Friday, May 3, 1996

Police chief decisions top area ballots

By LORETTA FULTON
Regional Editor

The election of a police chief in Brownwood and a proposition to allow election of a police chief in Anson are two of the top races in Saturday's area elections.

Other races of interest are the filling of the mayor's post in De Leon after the resignation last November of Mayor Charles Chupp and a half-cent sales tax for economic development in Rising Star.

In De Leon, Mayor Pro Tem Eric Royall has been filling in as mayor since November but decided not to run for the job permanently. He is running instead to retain his council seat.

Candidates for mayor in De Leon are Norma Locke and Robert Gilder.

In Rising Star, voters will decide whether to add a half-cent sales tax for economic development.
City Administrator Robin Reeves said that if the tax passes, the money would be used to attract new businesses, expand current businesses, create an industrial park or a number of other ways.

"There's a pretty wide scope it can be used for," she said.

In Anson, voters will decide on a mayor, two city councilmen and a proposition that would allow for the election of a police chief.

Only four towns in Texas elect chiefs rather than hiring one. One of those cities is Brownwood, which Saturday will elect a new chief to replace the retiring Joe Robbins.

Candidates are John C. Harper, Virgil Cowin and Garry L. Page.

In Anson a City Council candidate, Ralph Whitehead, was one of the movers behind the drive to get the police chief proposition placed on Saturday's ballot.

Whitehead said he and his supporters are not upset with Police Chief Danny Jiminez. They just believe that if the chief were elected, he would have better control of his department's budget.
"People want their money accounted for," Whitehead said.

He believes tax money should have better controls, and having an elected police chief would be a part of that equation.

"He would be responsible for that budget," Whitehead said.
Currently, the City Council can take money from the police budget and use it elsewhere, Whitehead said.

Among Whitehead's backers is Mike Herndon, a candidate for mayor running against incumbent E.M. Spraberry.

However, neither Spraberry nor any of the current City Council members are in favor of the proposition to elect a police chief.
"
We just don't feel like it's a good move," Spraberry said.
Among the drawbacks is that an elected chief would be difficult to terminate if he wasn't doing a good job.

The fact that only four towns in Texas elect their police chief is "a strong argument it's not a good idea," Spraberry said.