Danny Volcik

County treasurer race goes to Volcik

In an upset, Republican Danny Volcik apparently rode a national wave of discontent and won the seat of McLennan County treasurer from incumbent Democrat Bill Helton.

Volcik, a retired state trooper, won with 30,535 votes.

Helton, who had been treasurer since 1991, received 22,521 votes.

He was named 2010 Texas Outstanding County Treasurer by the County Treasurer’s Association of Texas.

Volcik has made several unsuccessful bids for county offices during the past 14 years, including runs for sheriff in 1996 and 2000, campaigns for Precinct 3 county commissioner in 2004 and 2008, and a bid for Precinct 3 justice of the peace in 2006.

Volcik has said he is a conservative candidate and tea party member and that he has served as treasurer for a number of local organizations, including the Chalk Bluff Water Supply and the Hillsboro Order of the Eastern Star.

The treasurer’s duties include tracking the flow of cash in and out of the county, handling the county’s payroll and managing the county’s investment portfolio.

Bosque voters nix $10M jail bond

Bosque County voters narrowly shot down a nearly $10 million bond to construct a new jail Tuesday, as 2,640 voted against the jail to the 2,467 in favor of the hotly contested proposition.

The item asked voters sign off on the purchase of as much as $9.9 million in bonds to construct a 64-bed jail facility for the county. The bonds would be paid through a six-cent increase in property taxes over the course of 20 to 25 years.

The current jail, built in the mid-1970s, has long struggled to meet criteria set by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, reporting frequent complaints ranging from flooding and leaking to problems with the manual door locks, air conditioning and fire-detection system.

Inmates were also frequently farmed out to neighboring jails to maintain compliance with classification standards that require the separation of violent felons and misdemeanor offenders.

A 25-member committee recommended that the county issue certificates of obligation to fund its construction, but commissioners instead voted to present the issue to voters as a bond election.

Summers keeps JP Precinct 2 office

Judge Belinda Summers, a Democrat, retained her place as McLennan County Precinct 2 justice of the peace.

Summers, 46, won with 1,333 votes.

Her opponent was Republican Leonard Williams of Mart, who took 1,107 votes.

Summers was originally appointed to the seat in 1999 when Judge James Collier died. She won the election the next year to keep the office.

Summers, who calls the justice of the peace the “people’s court,” had served as Collier’s clerk for seven years previously.

E. Jean Laster, a Democrat, won the race for McLennan County Precinct 7 justice of the peace, with 3,133 votes.

Her opponent was Libertarian Clinton L. Chase, who garnered 285 votes.

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