Wylie Today

“As an elected county official, I have tried to stay out of municipal races.  But when a man of Eric Hogue’s talent and character offers his service, I just can not stay on the sideline.  Wylie has a wonderful opportunity to elect a great leader in Eric Hogue!”  Joe Barton, Collin County Constable, Precinct 2

I want to thank Mr. Barton for his kind words and his support. I am very excited about the opportunity to serve the citizens of Wylie as your next Mayor. I believe we have so many good things ahead of us; but in order for us to be successful, we must have the support from our county, state and federal officials. As I have said many times before, Wylie is the forgotten city of Collin county, and we need to be in front of these officials to promote our plans for the future of our community. We must have a good, positive relationship with these officials for the betterment of Wylie.  They need to know what is happening in Wylie and we need to use our “political muscle” of being the eighth fastest growing city in the nation to get the services and resources needed to enhance our city.

As mayor, I believe my primary focus should be on building a strong network with each and every group and organization that interacts with our city. The Mayor needs to be a positive force in moving Wylie forward.

Thanks again to Constable Barton for his kind words.

For The Promise of Wylie,

Eric Hogue

Early voting begins April 28 - May 6, 2008 at Wylie City Hall and Election Day is May 10, 2008

Congratulations Mr. Barton and Mr. Presley.

Dear Editor and Wylie Citizens,

After these examinations, I ask that each of you join me in supporting the re-election of Mr. Joe Barton as Constable of Precinct Two.

Letters to the Editor are personal opinions of the author listed and do not necessarily represent the views of wylietoday.com.

With the election of Constable for Precinct 2 right around the corner (March 4, 2008) the people of Precinct 2 need to carefully consider whether change is indeed needed in this Precinct. Although Billy Meeks appears to have a stellar law enforcement career with the City of Plano and his experience indicates he could rid Precinct 2 of Heroin and solve Cold Case Murders, the Primary duties of the Constable in Precinct 2 are:

1. Civil process (lawsuits, divorces, evictions, civil subpoenas, etc.),
2. Deliverance of criminal subpoenas for all courts,
3. Execution of writs (court orders) for all courts,
4. Executing arrest warrants (primarily for the JP Courts) and
5. Bailiffing for the JP Court.

With that being said, the election of Billy Meeks would be a crippling mistake for Precinct 2 and it’s residents and here is why:

1. His background is more Criminal than Civil,
2. With only one year of Constable work in Dallas county from1979-1980 Billy Meeks would have to learn a whole new system and a new way of thinking with the current Collin County Precinct 2 Law Enforcement and its residents,
3. He would have to be trained by the incumbent Joe Barton who already knows the area, logistics, and the affairs of Precinct 2 and,
4. With change there comes a “cleaning of house”. This house is already clean and works well with the residents and current Law Enforcement of Precinct 2.

Joe Barton and his team (Earl Newsom and Gary Edwards) have been an excellent resource for the residents of Precinct 2. I can personally say that I’ve used Earl Newsom on a number of occasions as a resource when I’ve had questions dealing with the law, as have many other residents in Precinct 2. Earl Newsom has been a great asset to Joe’s team and Joe did an excellent job when hiring Earl as part of this team. Although I have not had the pleasure of meeting Gary Edwards, if he is anything like Joe Barton and Earl Newsom, he is definitely an asset to the Precinct 2 team.

Also, I would like to add, with the explosive growth of Wylie, Sachse, and now Lavon, because of the past Police experience Joe and his team has, they can easily shift back and forth with the Urban/Rural mentality and not miss a beat. They truly care about all the people of Precinct 2 and still see people as people even when having to deal with the Law. I know sometimes, change is good, but change is only good when change is needed. In this case, a “New Beginning” is not needed with opponent Billy Meeks for Precinct 2. Therefore I strongly encourage and recommend the residents of Precinct 2 to re-elect Joe Barton for Precinct 2 Constable on election day. For more information, please visit Joe’s site at www.constablejoebarton.com.

Letters to the Editor are personal opinions of the author listed and do not necessarily represent the views of wylietoday.com.

It has been my honor to serve the citizens of eastern Collin County as Constable since 1989.  As this precinct has grown, we have worked hard to keep pace.  In 1995, Earl Newsom joined the office as my deputy and this year, we added Gary Edwards as the second deputy. Both of these men brought many years of law enforcement experience with them.  Our office has well over 100 years of law enforcement experience.

