Lee, Ransom battling for Cass County Judge

Editor’s note: The Journal-Sun reached out to Mike Lee through email and phone with no response. We would still be interested in doing a separate interview for our online newspaper. We apologize to our readers for not being able to print the opposing side.

In a hotly contested race for the Cass County Judge, the Journal-Sun has reached out to Mike Lee and Travis Ransom to ask questions of each candidate. The hope of this is to give voters a better idea of who each candidate is and what they stand for. We also asked that both candidates not use this as an opportunity to attack their opponent. Both were asked seven questions. Below are the responses:

Please give me some information about who you are? Family, background, professions, etc.

Ransom: “I’m a fifth-generation Cass County resident, a graduate of Atlanta High School and Texas A&M-Texarkana. I am an insurance agent with Offenhauser Insurance where I have worked since 2015. Prior to that, I had the pleasure of representing the interests of our community and acting as their advocate as district coordinator for Texas State Senator Kevin Eltife. I have served in the US Army Reserve over the last 24 years and continue to serve as a Brigade Level Command Sergeant Major for a military intelligence group. I have mobilized and deployed multiple times in support of peacekeeping and contingency operations around the world. Since 2017 I have also served as the Mayor of the City of Atlanta. My wife and I attend First Baptist Church in Atlanta. We have two children in Atlanta ISD and one currently in college.”

In your words, please tell me what the role of the County Judge is and why did you decide to run for the office?

Ransom: “The County Judge serves as the chief executive officer for our county, with all the responsibilities that would entail, from fiscal and human resource management to providing for our county’s safety, transportation, and public work’s needs, as well as presiding over the commissioner’s court. Together, the judge and commissioners set the priorities and budget for the county. The county government is sometimes called the functional arm of the state legislature as counties are the local government that implements laws and policies passed by the state legislature. Counties maintain roads, bridges, county jail, other county buildings, and the courthouse. The county government also provides funds for indigent healthcare, facilitates uncontested probate hearings, and the judge serves as head of emergency management.”

Please explain what qualities and experience make you a good choice for the position?

Ransom: “With eleven years’ experience serving as liaison between our State Senator and sixteen County Judges across northeast Texas, and almost six years serving as Mayor of Atlanta, I am uniquely qualified to serve in the role of county judge. I currently serve on the executive board of the Ark-Tex Council of Governments with fellow mayors and county judges from our ten-county region. This affords me an established relationship and rapport with other regional leaders and stakeholders to yield results for our county as we evaluate best practices of others facing similar challenges. I also have a good working relationship with our state and federal legislators in the region and have been endorsed by some of the strongest conservative legislators in Texas including Senator Brian Hughes and many others.”

What issues specific to our county need to be addressed and how do you plan on addressing those?

Ransom: “Communicating with transparency and in a way that reaches our residents is a challenge we face at every level of government. When there is a lack of information or when information is not easily accessible, many people make assumptions. As County Judge, I will strive to improve the openness and accessibility of our local government, just as I have as Mayor.

“We will always have infrastructure needs that will outpace our resources. We have approximately 1000 miles of roadway in Cass County. Many of those roads are in poor condition and are worsening. We also have mental health issues which are placing a strain on our law enforcement and healthcare facilities. We must find ways to address these challenges and communicate those strategies to the community.

“One area we’ve been successful in Atlanta is through economic development, which helps improve opportunity for our workforce and grows our local economy. I am excited about leveraging the success we’ve achieved through partnerships with the Small Business Development Center, the Economic Development efforts through Council of Government, and the cities throughout Cass County.”

What are some of the attributes you love about our county and some areas we need to grow in?

Ransom: “Cass County is a great place to live and raise a family. It is Smalltown, USA at its finest. In the last several years we have seen chaos and divisiveness plaguing urban areas around our nation. Cass County remains insulated from much of that. Neighbors still care about one another. I believe more and more people are discovering the benefits of living in rural America. We’ve seen an influx of newcomers recently and I believe that will continue. Improving access to rural broadband is critical to this growth. Broadband internet is the next essential utility. Without it, we are at a significant disadvantage. That is one area I’m looking forward to working on.”

If you become the Cass County Judge what are some of the things you would do to help make our county better?

Ransom: “Ensuring that we remain a safe haven for individual liberty is first and foremost. There are threats to our private property rights by way of the Marvin Nichols Reservoir which I have worked tirelessly against as Mayor and through the Preserve Northeast Texas organization, as a small businessman and landowner. It is incumbent upon our County Judge to tell our story, to be an advocate for our rural conservative values, and the chief marketing officer for our community. I want our citizens to be proud to call Cass County home and to have confidence in their local government and its elected officials. Our county government must embrace a customer service mentality, not a bureaucratic one. We are friends and neighbors, not faceless names on a census list. Cass County is a great place to live and raise a family, locate and grow your business, or visit and relax.”

Why should people vote for you?

Ransom: “I am a father, an Army veteran, a Christian, and a conservative mayor with a proven track record of putting conservative principles into action to yield actual results. In my time as mayor, we’ve cut the tax rate twice, equipped local law enforcement to reduce crime, removed blight property, helped grow our local economy, reduced debt, and improved infrastructure. I’ve also worked to advocate for our private property rights in the fight against the Marvin Nichols Reservoir by testifying against it at the Region D Water planning group and led the way by passing a resolution through the city of Atlanta officially opposing its designation as a future reservoir site. I have the experience and the quantifiable record to show for it, as well as the passion and heart for service and our community. It would be my distinct honor to represent my home, our community of Cass County, as its County Judge.”