Local Elections

By ROY MAYNARD
Staff Writer

Smith County Commissioners Court Precinct 3 candidate Ken Langley says he's ready to help put out the fires in county government.

"The reason I have chosen to run for county commissioner is I think I can make a difference on the court," the longtime Tyler firefighter says. "I have served on the Winona school board and several other boards. I can bring a common sense approach to county government; I can work with the citizens of the county to address the issues that need to be addressed."

Langley has been a Smith County resident since 1961.

"When my parents planted my roots in Red Springs, they went very deep," he says.

Though he's been on the Winona school board and on the Sand Flat Water Supply board, this is his first party primary race.

"I consider myself a conservative Republican," Langley says. "We should live within our means. When we set a budget, we should live within that budget. That's been my philosophy at the Winona school district, where we tightened the budget and are now debt-free."

The need for a jail is one of the biggest issues facing the county, he says.

"No matter where I go, that's the question that comes up," he says. "I think one of main things the commissioners court needs to do is listen to the people themselves, and find out what they want in a facility. No one in Smith County doesn't recognize the need for a facility. But the need they see is totally different from what the commissioners saw."

That's why the bond package failed in November, he says.

"It failed for several reasons, (including) the extraordinary amount of money being put out there," Langley says. "People didn't have confidence in the cost. Commissioners need to be honest with the people and give them a bottom-line figure."

But there was an even bigger reason, he adds: the salary increase commissioners voted for themselves last year.

"It was a 'no-confidence' vote in the commissioners court itself, based on the raises," he says. "There were several mistakes made on the raises. I think the first was they voted themselves more than what the county employees were given. The second mistake was lumping it all together with the employees, instead of having separate votes. The third thing it shouldn't have taken effect until (their) next term of office."

He says he will accept the salary commissioners have set, however.

"I will go in at whatever level they have set at the time I take office," he says. "But I would never vote myself another raise. The salary is enough. I do intend to work for that salary and be a full-time commissioner."

The jail isn't the county's only infrastructure need, he adds. The building where the sheriff's office and other agencies are housed is in serious disrepair, he says.

"I am familiar with the Smith County Office Building, and as a firefighter it scares me to death," Langley says. "It needs to be torn down."

Langley graduated from Winona High School in 1972. He's been a Tyler firefighter for 22 years, currently serving as a driver/engineer and a member of the Hazardous Materials Team.

In 1973, Langley opened Ken's County Store in Red Spring, selling it in 2004. He's also owned Red Springs Feed Store and he runs a small ranching operation.

Langley faces incumbent Commissioner Bobby Van Ness, Toby Cross and Terry Phillips in the primary.

If none of the four candidates wins more than 50 percent of the votes on March 4, the top two voter-getters will face each other in a runoff on April 8.

Commissioner Precinct 3 includes the voting precincts of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 27, 32, 46, 47, 56, 61, 64, 68 and 69.

Ken Langley
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