I, personally, have over thirty-five years of law enforcement experience with twenty-seven years of budget management.  While serving with the McKinney police department I was in the number two position as a Lieutenant.  I hold a Master Peace Officer Certification and a Civil Proficiency Certificate.  I have taught in police academies and Constable schools throughout the state.  Both of my deputies also hold Master Peace Officer Certifications and Instructor Licenses, and Deputy Newsom holds a Civil Proficiency Certificate.  Deputy Edwards has over twenty-five years as a supervisor with a large Constable’s Office in Dallas County.   Deputy Newsom, who has over fifteen years as a supervisor before joining my office,  has taught with the Dallas Police Academy, Texas Justice Court Training Center, Collin County Law Enforcement Academy, and with various police departments in Collin County.

I have been very involved in my community serving as the President of Chaparral Rails to Trails, Inc.  I am a Past President of Rotary and have perfect attendance for over fifteen years.   I have also served on the Planning and Zoning Board of Farmersville, been a member of the Collin County Rape Crisis Center Board of Directors, and served four years on the board of the McKinney Municipal Credit Union, two years as Board Chairman.

I am a strong believer in family values and have been married for thirty-six years to Eva Hartsell Barton.  We were blessed with one daughter, Autumn Barton, who is now a graduate of Baylor University and employed by Presbyterian Hospital of Greenville.

With your support, I and my team hope to continue to serving the citizens of Precinct Two in a professional manner for years to come.

Dear Wylie Today Editor:

In a recent letter published in the Wylie News, Mr. and Mrs. Purdon indicated that they had issues with people causing problems in their neighborhood, because some warrants had not been served. I was unaware that there had been a rash of Issuing Bad Checks in the neighborhood. Mr. Purdon seems to be unaware that the majority of warrants served by the Constable’s Offices in Collin County are for “hot checks.” Although these are crimes, I think they are hardly a matter of safety. I’m sure Constable Barton’s office have served and made arrests, for thousands of these warrants during his period of service in our precinct. Removing Constable Barton from office will certainly not make our neighborhoods any safer. I believe in fact the loss of his 35 years of law enforcement experience, and that of his deputies, would have the opposite effect.

When my family has had occasion to contact Constable Barton’s office we have always found them to be receptive to our concerns and needs. Constable Barton has built up a team which is committed to the service of Precinct Two Citizens. They have a real concern for all people. I would urge my friends and neighbors to keep this team together serving the people of this area and vote for Joe Barton. For more information visit http://constablejoebarton.com.

Jeff Cox
Wylie, Texas

Letters to the Editor are personal opinions of the author listed and do not necessarily represent the views of wylietoday.com.

Dear Fellow Citizens,

I have been examining the candidates for the Precinct 2 Constable’s Office. Candidate Billy Meeks certainly has some impressive credentials as a Detective. The glaring omission from his qualifications is that of supervisory experience in law enforcement. It seems he has none. On the other hand the incumbent, Constable Joe Barton, has spent much of his thirty-five year law enforcement career as a supervisor including time spent as the number two man at the McKinney Police Department. In fact, I found it interesting that the newest deputy hired by Constable Barton has as many years of supervisory experience as Mr. Meeks has in law enforcement.

Constable Barton and Deputy Constable Earl Newsom have been involved in teaching continuing education courses for Constables and Deputies throughout the state of Texas. Constable Barton has shown his dedication to law enforcement education by having his office prepare and teach classes to the Wylie Police Department on various aspects of both civil law and other law enforcement areas where they have particular expertise.

Mr. Meeks goals include making the Constable’s Office a law enforcement resource for the community but this goal has already been met by Constable Barton and his dedicated staff. Other goals, such as positive communication with our police departments have already been achieved with officers from this portion of the county receiving advice and assistance from Constable Barton’s office. Constable Barton’s offices, in both Wylie and Farmersville, receive many calls and visits from citizens seeking information and direction and find ready answers to their questions and concerns.

I hope that the citizens of Wylie, and all of Precinct 2, will join me in supporting and voting for the re-election of Constable Joe Barton in the March 4th Republican primary.

Rick White
Wylie, TX

Letters to the Editor are personal opinions of the author listed and do not necessarily represent the views of wylietoday.com.

If you want to vote in the March 4th Republican and Democratic primary elections and are not yet registered to vote, you must do so by Monday, February 4th! Voter registration information can be found here. Registering to vote will allow you to vote for the following (not inclusive):

• Republican / Democratic Presidential Candidate
• US Senator - Larry Kilgore vs. incumbent John Cornyn
• US Representative for Texas District 4 (R) - incumbent Ralph M. Hall vs. 4 opponents
• Constable, Precinct 2 - incumbent Joe Barton vs. Billy Meeks

To view a sample ballot for the March 4th election, click here for the Democratic Ballot and click here for the Republican Ballot.

Naturally, Wylie Today will run features on all the candidates and propositions over the next month, so check in daily.

If you have a personal preference for a particular candidate, feel free to write a “letter to the editor” of Wylie Today. All well-written candidate endorsements will be posted. Please provide your name and phone number when submitting your letter to editor@wylietoday.com.