County judge debate focuses on new courthouse issue

Jim Hardin CNHI

ROCKWALL — The Rockwall County Courthouse was a topic of discussion from the first question to closing statements at a Rockwall County Republican Women-sponsored debate featuring the four candidates for county judge.

Incumbent Chris Florance, Kevin Fowler, Jerry Hogan and Ken Jones also responded to questions about the role of county judge, falling property values, roads and the county’s biggest challenge. But the debate, held at Rockwall High School and attended by about 200 county residents, focused on the courthouse.

Two county bond issue proposals to fund construction of a new courthouse were turned down by voters, but the county is moving forward to construct a new courthouse.

“And I will not build or do anything against the will of the citizens of Rockwall County,” Jones said while responding to the first question of the night: “What is the role of county judge and how would you fulfill that role?”

Hogan was the next speaker.

“The first role of the county judge, if I’m elected, is to restore trust in county government,” Hogan said. “Right now, as Ken just said, we have a major issue between the commissioners court and citizens concerning the county courthouse that must be fixed ... before the citizens will ever listen to our county government again.”

Moderator Carolyn Wright, chief justice of the 5th District Court of Appeals, then asked the second question of the night: “Do you have an issue with the necessity of the new courthouse and, notwithstanding whether or not you have an issue with the necessity, how should the county finance the completion ... over the committed budget?”

“I don’t have an issue with the new courthouse,” Jones said. “In fact, we need a new courthouse, but the citizens should have had an opportunity. The plans should have been modified. It should have been put back to the citizens for a vote. If it were explained to the citizens properly, they would, I’m sure,  have approved it handily.”

Hogan also said he had no problem with the county needing a new courthouse.

“We just have a problem with the courthouse that’s being proposed and being built adjacent to I-30, twice with the voters saying, ‘Don’t do it.’ What would I do? I’d ask the commissioners court right now, today, to stop and re-evaluate their position.”

“Absolutely. I know we need a courthouse,” said Florance. “I proposed that we have this courthouse. This courthouse ... is mandated by the state ... I’m pushing real hard for that courthouse. It’s mandated by the state. You know the state told us we ... were operating the building illegally and you know what, what do you do? Do you make decisions based on convenience or do you obey the law? ... Let me tell you folks, we need a courthouse. It’s something we desperately need.”

Fowler said there “is no issue with necessity.”

“Anybody who looks, or reads or researches, and the fact that you guys are here on a Thursday night, tells me that you’re informed, knowledgeable voters,” Fowler said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that — you guys know that — we need a courthouse. That’s an easy question to answer. How we went about it was difficult and hindsight is easy, isn’t it?

“It’s easy to sit here and say, ‘Gosh, look what happened.’ But the fact is we ignored the will of the voters ... We cannot ignore the will of the voters. We must listen.”

The final question was, “What do you feel is Rockwall County’s biggest challenge and how would you as county judge address this challenge?”

Fowler was the first to respond.

“I think the biggest challenge that we have is that we are going to continue to grow,” Fowler said.

He added, “I think what we need to do is have financial forecasting ... planning ahead. We need to be prepared. We cannot shut our eyes anymore and say, ‘They’re not going to come.’”

He didn’t mention the courthouse.

The other three speakers, however, centered on the courthouse issue.

“Folks, I think our biggest challenge is not listening to the will of the voters,” Jones responded.

“I believe the biggest problem, the biggest challenge that we have in our county is trust in county government,” Hogan said. “The people do not believe in our government right now. When the county courthouse issue came up, that’s when people started walking away. How do you fix that? First thing you do is honor the citizen vote ...”

Florance talked about growth, then moved to the courthouse.

“Let me tell you something about the courthouse, folks,” Florance said. “When you have discovery on an issue, you just don’t ignore it. You do everything you can. The State of Texas has given us tools to make things happen. So that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to make those hard decisions. I’m not trying to ignore the voters. I’m trying to do the things that will save lives, preserve life and save you money.”

In his closing statement, Jones had the final word about the courthouse.

“I’d like to say one final thing about the courthouse,” Jones said. “If it had been done properly, with citizen vote, we would have a new courthouse more quickly than we’re going to have it this way with all the controversy you’ve heard tonight.”

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