County Attorney

A look at the candidates for Ector County Attorney.

>> Name: Cathy Linch

>> Age: 38.

>> How long have you lived in Ector County? 14 years.

>> What office, if any do you hold now? I am the Ector County attorney.

>> If you are an office-holder, when were you first elected? November 2004.

>> Occupation: I have been a prosecutor for 14 years.

>> Education: I graduated from Edmond Memorial High School in 1987. I received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Central State University in 1990. I received a juris doctor from Baylor Law School in 1993.

>> Family: I have been married to Brian Linch for 14 years. We have two children, Emily Linch, age 7, and Ethan Linch, age 4.

>> Why are you seeking this office? Ector County needs a full-time professional prosecutor for county attorney. I have 14 years of con-tinuous prosecution experience. Misdemeanors are crimes that impact people on a daily basis. It is important to be tough but fair on these offenses. It doesn’t matter who you are, what matters is what you’ve done. I won’t give up, I won’t back down, and I’m not done yet.

>> What are the issues and where do you stand on them? Three crimes need special attention:

Writing a hot check is a crime. By using roundups and wanted posters to go after the worst of the worst we have recovered $1.4 million in restitution.

Domestic violence destroys families. Our job is to stand up for people who can’t stand up for themselves. We have tripled prosecution of domestic violence cases.

DWI puts lives at risk every day. I have stopped the practice of letting drunken drivers plea to lesser charges, they must plead guilty to DWI or go to trial. We have convicted 1,510 drunken drivers of DWI so far.

>> Name: Cindy Weir-Nutter.

>> Age: 45.

>> How long have you lived in Ector County? Born in Midland and moved here in fourth grade.

>> What office, if any do you hold now? No public office.

>> Occupation: Attorney for 17 years working in federal court, private law practice, and prosecutor in district attorney‘s office. For past four years, primarily serving on boards and involved in volunteer activities.

>> Education: Permian High; Odessa College Associate in Arts; UTPB Bachelor of Business Administration (chosen Outstanding Graduate by Faculty); Texas Tech School of Law Doctor of Jurisprudence.

>> Family: Married to Jimmy Nutter, sons, Stoney, 13, and Dogan, 11; stepdaughter, Lexi, 12; stepson, Tyler, 20; parents, John and Sue Weir of Odessa, and Judge Joe and Martha Connally of Odessa.

>> Why are seeking this office?: I was approached by child advocates, who shared deep concerns regarding prosecution of child abuse cases and the loss of grant funding for these cases by the current county attorney. As I considered whether to accept this responsibility, more and more people approached me with a wide variety of concerns regarding serious issues. This office impacts almost every aspect of our community, and we must have excellence in our county attorney’s office.

>> What are the issues and where do you stand on them?: The main areas that must be addressed within this office include the handling of child abuse cases, hot check prosecutions, DWI and domestic violence offenders, truancy and juvenile prosecutions, working relationships with other entities, the enormous turnover rate among employees and the continual outsourcing of county legal matters. For example, during the current administration, out of only 13 DWI cases tried, 10 have been lost, and the office has lost more probation revocations on these cases than it has won. I look forward to aggressively tackling these issues and revealing the enormous potential this office has to positively affect our community.