PRECINCT 4 HEMPHILL COUNTY COMMISSIONER

JIM BLACK

I am running for county commissioner of Precinct 4. I have lived in Hemphill County for over 40 years, and my wife—Becky Black—is an employee at Canadian InterBank. Together, we have four grown children and two grandchildren. I have an accounting degree from Texas Tech University, and have five Securities and Exchange licenses. I have been involved in farming and ranching operations all of my life, and currently run cattle in Hemphill and Roberts counties. As of May 2019, I retired from an oil- and gas-related company, for which I still do some consulting and advising.

NICHOLAS THOMAS

I was born and raised in Canadian, and save for a stint away in college, I’ve lived and worked here my entire life. My family of four daughters all attend Canadian ISD. My mother and father live in Hemphill County. My education consists of a degree in general business and marketing.

Currently, I manage Nick Thomas, Inc. Through all of this, I have a vested interest in the success and survival of our community, its members, and local businesses. Initially, I ran for this office to serve this community. I will continue to do so if re-elected.

What experiences have uniquely qualified you to serve as Precinct 4 county commissioner?

JB: I have over 40 years as chief financial officer and chief operating officer of multiple successful companies, from agriculture to oil and gas. I feel that my experience provides me with the background to make sound financial and operations decisions.

NT: Eight years of experience uniquely qualifies me to serve as commissioner. In my two terms, we have: Secured property, planned for, and built a new precinct barn; Completed one TxDOT grant roadwork project in time and under forecasted budget; Our precinct is on track to complete the second TxDOT project, also ahead of allotted time and under budget.

Involvement with every single major construction project in our community uniquely qualifies me to serve as commissioner. Both through civil site earthwork and by providing ready-mixed concrete…I have participated in the Canadian wastewater treatment plant rebuild; Canadian High School addition; Hemphill County Hospital addition; Mesa View Assisted Living.

I have had personal involvement in constructing a school, jail, fire station, truck stop, machinery/automobile dealerships, and national retail chain stores in more than five other cities in both Texas and Oklahoma.

Why does this qualify me over my opponent? I continually work with costs of construction, budget constraints, planning, scheduling, and I get to witness firsthand what other communities in the area are doing. This, in turn, gives me insight on how we as a community can not only construct things, but how we might attract some new streams of revenue for our tax-base.

Operating a small business uniquely qualifies me to serve as commissioner. Around six years ago, our mainstay oil and gas market tanked. In an effort to continue to do business and retain employees, I have had to adapt. It’s important to be able to have the ability and strength to embrace change and diversification in small business. It’s equally important for our leadership in this community to embrace change and learn different ways to survive. I am a uniquely “outside the box” thinker.

What are the top three priorities that you hope to act on during your term(s) as county commissioner, and how will you address them?

JB: My top three priorities are: No. 1) Properly maintaining the county roads in Precinct 4; No. 2) Cooperating with the other three precincts on joint projects; and No. 3) Taking a more active role in the day-to-day operations of the precinct. I will address these by actually taking an active role and listening to the concerns of the citizens.

NT: 1) Complete the current TxDOT road grant project and refocus on areas of the county roads that have been affected unexpectedly, including pipelines, substation, new compressor stations, and new areas of drilling. Our precinct will use the proven current methods in use to achieve this. 2) Focus on welcoming and attracting new businesses into our community that are not dependent on the oil and gas industry. I plan to accomplish this by serving on the EDC and its subcommittees. 3) Work with other local taxing entities to achieve common goals to benefit the good of the entire community. I plan to accomplish this through continued support of interlocal agreements.

What are the top three challenges that you believe Hemphill County faces in the next year, and how do you believe they should be addressed?

JB: The top three challenges over the next year are the government in Washington, D.C., and Austin, and the economy. There is absolutely no way to know what will happen over the next year, and we need to be prepared for what comes our way. We, as a county, must adapt and overcome whatever comes our way that we have no control over.

NT: 1) Declining revenue and population. Addressing this will take place through continual exploration and encouragement of welcoming not only new businesses, but also by trying to bring back some of the younger generations who have grown up in Hemphill County. 2) Unfunded mandates (to be forced to comply with little or no more new revenue from the state). Supporting groups and associations such as Texas Association of Counties will help to band us together to give us voice in addressing this. 3) Erosion of our voice in state government as not only a small community, but also our conservative values. Supporting and voicing our wishes to our representation at the state level, I feel, is the best means to address this.

HEMPHILL COUNTY JUSTICE OF THE PEACE Q&A

KATHY DUMBAULD

I was born and raised in Gruver, and attended Texas Tech University, where I earned a B.S. in education and English. I’ve worked as a political fundraiser for the Republican Party of Texas, a Title 1 educator, a tutor at St. Jude’s Hospital, a real estate investor and licensed contractor in Arizona, the district coordinator for Ken King, a trustee at Canadian Independent School District, the co-director of Snack Pak 4 Kids, and I am a member of the Presbyterian Church and on the Missions and Scholarship Committee as a member of PEO. Jon and I have been married for 29 years and have four awe-inspiring children. We moved to Canadian because we felt this was a great place to raise our kids. I was appointed as justice of the peace of Hemphill County on Oct. 1, 2021. I would be honored to remain your justice of the peace for the next four years.

