the LWV s a nonpartsan, poltcal organzaton and one of Amerca s most trusted grassroots organzatons? The LWV...encouragng actve partcpaton n government...workng to ncrease understandng of major publc polcy ssues... nfluencng publc polcy through educaton and advocacy...makng democracy work! Learn more about our Local Leagues and how they help shape today s mportant ssues by vstng the League s webste at 16