The race for McLennan County district attorney offers a true contrast in style and personality.

Five-term incumbent Democrat John Segrest is the longest-tenured district attorney since the county was formed in 1850. He is meticulous in his thought process and content to stay out of the limelight. He is knowledgeable of all facets of criminal law and proud of the stability and experience he has built in his team of prosecutors.

His Republican opponent, Abel Reyna, is intelligent, gregarious and moves easily through a crowd. He is a people person. In trial, he quickly memorizes the names of 45 potential jurors in a case and calls them all by name without scanning jury lists. Juries like him. And he has had more than his share of success in the courtroom against Segrest’s assistant prosecutors.

John Segrest (left), Abel Reyna

“This election has been unique,” Segrest said. “An election should be about qualifications, not about popularity. I know people get elected that way sometimes. It has a lot of that flavor to it this time around. It seems more like homecoming queen.

“Popular is one thing I wish I was. But this is not the kind of work where you become popular and not the job where you simply remove the leader and replace him with somebody who is very popular. That doesn’t get the job done.”

Reyna, 38, has been endorsed by the Waco Police Association, the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Association of McLennan County and by the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas.

“I am the choice of law enforcement,” Reyna said. “Law enforcement is voting for me. I think people should listen to the men and women who are out there on the street making the arrests. They have said that I am the person for the job,” Reyna said.

Segrest, 60, who is seeking his sixth-term, touts his experience, the stability of his office and the more than 200 years worth of prosecution experience represented by his staff of 23 assistant prosecutors.

“I’ve been at it for 25 years as a prosecutor. I have maturity,” Segrest said. “I have the ability to make the right decisions, and I lead a very capable honorable and respected staff of professional individuals who have dedicated their careers, as have I, to the service of the people.”

Reyna says he would represent more of a courtroom presence than Segrest has shown during his tenure, which includes important cases such as the prosecutions of serial killer Kenneth McDuff, triple murderer Billie Wayne Coble and Baylor basketball player Carlton Dotson, but probably represents less than 20 cases in 24 years.

“I am going to lead by example,” Reyna said. “I am going to show people what I expect and I am going to show the assistants who work with me that there is nothing that I would expect of them that I would not do myself.

“In order to aggressively prosecute and combat crime, you must have an elected district attorney who has effective presence in the office, presence in the courtroom and presence in the community. He must not be afraid to get in the trenches and fight for the safety of our county and our citizens,” Reyna said.

Segrest worked as an assistant district attorney for Reyna’s father, Felipe Reyna, from 1978 to 1982 before going into a private criminal law practice. Segrest said the DA’s office was handling 300 felony cases a year back then.

Now, he said, the office, which has an annual budget of $3.6 million, handles 2,000 felony cases a year, a total that has doubled during the past 10 years.

“I have dedicated my career to the safety of the public,” Segrest said. “My opponent is a defense lawyer. He is an experienced lawyer, but his experience comes in that form, really. When people go to select a district attorney, I think the better choice would be to select a prosecutor and not a defense lawyer. My least-experienced prosecutor has one more year of prosecution experience than my opponent.”

Segrest said his office has accomplished the major goals he has set, adding that now is not the time to change leadership at the top.

“I wanted to put together a group of quality lawyers who had good legal skills to work for the people,” Segrest said. “I wanted to build an office made up of people who commanded the respect of the public and others, not just in how they did their business as prosecutors but how they lived their lives, in and out of the office. I wanted to create stability in the office because with stability and experience, you have better judgment.”

Reyna, however, said change in the DA’s office is long overdue, adding there needs to be better communication between the office and area law enforcement agencies.

“We can’t afford four more years of business as usual,” Reyna said. “In 2007, we were considered the seventh-most dangerous city in the state of Texas, and in 2009, we were the fifth-most dangerous city in the state of Texas.

“When you are losing a war like we are losing, you don’t go in and change all the soldiers. You come in and change the general. A true leader is one who can bring true potential to others and make them great.”

twitherspoon@wacotrib.com

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