Three candidates are running to be Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1.
The incumbent Terry Lange has two challengers Melissa Gonzales and Steve Brennan.
Lange has held the position of Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1 for the last 23 years. Brennan’s previous elected official experience includes serving as Constable of Precinct 1 for 20 years. Gonzales said this is the first elected position that she has run for.
With three candidates in the primary, the possibility exists of a run-off with the top two candidates should no one get more than 50 percent of the vote. The primary election is March 1. Early voting will begin Monday and ends on Feb. 25.
LANGE
Lange, 71, first took the bench 23 years ago after spending 28 years with the Odessa Police Department.
While with OPD, Lange obtained a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice management from the University of Texas Permian Basin and attended the FBI’s National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
After retirement, Lange said he was looking “to do something different” and thought his law enforcement experience and education would come in handy as a Justice of the Peace.
“A judge’s job is to remain neutral,” Lange said during an interview with the Odessa American. “They’ve got to look at the elements of each case and they have to apply the appropriate laws in order to make the best decision based on that criteria.”
During the interview with Lange, he told the Odessa American that the 2020 Census caused some lines to be redrawn. Lange said Precinct 1 had 53,000 people within it and covered 500 square miles of the county’s 900 square miles. Each precinct now has roughly 43,000 people.
Lange said he and his staff have been handling 800 to 900 small claim lawsuits, evictions and credit card-related cases per year and up to 14,000 misdemeanor cases, mostly traffic-related annually. Lange said they also process more than $1 million in fines and fees annually.
A good judge “has to have a certain work ethic, good organizational skills,” Lange said.
“You also have to have a good staff, which I have,” he added.
GONZALES
For the last 11 years, Gonzales has been employed with the Ector County Adult Probation Office. She explained her responsibilities are to interview criminal offenders, summarize their criminal backgrounds and current criminal offense for a report for all district judges attending court proceedings.
Gonzales, 50, said she was a little nervous running for an elected position for the first time.
“It’s a job that I know that I can do, but I wasn’t ready for the political side,” she said. “…This is a learning experience. I do hope that I’m elected as Justice of the Peace.”
Gonzales said her main objective if she was elected to the position of JP1 would be to use the e-File system which she explained would manage workflow more effectively and it would also cut down on the need for office supplies.
“I think I could change it to be more modern,” Gonzales said. “Right now they aren’t implementing some of the technology that we have available. It’s called e-File and it would help us become paperless.”
BRENNAN
Brennan declined to answer verbal questions from the Odessa American unless those questions were submitted in writing prior to an interview. Brennan also declined to fill out the basic candidate questionnaire.
