Camron Brister Editor’s note: Four Republican candidates are vying for justice of the peace, Precinct 2 and 3. Following is a profile of each.

Camron Brister has some very definite ideas of what he can bring to the justice of the peace office if he is elected.

The Lometa native and 1996 high school graduate recently resigned the position of constable to run for the JP post because, he said, he feels strongly he can make more of a difference as justice of the peace.

Brister attended Central Texas College and the police academy.

A deputy with the Lampasas County Sheriff’s Department since 2000, he has more than 1,600 hours of Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards of Education, and more than 280 hours of civil processing and civil law education.

He has been the constable in Lometa for the past four years.

W.D. Crain “I have always served the people’s interests, and with my background and knowledge of the law, I can better serve as your justice of the peace.”

Brister said he believes as JP, he can do three things to make a difference. “There are over 400 warrants in that office, and the majority of those have a second charge of violation of a promise to appear. We need to start some type of collections for those. If people don’t pay their fines, the judicial system loses credibility and money.” Brister said there are collections procedures for the county and district court, but not for any justice of the peace offices.

Secondly, Brister said he would like to pull the truancy court back into the justice of the peace jurisdiction in Lometa. “Only deputies and constables are authorized by law to serve subpoenas and summonses.”

David Ivey Finally, he said he believes initiating a community service program for Lometa’s youth would benefit the city and surrounding areas. “Parents are responsible for their children, but the kids need to have some responsibility for their actions. There are lots of community projects in Lometa, Bend and Nix that would benefit from the assistance of Lometa youth.”

Brister said his only agenda is to do the best job he can for all citizens of Lometa. “I am approachable, and I have always been fair. I have always treated people like I want to be treated. I am knowledgeable about the law and understand the way the justice of the peace office should be run.”

Brister and his wife Cristopher, the Lampasas County jail operations coordinator, have two young sons. In addition, the couple have reared Mrs. Brister’s sister and brother for the past seven years, since before they were teenagers.

Dick Lockett He is a member of First Baptist Church of Lometa, Lometa Masonic Lodge and the Lometa Lions Club.

“My community is important to me, and I look forward to showing people I can make a bigger difference as a justice of the peace.”

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W.D. Crain is a lifelong area resident and a Lometa High School graduate.

He took criminal justice classes at Central Texas College, earning a 4.0 grade-point average before working for the Irving Police Department as a public service officer from 1985-88.

Crain then worked as a correctional officer for the Texas Department of Corrections from 1994-99.

He spent a year in Kosovo and about half that time in Iraq as a Brown & Root supervisor for building military living containers.

After that, Crain was a jailer and dispatcher for the Lampasas County Sheriff’s Department for 15 months.

He then became code enforcement officer for the city of Lampasas, where he spent 15 months “cleaning up the city,” he said.

He enforced city codes, disposed of junk cars, and had lots mowed and cleaned.

Two years ago, Crain left the position to open his own carpentry business. He builds and remodels homes and works cattle on his parents’ 600-acre ranch 20 minutes north of Lampasas between Lometa and Adamsville. He and his family have lived there since 1997 to assist his parents.

Crain said he is running for office because it is time to become involved. “I was one of those that would sit back and complain, and would never step up to the plate to help out,” he said. “I decided it is time to go ahead and get involved in what is going on in the community and in the county, and I felt this is a good way to do it.”

Crain said he has no connections to any businesses. “I have no axes to grind and owe no favors. I can be fair, firm and consistent.”

A lot of people frown on the law, and Crain said he hopes to change their minds.

And he is ready to devote his time to the endeavor.

“I realize this job is a Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. office job, but it is also a 24- hours-a-day job. You can be called out at any time of the day or night. And I am ready to do this full time.

“I’m not a politician; I’m not a speechmaker. I just want to give back to my community any way I can. I know a JP wears lots of hats, and I feel like I’m up to doing that.”

Crain and his wife Kristen, a Lometa School employee, have been married almost 22 years. They have three children -- two still in school in Lometa.

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David Ivey is a former Lometa mayor and serves as the city’s mu- nicipal judge.

He served on the Lometa City Council for two terms and was named mayor pro tem. When Mayor Mike McGarry died, Ivey stepped into the vacant post.

Ivey resigned as mayor because his position as director of Lometa Housing Authority was in conflict with mayoral responsibilities, but he did not like having to give it up, he said. “We were making headway on our budget and our finances, and things were really looking good,” Ivey said of his term in office.

When he resigned as mayor, the council split that post from the municipal judge’s (previously both positions were handled by the mayor).

Ivey then was appointed to a four-year term as municipal judge. He is in his second year at the post and plans to continue in that capacity even if elected justice of the peace, he said.

He also serves on the magistrate rotation at the Lampasas County Jail, which Ivey said helps the city of Lometa become more involved in the judicial process.

Ivey said he is running for justice of the peace because he believes the post calls for whoever fills it to see the state’s laws are upheld while having the best interests in mind of those who appear before him.

“As a municipal judge, I believe I have been fair,” he said. “Anyone who has ever come before me said they feel they were treated fairly.”

Ivey, a native of Stockton, has been a Lometa resident for almost eight years. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Sul Ross State University. He moved to Lometa to open a cedar clearing business.

He and his wife, Monica, are the parents of two Lometa High School teenagers.

“With my experience, I will be able to run the office efficiently, and be completely fair and open minded,” Ivey said.

The candidate said there are fundamental differences between him and several other candidates about their ideology toward the job. “I have never been a member of law enforcement, and I will bring the most neutral viewpoint to this office.

“That is not an attack on any law enforcement agencies or personnel,” Ivey said. “I have the utmost respect for them and what they do. I always have. It just doesn’t need to be a part of this job.

“I encourage the people of Lometa to get out and vote.”

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Dick Lockett is the incumbent justice of the peace. He is finishing his second term and looks forward to a third term in office.

“I enjoy what I do and the people I serve,” he said. “It’s not just a job. It gives me a chance to be around a lot of people.”

The Odessa native made his way to Lampasas County in 1989, when his aging in-laws required assistance. “We had vacationed here for 30 years, and now that I live here I don’t have to go anywhere else -- for vacation or otherwise.”

He served a six-year tour in the U.S. Navy. A former nine-year teacher’s aide for the Lometa Independent School District, Lockett was asked to run for the JP post by former longtime Justice of the Peace Mart Adams.

“Little did I know what this job entailed,” Lockett said. “There’s an awful lot more than meets the eye. I had no idea what it was all about.”

Lockett said he attends continuing education each year to keep up with the latest changes and additions to laws.

The JP believes his age and life experiences continue to make him the right man for the job. “I also think my personality is a good fit. I can deal with people of all walks of life, and I still have something to contribute.”

Lockett said the justice of the peace office has come a long way in just a few short years. Where previously they used handwritten notes for files, now everything is computerized. “We still have a way to go, though,” he noted. “I would really like to make the office even more up to date in the future.”

He and his wife of nearly 50 years, Sandi, have two sons. Shawn is an ag teacher who lives in Liberty Hill with his wife and five children, and older son Richard works for an international law firm in England.

“I appreciate the support I have gotten over the years, and I hope to have that continue.”

Said Lockett of his years as JP: “I have seen them at the good times, and I have seen them at the bad times. Sometimes it can be tough. You have to be compassionate in this job, or you’re in the wrong line of work.”

He said he is a fair judge and is impartial to everyone. “My door is always open. I try to spend as much time in it during the workday as I can.”

The Locketts are members of Faith Lutheran Church in Lampasas, and he is a member of the National Rifle Association.