A single mother at Tuesday night’s League of Women Voters candidate forum took issue with McLennan County District Attorney John Segrest calling himself a “family man,” saying the characterization was a dig at his opponent, Abel Reyna.

Another woman asked Reyna to explain in detail the process local law enforcement associations use in making endorsements.

The audience at Tuesday’s event learned Segrest, a Democrat, is proud of his family and that Reyna, a Republican and local criminal defense lawyer, hopes to start his own soon. And they got a long explanation of the Waco Police Association’s endorsement process.

Not much new ground was broken at Tuesday night's forum in the heated race between McLennan County District Attorney John Segrest (left) and his challenger, Abel Reyna (right).

However, not much new ground was broken in the heated race.

Segrest defended his long record in office — even having staff members in the audience rise at one point — and said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

He lauded his office’s significant experience prosecuting criminals, which he stacked up against Reyna, who hasn’t worked in a district attorney’s office.

Reyna decried what he deemed unacceptable local crime rates and said the incumbent prosecutor bears responsibility.

“One of the best deterrents to crime is that man right there,” he said, pointing at Segrest, suggesting Segrest’s office could do more community outreach.

Reyna recalled as a young man seeing a sign on a water fountain warning hot-check writers they would be prosecuted.

“It was signed Felipe Reyna,” he said, referring to his father, a former county district attorney.

House District 56

Republican state Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson, Democratic challenger and former Rep. John Mabry and Libertarian Neill Snider also sparred at the event.

The three men are vying for House District 56, which makes up most of McLennan County.

The trio answered multiple questions about the state’s projected deficit, which some have estimated could be as high as $21 billion.

Anderson and Mabry both indicated an interest in making cuts. Neither, though, singled out programs that would get axed or departments whose functions might be consolidated.

In the last decade, Anderson said, “Texas has grown by about 35,000 employees, and we need to take a look at that.”

But, he said, funding for border security should be preserved.

Mabry acknowledged the need for deep cuts and for finding duplication in state government. But he objected to an across-the-board approach to cutting and said “one place we shouldn’t cut is public education.”

Snider was more specific, saying he favors making all schools in Texas private.

Anderson and Mabry also went at each other’s throats when an audience member asked about the 2003 congressional redistricting.

The plan to redraw Texas’ congressional maps was unusual in that it was done during a middecade year and was planned by Sugar Land Republican Tom DeLay.

A number of Democrats, including Mabry, went to Oklahoma in an attempt to derail the redistricting.

Anderson said Mabry breached the public’s trust by leaving Texas, which he described as costly.

“That embarrassed Texas around the nation,” Anderson said, “Honoring our trust: That’s what we’re talking about today.”

“What that was about was preserving the integrity of our legislative process,” Mabry said before firing back at Anderson, who he noted spoke in support of congressional redistricting at a legislative hearing.

At the time of the hearing, Mabry said, the redistricting map under review “would have cut Waco, Texas, right down the middle right through the Brazos River (and) we would have perhaps forever lost our ability to elect a hometown congressman.”

About 75 people were in attendance for the district attorney’s race forum, and a slightly smaller crowd showed up for the second forum.

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

757-5707

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