Reader Responses

My apologies to the Creath family. My letter of Aug. 17 (about replacing the late Constable Frank Creath on the November ballot) was neither to them nor about them. It did not occur to me that my words would be so misconstrued. Understandably, the Creaths had a preference for the appointment of a candidate for November, and they let it be known in several letters and phone calls to the Republican precinct chairs. However, after consideration of the resumes and letters, the majority voted for Andy Dunklin to represent Republicans on the ballot. 

My statement about how “we chose our candidate” should not have been in any way interpreted to mean the precinct chairs personally. Andy Dunklin was duly and properly chosen as the candidate of our party — the Smith County Republican Party.

To reiterate the message of my previous letter, the Republican precinct chairs followed the law set forth in Chapter 145 of the Texas Election Code. There were no other options, such as a special election, in choosing a candidate. If someone has a problem with the way a deceased candidate is replaced on the ballot, they need to talk to their legislator because a Texas law would have to be changed. The precinct chairs merely fulfilled their duty as members of the governing body of our local Republican Party.

The second point of my letter was to assure the people of Precinct 2 that after interviewing the three candidates, the majority of the precinct chairs voted to place Andy Dunklin on the ballot. We were informed of rumors regarding all three candidates, which were checked for accuracy. Based on his 23 years of experience in law enforcement and his letters of commendation, we chose Andy Dunklin to represent the Republican Party this November for constable of Precinct 2. Despite all the criticism, I would still vote the same way today.

Sharon Guthrie
Precinct 71
Tyler