Local Elections

By ROY MAYNARD
Staff Writer

Smith County Veterans Services Officer Toby Cross is ready for bigger battles, he says. He's seeking the Smith County Commissioners Court Precinct 3 seat to "offer his experience in county government."

"I have managed county departments for over 20 years," says Cross, who retired from Ector County in 2003. "I know county government and I know the budgeting process. As a department head, I've had to compose budgets, defend budgets, and live within their means."

During his career, he says, he was known as a "good steward" of county resources.

"To demonstrate my commitment to lower county taxes, I have actually approached a commissioners court and asked that my county department budget be reduced - while maintaining vital services to our residents," he says.

He pledges to bring this same conservative philosophy to the Smith County Commissioners Court.

"Living within the budget is exactly what I will demand of county government," he says

Cross acknowledges a 1991 misdemeanor conviction for driving while intoxicated.

"I made a mistake," he says. "It was poor judgment. I paid for it."

The top three issues facing the county are the need the jail, roads and trust, Cross says.

He says there were several factors in the defeat of the jail bond package last November.

"People have surmised it was too expensive, and there was a lack of trust, and all of those things were part of it," he says. "All I know is that if I am elected, we will have to determine the wishes and convictions of our citizenry, and then implement those wishes."

He suggests polling the public about the failed bond election, and to learn more about what the public could support.

"A survey is one tool we could use," Cross says. "We've got to find out what our citizens want. Using a survey would be appropriate. If we could get private contributions to fund it, that would be great. Could there not have been better communication with our citizens? What would they support in dollars? We need to find that out."

He says the raises that commissioners voted for themselves last year could have played a part in the bond package's failure.

"The commissioners voting themselves a raise was a contentious matter," Cross says. "We can see the outpouring of public sentiment about it. Quite frankly, I'm not here to judge the court. The citizens will do that at the polls. But if I am elected, I will never vote for myself a raise."

He says he will take the salary as it is set at the time he takes office; presumably, that will be with the first two of the three-phase raise in place.

"Whatever the salary is, that's the salary I will take," he says. "This is going to be a full-time job for me, representing the citizens of Precinct 3."

Roads are another important issue, Cross says.

"About 800 miles of county roads needs to be rebuilt," he says. "Constant patching is labor-intensive and not cost-effective. We need to support (a reconstruction) plan, and actually start rebuilding some of our county roads."

But first, Cross says, the court must start rebuilding the public's trust.

In addition to his time in county government, Cross has served in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer in Vietnam, as an English teacher in Winona, and as a writer and editor for newspapers.

He has a bachelor's of arts degree from East Texas Baptist University.

Cross faces incumbent Commissioner Bobby Van Ness, Ken Langley and Terry Phillips in the Republican 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.

Toby Cross
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