JAY MOSELEY

I am 58. I was born in Amarillo, and raised in Canyon, where I attended school and graduated from Canyon High School in 1982. My father, Fletcher A. Moseley, was a mathematics professor at WTAMU. My mother, Alene Moseley, was a legal secretary, and later became the Randall County Court at Law court coordinator under Judge Darrell R. Carey. I studied criminal justice at WTAMU, joined the Police Academy at Amarillo College, graduating in 1988. I moved to Canadian in 1989 to work for the Canadian Police Department, prior to its dissolution in 1990. I was hired by the Hemphill County Sheriff’s Office and worked as a deputy sheriff until the end of 2005. In 2006, I became shop foreman for Blue Ridge Oilfield Services, but maintained my peace officer commission as a reserve deputy for Lipscomb County while there. I returned to the Hemphill County Sheriff’s Office in October of 2016, where I served as a patrol lieutenant, before resigning in 2019 to work as a mechanic and bus driver for Canadian ISD.

What experiences have uniquely qualified you to serve as Hemphill County justice of the peace?

KD: I have worked for politicians, dipped my toes into construction, served on committees and boards for various philanthropies, all while being a full-time mother with many hobbies. I enjoy variety in my life. That’s what I enjoy about the day-to-day job as justice of the peace.

The justice of the peace wears many hats. I am a magistrate, handle civil and criminal issues, juveniles, and serve at inquests, just to name a few. Every day brings brand-new issues and challenges that I strive to handle with compassion and dignity and equity.

I want to make sure all the many people who deal with the Justice Court are treated fairly and with respect. The Justice Court exists to enhance social order by maintaining the rule of law. The court provides equal protection while ensuring due process with justice, fairness, and integrity. Everyone is important. The Justice Court is the people’s court. I strive for swift justice and transparency in my court to maintain public trust and confidence in our justice system.

JM: I have approximately 32 years of criminal justice and law enforcement experience with most of that experience being employed as a Hemphill County deputy sheriff. I have accumulated over 4,722 combined hours of continuing education and college hours in various criminal justice topics. I am a 32- year resident of Hemphill County, and know a great deal of the good people here on a first-name basis.

I possess master certifications as a peace officer and jailer with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, and am very familiar with the criminal and civil laws of the great state of Texas, having served as civil process officer over a great portion of my law enforcement career.

I have served as bailiff in several Justice and County Court hearings in Hemphill County and have a good understanding of the court process. I have also been a testifying witness in several criminal cases.

In my law enforcement career, I have always strived to be fair, thorough, unbiased, and factual in every aspect of the job. I feel that those qualities are strong requisites for being an effective justice of the peace.

What is the greatest challenge that you believe a justice of the peace in a rural county like this one faces, and how will you address that challenge?

KD: The greatest challenge for my office is making court information readily available while balancing the person-to-person interaction which is so important in rural communities. Hemphill County Justice Court needs to embrace technology while maintaining availability with respectful and helpful customer service.

My office needs to consider the busy lives of constituents and update our website with information and pertinent links that would allow Hemphill County residents to interact with the court online. Civil Procedures should be easily accessed, so the process can be explained, and litigants can choose their own path to justice with the available resources. A resident needs to know how to efficiently and effectively take care of a citation if he receives one. Civil and criminal forms should be available to download, so litigants know what they will be signing before they arrive in court.

There are many links and websites that serve as helpful tutorials for self-representing litigants. Hemphill County residents deserve the ability to easily access court information. The justice of the peace is a servant of the community and should listen to the residents and ask for input on how to best serve our community.

JM: One huge concern that comes to my mind is the way the economy is right now. People are moving from Hemphill County to seek jobs in more populated areas. Take the oilfield workers for example. A lot of employees have been laid off. You have inflation, add a pandemic to that. It costs almost twice as much on your weekly grocery store trip than it did this time last year.

Economic issues, loss of jobs, and inflation of goods and services could cause the criminal element to rise in Hemphill County. If elected, I will do my best to see that everyone— on both the side of the plaintiff, as well as the side of the defendant in each case—is treated fairly, with no bias, and within the demands of the law. Access to justice is a right and an expectation for every American.

In small rural communities like this one, justices of the peace face a greater likelihood of hearing cases that involve a friend or neighbor or family member—or even another public official. If confronted with that situation, what will you do to ensure your exercise of fairness and impartiality in administering the law?

KD: I have already dealt with these situations. The laws written for the great state of Texas are tremendously helpful. The law is written rules created to maintain peace and order in communities. Laws are tools the society uses to ensure all citizens comply to the rules of the community. Most laws are very clear and concise with little opportunity for deviation. That makes enforcing the rules simple.

Justice is everything that is fair and right while the law is being enforced. Justice is the moral side of the law. Doing justice is being right and fair. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and impartially, no matter who they are, where they are from, or what they do. I try my best to treat everyone the same and offer the same diligence and impartiality to all who walk through my door.

JM: As a law enforcement officer, I have had several instances where I have had to arrest friends, neighbors, and three or four public officials over the years. It is not a comfortable feeling to be put in that position. I have always tried to be fair and unbiased as a law enforcement officer and have never made an unlawful arrest. A justice of the peace must always follow the rule of law: the principle that no person, myself included, is above the law. Courts provide checks and balances to the other co-equal branches of government. The rule of law means that judges do not simply follow the will of the majority or even their own personal viewpoints, but rather must judge in accordance with what the Constitution and the law require.

In the instance of a family member being involved in a case that may enter the court, I would be compelled to ask an adjoining county’s justice of the peace, or possibly the Hemphill County judge to hear the case.

If elected, I will decide cases fairly and impartially, free of political influence or intimidation, and regardless of my own personal views or the views of the public. I will follow the laws of the Constitutions of the United States and the great state of Texas.