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Register to Vote!
Gregg County Republican Party
A Message from
the County Chair
T he 2002 campaign is entering the home stretch. Early voting begins
October 21, with Election Day just a month away.
Many important events are scheduled this month, culminating with
the Northeast Texas Victory Bus Tour and Barbeque in late October. The
bus tour ends at Maude Cobb Convention Center, where there will be
plenty of great food and entertainment along with some very special
guests. You won’t want to miss this special event. See page 2 and the insert
for more details.
Judge Josh Morriss, our featured candidate this month, is locked in a
tough race to continue serving as Chief Justice of the 6th Court of Appeals
in Texarkana. The 6th appellate district covers the following 19 counties:
Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Fannin, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, Hopkins,
Hunt, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Panola, Red River, Rusk, Titus, Upshur,
and Wood. If you have friends or relatives in these counties, please
encourage them to support Josh.
Headquarters is now open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week and on
Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you are interested in volunteering a
few hours of your time at headquarters, your help will be greatly
appreciated. Contact me for more information.
Upcoming Events
lfonso Charles
(903) 738-3237
We welcome our new Party sponsors:
A.C. and Louise Broussard, Kerry N. Cammack, Bill and Jewel Gignilliat,
Betty Barkett Horaney, Ron and Jerry Anne Jurenka, Ed and Suzanne Merritt,
Mike Wilcox
GOP Strategy for East Texas: Bus Rides and BBQ
Republican leaders in Gregg
County and Northeast Texas
have planned a bus tour across Senate
District 1 (SD1), topped off by a
Texas-size rally and barbeque in
Gregg County. The bus tour and
barbeque are designed to stir up
interest in the battle for East Texas
and energize Republican voters in the
final days of the 2002 campaign.
The bus tour, coordinated by
Republican County Chairs in the
counties comprising SD1, will be
divided into 3 segments.
The first segment will be Friday,
October 25, beginning in Linden,
and traveling to Daingerfield and
Pittsburg before wrapping up in
Jefferson. The second segment will
start in Texarkana on Monday,
October 28, with stops in
Clarksville, Paris, Mount Vernon,
and Mount Pleasant. Tuesday,
October 29 will be the third and
final segment of the tour. The bus
will leave Kilgore Tuesday morning
and head to Henderson, Carthage,
Marshall, Gilmer, Quitman, and
Longview.
Local and district candidates
running in East Texas will be on the
bus, and several statewide candidates
are also expected to be aboard for
parts of the tour. Get-out-the-vote
rallies and local media coverage are
planned for each stop.
The tour will conclude in Gregg
County with an old-fashioned East
Texas Political Rally and Barbeque at
Longview’s Maude Cobb
Convention Center, beginning at
5:00 p.m. A large crowd is expected
for the event, organized by State
Representative Tommy Merritt and
incoming Gregg County Judge Bill
Stoudt.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Bill
Ratliff and Texas Comptroller Carole
Keeton Rylander are scheduled to
attend, along with numerous
candidates, officeholders, and Party
officials from across East Texas.
Tickets are $10 per person and
available at Republican headquarters,
1011 W. Loop 281, Suite 3,
Longview. Tickets will also be
available at the door.
For more information about the
bus tour, contact County Chair
Dorothy Khoury at (903) 297-1908.
For information about the Get-Out-
The-Vote Rally and Barbeque,
contact Jennifer Foster at (903) 757-
5754.
If you are registered to vote in Gregg County, you may vote early at any of the 8 locations listed above.
If you vote on Election Day, you must vote at the voting place shown on your Voter Registration Certificate.
SPOTLIGHT ON JOSH MORRIS
By Dorothy Khoury
J osh Morriss was sworn in as Chief
Justice of the 6th Court of Appeals on
June 11, following in the footsteps of his
late grandfather, I.N. Williams, an Associate
Justice on the Texarkana-based Court from
1937 to 1954.
Morris, the first Republican Chief
Justice in the Court’s long history, was
appointed by Governor Rick Perry to serve
the unexpired term of
retiring Chief Justice
William Cornelius.
Since taking office,
Josh Morriss has been
busy writing legal
opinions and handling
the Court’s numerous
administrative duties.
A former President
of the Texas Association
of Bank Counsel, Josh
graduated from the University of Texas at
Austin School of Law and earned Bachelor
of Business Administration and Master of
Business Administration degrees from
Southern Methodist University. He has
practiced law in Northeast Texas since 1976.
