Incumbent Chuck Ruckel (Republican) is running for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3-1.[/caption]
Chuck Ruckel (Republican)
Incumbent
What is the biggest challenge facing Collin County as it pertains to law enforcement, the judicial system, and/or your position?
The biggest issue for Justice Court 3-1 will be the increases in Collin County's population over the coming years. My court currently has the most civil filings and second most criminal filings of any Justice Court in Collin County. I expect our caseload to increase proportionately with the population. The challenge will be to provide high levels of service to the citizens without drastically increasing the costs.
What will be your first order of business if re-elected?
When I am re-elected my top priority will be to continue the innovative mediation docket that I began appropriately a year ago. This docket has resulted in a large reduction in case backlog and increased court efficiency. The second priority would be to continue to increase the use of technology. This would make it easier to file and follow cases and help with Courtroom testimony. We are currently in the process of accomplishing this.
Ramona Brumfield (Democrat) is running for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3-1.[/caption]
Ramona Brumfield (Democrat)
Challenger
What is the biggest challenge facing Collin County as it pertains to law enforcement, the judicial system, and/or your position?
The biggest challenge facing Collin County are the high eviction rates coming to the Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3-1 courtroom every Tuesday and Thursday. There are at times 40 to 60 evictions performed per session in the JP3-1 courtroom. Evictions can create a potential homeless population right here in Collin County if not addressed. There are over 400 homeless Plano ISD students that are affected by these evictions, which also lead to truancy issues. The Justice of the Peace courtroom can and should establish a collaborative pilot program designed to assist landlords and tenants. This program will assist families from receiving credit damaging judgments by assisting them with back rent payment assistance. There are currently community agencies with funding that are willing to assist me in establishing an eviction diversion program to help combat the high eviction problem in the JP3-1 Courtroom.
What will be your first order of business if elected? A better question might be, what will be your top priorities if elected?
Once I am elected as the Justice of the Peace Judge in Collin County my top priorities are as follows: (1) Establish the JP 3-1 Eviction Diversion program to assist with reducing the high eviction rate performed in the JP3-1 courtroom and establishing dignity back to families. (2) Establish E-filing, which is an electronic database to have court documents image, uploaded and stored properly with quicker accessibility. (3) Establish night court for more public accessibility.
