There are five candidates running for city of Conroe municipal judge on the May 7 ballot, with incumbent Michael Davis not running for re-election for the position due to term limits.
The municipal judge is a part of the state court system that is hosted by the city of Conroe, and the criminal court handles Class C misdemeanors, according to Davis.
“[The municipal judge] is important because someone has to make decisions to make sure that justice is done,” Davis said. “A lot of people that come in are people that are indigent; they don’t have enough money to pay; or they’re disabled or have a varying amount of different situations in life, and the job calls for someone who knows it all and abides by the law, but also someone that has compassion, I think.”
Davis said the court often has more bench trials—or trial by judge—than jury trials, and he handles everything from complaints of barking dogs to public intoxication.
The municipal judge in Conroe can serve two four-year terms, and Davis said this was his 12th year because it used to be two two-year terms and he was grandfathered into the new term limit.
William Waggoner
Meloney Turner
Oscar Sommers
Kevin M. Kneisley
