With early voting starting Monday, Ector County Judge Debi Hays and her opponent Dustin Fawcett have been busy campaigning and trying to answer questions voters may have as to their qualifications and track records.
Debi Hays
Hays, who is finishing up her first term as county judge, bemoans the fact the county doesn’t have a public information officer like many other governmental agencies in the area. Much of the misinformation out there wouldn’t exist if only the county had someone to regularly share information from within the county, she said.
A PIO would’ve come in particularly handy during the initial months of COVID, she said.
“I begged the commissioners to please we have to have somebody, I can’t be in an interview. I can’t be on TV and I can’t be trying to figure out how to solve day-to-day problems plus COVID problems and be a voice 24/7 to everyone wanting something. I can’t do that and you can’t expect me to,” Hays said.
The commissioners agreed to hire someone for the position, but then opted not to hire the candidate that had been chosen, Hays said. The county has not been able to fill the position since then.
Ultimately, Hays said the city and the county signed an agreement that was filed with the Texas Department of Emergency Management that city personnel take on the role of spokesman during the pandemic.
A PIO could also help clear up the rumors that swirl around Hays’ relationships with city and hospital officials, she said.
“When you don’t have someone that can communicate, then there is that lack of. So getting along with others and letting people know what we’re doing… the media makes that perception, because the media is the one that ends up printing the stories that highlight what the city is doing. (Channels) Two, Seven and Nine will show the city doing wonderful things, no matter whether it’s the sheriff’s department or whether it’s a ribbon cutting, it doesn’t matter. There’s not anyone to to press releases for everything that the county is doing so the media perceives us as never doing anything or communicating with one another. Yet, if someone followed me, they would have a totally different perception of what goes on.”
Relationships
In fact, during COVID, Hays said she worked hard with Texas Department of Emergency Management District Coordinator Dudley “Dude” Speed and State Rep. Brooks Landgraf to get the Regeneron injection clinic up and running.
And, despite rumors to the contrary, Hays said she didn’t push for it to be located in Midland. She hoped it could be located in an empty building on State Highway 191 to relieve the patient loads at hospitals in both counties.
In the end, it was located at Medical Center Hospital because of timing issues. She got a call from TDEM that supplies were on their way.
“They just needed a facility so the last thing I wanted to do was go, ‘We don’t have a place yet because I really wanted to try to do it on 191, so can y’all turn around and come back in a day or two?’ No, no. My deal was I was just trying to make sure that more people got the benefit of it. That’s all.”
Despite rumors to the contrary, Hays said she frequently speaks with Odessa Mayor Javier Joven, City Manager Mike Marrero and council members. She also said she frequently interacts with county department heads.
”I’ve mentored a lot of them and helped them grow as leaders. They will call me and ask me, if they’ve got an issue in something that they’re trying to handle, ‘How would you do it? What would be the best way to do it, Debi because I respect your advice, and your leadership skills,’” she said.
Salary increases
A county spokesperson could also clear up confusion over her salary, Hays said.
Yes, she’s received two raises, but everyone in the county received raises at the same time, she said. Moreover, she remains the lowest paid person in the room when other local government officials gather, she said.
Back in 2018, a pay comparison study was done by a committee headed up by then County Attorney Dusty Gallivan. The committee recommended the IT department head, sheriff, county judge and the auditor receive raises, Hays said. The commissioners voted against the recommendation, but gave a 10% raise to county employees across the board.
Another across-the-board raise was given again in 2020, Hays said.
In between those years, the sheriff’s office, the county attorney’s office and the district attorney’s office received substantial raises, she said.
She earns $103,000 a year compared to the Midland County judge who receives $117,000, Hays said. And while she earns an additional stipend for handling some court cases, it’s paid by the state.
Hays also said she took over all of the county’s mental health cases “to be a team player.” In the past, they were divided up between the county judge and the court-of-law judges, she said.
Sheriff’s office
Although her ads tout the fact the county has increased the sheriff’s budget by $30 million to put more deputies on the streets and to purchase take home vehicles for those deputies, Hays concedes the sheriff’s office is still woefully short on deputies and detention officers.
According to Sheriff Mike Griffis, he has 16 empty deputy positions and 64 unfilled detention officer positions.
Hays insists it’s a national problem and not one the county can fix on its own.
“I think it’s just being able to find a person that wants to be really in law enforcement in today’s environment, you know, that chooses to do that. I don’t really think it’s anything against the county or the sheriff or what we pay per hour or anything like that. I don’t really think it’s any different than the teacher shortages,” Hays said.
Her opponent’s plan to redirect some of the $4 million the county has devoted to combat illegal dumping to the sheriff’s office is ill advised, she said.
“I guess if that’s what he thinks that he can do to try to fix that, well, then that’s his prerogative. You know, I think that individuals that live in an environment in which there’s a lot of trash and debris and a dump zone might take exception to that,” Hays said.
The sales tax that passed under her leadership has paid for the additional deputies and the environmental investigations unit and she’s proud of that fact.
It has also paid for additional equipment to maintain the county’s roads, but unfortunately supply chain issues has held up the arrival of some of those items, she said.
“It’s been very hard for the public to see the result of what they voted for and that breaks my heart,” Hays said. “Nobody
really realizes that if you were to take all the roads that the county is responsible for, they would stretch from El Paso all the way to Tyler, Texas. That’s a lot of roads that you’d have to try to maintain with equipment that was purchased back in the ’70s and they put bail wire on it and masking tape and duct tape. Now you’ve got the funds in which you can order new equipment so that it works all day long instead of working 50% of the day, and then it’s broke down 50% of the day.”
Youth Center
Allegations that the county issued certificates of obligation to pay for the new Ector County Youth Center in secret flabbergast Hays.
She and the commissioners did everything above board, she said.
”There is a process that you have to go through when you issue debt. There has to be postings in the newspaper. There has to be postings at the courthouse. There has to be hearings, there has to be open public hearings, and all of that is posted,” Hays said. “Anyone who would make the allegation that it has been done behind doors, and it was done secretly is ignorant to the process in which you go through to issue debt or has never set a budget, because you have to go through the same process. So individuals that would make that comment are not educated enough, and they need to not open their mouth.”
ARPA funds
Hays said she also wants to set the record straight, again, about what is going to happen with the $32 million the county is receiving from the American Rescue Plan Act.
GrantWorks, Inc. is not going to determine who gets the funds, Hays stressed.
The company is going to determine which of the organizations qualify under ARPA guidelines for the funding and it is going to conduct audits on those organizations once selected to make sure they continue to follow the rules, Hays said.
“They’re not gonna make recommendations. I mean, if there’s 35 people that apply, the commissioner’s court is gonna look at all 35. We will decide, no one will decide how that money’s gonna be spent other than us,” Hays said.
Veterans’ Services
Despite allegations to the contrary, Hays said veterans can still reach out the Ector County for services.
While its veterans’ services office was shut down when an employee retired right around the time COVID struck in March 2020, employees within the commissioners’ office have assumed all of her duties, Hays said.
Future
Hays said she’d like the west side of the loop look like the east side of the loop in terms of available amenities one day. She also dreams of the county and city coming together one day to facilitate the creation of a 100-acre sports complex that would be funded by the sports organizations themselves, along with concessions and sponsors.
Her job is a complex one with many different pieces and she hopes she’ll be allowed to continue to do it, Hays said.
“When people ask me, what do you do? I tell them it’s kind of like being the CEO of a corporation and that’s what I do. I think that without that expertise in finance, in leadership and business, that the citizens will be shortchanged.”
