Doris Golemon, chief of staff for Montgomery County Judge Alan Sadler, filed her candidacy Dec. 4 to replace Sadler for the upcoming Republican Primary March 4.

Golemon has served as Sadler's chief of staff since February 2012, overseeing the day-to-day administrative operations of the county. Before serving the position, she served nine years as the executive director of the Montgomery County Food Bank, during which time she managed a $10 million budget with an annual 4 percent administrative budget.

"Once employed by the county, I saw firsthand what the county judge's responsibilities were and knew that I had the background, the leadership abilities and the experience for the job", Golemon said.

If elected to the position, Golemon said she hopes to represent the taxpayer rather than small interest groups. She said her top priority is to ensure commissioners court is transparent, ethical and fiscally responsible.

"Keeping our taxes flat is not good enough for our taxpayers," she said. "The commissioners court should be planning and prioritizing the needs of the county, putting money aside for the future. With the growth our county is experiencing, and the increase in our appraised value of our property there should be no reason our tax rate should not be lowered."

Golemon said she believes creating a strategic plan for the present, as well as 10 years in the future, will be critical to forecasting future projects and the need for tax dollars.

"With the proper planning, there should not be any reason for the court to vote to borrow funds; it is a decision that voters should be making," she said. "A lack of planning and prioritizing has left the county taxpayer with a tax rate that has remained the same for years, yet tax payments have only increased."

Precinct 2 County Commissioner Craig Doyal and Mark Bosma, director of infrastructure for Montgomery County, have also filed for the Republican Primary in March. The general election will be in November. Sadler announced he would not be running for re-election last year after more than 20 years serving as county judge.