Morriss faces Democrat Jim Lovett of
Clarksville in the General Election. In the
strongly Democrat 6th appellate district, the
Morriss campaign is attracting bipartisan
support. Gregg County is the biggest
county in the district and a big win here for
Josh could be the difference in this race.
Taking nothing for granted, Josh and his
wife Diana have spent great amounts of time
campaigning in Gregg County.
The Chief Justice and I recently
discussed the campaign:
DK: What is the role of the Court of
Appeals, and the Chief Justice of the
Court?
JM: The Texas court system is
organized into three basic levels: the trial
courts at the bottom (District Courts,
County Courts at Law, etc.), the Texas
Supreme Court (for civil appeals) and the
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (for
criminal appeals) at the top, and the
fourteen regional Courts of Appeals in the
middle. The 6th District is the one that sits
in Texarkana and covers 19 northeast Texas
counties (including Gregg, which also is
covered by the 12th Court of Appeals in
Tyler).
We (Courts of Appeals) sit in three
judge panels and hear civil and criminal
appeals coming mostly from our particular
district trial courts. We don't conduct trials
but receive the "record" from the trial court
and the briefs from the parties (arguing the
points of law being presented to us for
consideration).
The Chief Justice is not only one of the
three justices on the court with an equal say
in how cases are decided, but also the chief
executive officer of the court, responsible for
liaison with other courts and state agencies,
budgeting, staffing, scheduling, and a host
of other administrative duties. The Chief
Justice has a dramatic impact on the overall
tone and operation of the court.
DK: Josh, what do you hope to
accomplish as Chief Justice?
JM: Provide effective, efficient,
accurate, even-handed, and fair justice for
the people of northeast Texas.
DK: What are the key issues in this
election?
JM: One principal issue is, "Will the
courts seek to judge or to legislate?" I will
exercise judicial restraint, the idea that the
legislature makes laws and the courts merely
apply them to the facts of each case.
Responsible management is an issue. I
will strive to keep the court's budget in line
and to seek efficiencies that can save the
taxpayers’ money, especially in this tight
budget era.
Another issue is experience. My
opponent claims it, but only one of us has
experience in this office. I am the Chief
Justice of the Court of Appeals now. I'm
doing the job now, and doing it well.
DK: What advice would you give to
someone considering running for
political office for the first time?
JM: Enjoy meeting people. Keep
smiling. Pace yourself. Remember that
asking for help (especially contributions) is
not for you, but for the cause of better
government.
DK: Where do you see yourself 8 to
10 years from now?
JM: On this court as Chief Justice
doing a great job, and continuing to serve
my church and community in other pursuits
as well.
Date and place of birth:
October 16, 1950 in
Texarkana
Current residence:
Texarkana
Married to:
Diana Morriss since 1973
Children:
Meredith Morriss Farren, Susannah
Morriss Linnett, Marjorie Morriss
Current occupation:
Chief Justice, 6th Court of Appeals
Role models:
His father and grandfather, and
Jesus Christ
Favorite food:
Muffin Burgers
(hamburgers on English muffins)
Hobbies:
Music and drama
Favorite John Grisham movie:
"The Pelican Brief"
Ideal vacation:
Sailing a sailboat
Drives:
Mercury Sable
Attends:
Fellowship Bible Church,
Texarkana
Gold Sponsors
Mark Your Calendar!
Join:
Representative Tommy Merritt
&
The next Gregg County Judge, Bill Stoudt
With Special Guests:
Texas Lieutenant Governor Bill Ratliff
Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander
6th Court of Appeals Chief Justice Josh Morriss III
12th Court of Appeals Justice Jim Worthen
SREC Committeewoman Marjorie Chandler
SREC Committeeman Tommy Whaley
Senate District 1 Republican County Chairs
Get-Out-The-Vote Rally and Barbeque
Culminating the Victory Bus Tour of Senate District 1
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Maude Cobb Convention Center
Longview
$10 per person
Tickets available at Republican Party of Gregg County headquarters, 1011 W. Loop 281, Suite 3, Longview,
or at the door.
Pol. adv. pd. by East Texas Victory Fund, P.O. Box 3644, Longview, TX 75606, John Green, Treasurer.
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