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County attorney candidate Q&A

Thu, 10/13/2016 - 4:03 pm

Early voting for the Nov. 8 general election begins Monday, Oct. 24. Jack County voters will have a choice for county attorney between Republican incumbent Brad Dixon and Democrat and former county attorney Mike Mask.

Both candidates were interviewed and asked the same set of questions. The following are their answers. 

What are you qualifications to be county attorney?

Mask: My qualifications are that I have enormous experience and a great deal of knowledge. I am the only candidate running that has been a prosecutor previously for more than 20 years. I’ve handled thousands of misdemeanor cases. My knowledge is not only that I have practical experience doing the job from the prosecution angle and the defendant angle, bachelor’s degree in education, a master’s degree with a double major in political science and history and I have a doctor of jurisprudence degree from Texas Tech University. I also have one other advantage as a candidate for county attorney. I’m a native of Jacksboro and I know pretty much everybody and they pretty well know me. That gives you an edge when you represent Jack County and prosecute crime. I have a pretty good idea of what their criminal history is before they even show me their rap sheet because I’ve dealt with them before.

Dixon: I’ve been a practicing attorney for 31 years. Honors graduate of Aledo High School, Weatherford College, University of Texas at Austin with Bachelor’s of Business Administration, and a proud graduate of Baylor University School of Law, where I served as  president of the Baylor Student Bar Association. I’ve been practicing law for 31 years. I practiced in East Texas and the Metroplex and most recently before taking the Jack County Attorney job in Mineral Wells, Texas. I’ve handled cases in 27 or more Texas counties just off the top of my head. I have broad experience.

Why do you want to be county attorney?

Dixon: I think the people deserve to have a good, honest, hard-working, dedicated county attorney and that’s sure what I’ve been striving to be for them. I think we’ve been moving the county forward. We’ve improved the technology of the office. I review each and every case from front to back and summarize it on a database program. I’m able to keep up with a tremendous amount of information at my fingertips by being diligent enough to enter the data when it comes in. We’ve improved the communication with our law enforcement officers through email, text messages, cell phone, just being in the office and welcoming any requests that they may have. In short, I think I’m doing a good job and I want to continue to do that job for my fellow citizens.

Mask: When I first ran for county attorney years ago is the same reason I want to run now. I want to help and serve my community. I believe I have the experience and the knowledge to do so. I think I would make the best prosecutor.

Explain what you believe are the most significant issues in the race.

Mask: I think the most significant issues are do you have very active prosecution of the crimes that occur in Jack County and do you have someone who has both the practical experience and the educational experience in criminal law to successfully do so. I think the drug problem is an enormous problem in Jack County. County attorney’s don’t deal with the felony drug offenses. Almost all drug offenses are felonies, not misdemeanors. On the other hand, it’s very important if you have someone that is starting out on drugs that they not only have an appropriate punishment, but they also have an appropriate chance at rehabilitation and they get that through probation through counseling, treatment and drug testing. That’s very important. Most drug users first get caught with misdemeanor drugs like marijuana, prescription pills. 

Dixon: I think the voters are going to have to decide whether they want to continue to move forward and having someone improve the office and prosecuting cases in a diligent and effective manner or go back to the way it was which I believe would be a big step backwards for the citizens of our county.

To read the complete article, see the Oct. 14 edition of the Herald-Gazette.