With Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 Woody Kupper retiring, Ector County voters in that district choose a new candidate in the Republican primary in March.
The winner of the Republican primary will face off against Democrat Gerardo Arzate later this year. Arzate is running unopposed in his primary.
The three candidates running in the Republican primary include Court Officer for the Ector County Sheriff’s Office Dudley Graham, 61, F. Redmon Properties LLC and Bravo Sector Security LLC owner Freddy Redmon, 44, and Bill Bowen, 74 who works in real estate.
With three candidates in the primary, the possibility exists of a run-off with the top two candidates should no one get more than 50 percent of the vote.
The primary election is March 1.
Early voting will begin Monday and ends on Feb. 25.
FREDDY REDMON
Redmon, who grew up in Monahans, has lived in Odessa since 2010.
After graduating from Monahans High School, Redmon would go on to receive his basic peace officer training from Odessa College in 1999.
“I attended the night classes with the Odessa College Extension Office in Pecos,” Redmon said. “It was a night academy while I was working for the Monahans Police Department.”
He said he came to Odessa in 2010 because his dad (Leroy) wanted to retire and so that he could take over the management of the company. He soon became owner.
“(Leroy) passed in 2018,” Redmon said. “That’s when we moved it from Redmon Enterprises to the F. Redmon Properties LLC. In reality, same company since 2010. I just went from a manager to an owner.”
Since 2017, Redmon has also been the owner of Bravo Sector Security LLC.
“It’s just a general private security company,” Redmon said.
Redmon has never run for any office and was originally in Precinct 1 before the redistricting came after the census.
“I’ve wanted to run for Justice of the Peace for a few years now,” Redmon said. “This year, I got moved into Precinct 3. I was in Precinct 1 but I got moved over. I didn’t want to run against judge (Terry Lange in Precinct 1). He’d been there for a long time. I got pulled into Precinct 3 this year and the justice is retiring. It felt like that this is the opportunity for me.”
Redmon says it’s been an experience in running for an office for the first time.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Redmon said. “You talk to some people who have run before and they give you an idea on what to expect. It’s been pleasant. I’ve met a lot of people in Odessa that I didn’t know until now. It’s been a great opportunity to meet people in the Permian Basin.”
He says that he can be “fair and impartial” and also talks about being a full-time judge.
“I’m looking to go be there from Monday-Friday, 8-5,” Redmon said. “I’ve got these two companies lined up. I’ve got part-time managers with them right now. I’ve got them lined up right now. If I were to win this election, those part-time employees would go full-time so I would no longer be directly in charge of that. I would put all of my focus on the court.”
Redmon says he wants voters to see him as “someone who wants the job.”
“I’m not ready to retire and I’m nowhere near retirement so that’s what I stress to be,” Redmon said. “I’m telling people that they’re my oral board. If you select me and give me the job, I’m going to be a working judge and they’re going to see me in the office Monday through Friday, 8-5, working for them.”
DUDLEY GRAHAM
Running for a public office for the first time, Graham has lived at Precinct 3 for 25 years now.
He has worked for the Ector County Sheriff’s Office for eight years and has been a court reporter for five years.
Graham said he worked with Justices of the Peace on a daily basis, which is part of the reason why he is seeking this position.
“I know their jobs quite well,” Graham said. “I’ve learned their job and part of their job is the magistrations. The judges asked me if I would run and they pushed the issue there and I agreed to do it. I think the world of them and they have my ultimate respect. I hate to see someone stepping down but they wanted me to run and I was born and raised here. It’s my community. This is my home. Precinct 3 has been where I’ve always been. Not just me but my family and friends and if I can get in that position to take care of them and do a good job for them then that’s what I’m going to do.”
Graham attended Permian High School, graduating in 1979. He then went to the University Southern California in Los Angeles where he received his degree in criminal justice and minored in emergency medicine.
While at USC, he was also in the Marine Corps.
“In the Marines, I was on what they call embassy duty which is the security attachment and I got assigned to a US State Department and was there for awhile while in the marines.”
Graham would remain in the Marines until 1985. It would be over a decade later when he joined the Army, joining in 1999 and serving until 2018.
He wants his voters to know he was born and raised in Odessa and that he knows the community.
“I know how they feel the most part on what they want and what they like in my precinct,” Graham said. “With my jobs in the military, I’ve learned to never judge and be fair. Everybody makes mistakes but sometimes, you have to pay for what you do. Based on working with the JPs for the last five years, I think I would be very fair and definitely just and apparently, all these judges feel the same way. Working with the Ector County Sheriff’s Department and jail I’ve gotten to do quite a variety of law enforcement in this area and in that alone, I got to deal with every aspect of my community from the community leaders to the ones that have made mistakes and ended up in jail. Some people may not like me but I’ve got their respect and that’s the thing that means the most to me. As a justice of the peace, I know I would be fair to anybody that came across my court.”
BILL BOWEN
Bowen, who is no stranger to Odessa, has run for an elected office in the past.
He ran for Ector County Sheriff back in 1976 in a crowded race but did not make it past the primaries.
For the past 20 years, he says he has worked for himself, selling and flipping houses.
He has also bought, collected and sold antique grandfather clocks.
Bowen describes himself as a “people person.”
“I’ve lived in this precinct all my life,” Bowen said. “I like serving the public. I like helping people. I think this is a good opportunity to put my experience to working for the people.”
Bowen went to Odessa High School where he graduated in 1967. He attended classes at Odessa College.
He says his past work also includes serving as constable for Ector County from 1972-1976.
“I’ve served under two Ector Sheriffs,” Bowen said. “I enjoy people. I like to help people. A lot of people don’t get a fair opportunity that they deserve and I like to see fairness and to see people treated with dignity and respect.”
Bowen says that he feels that “every case that comes before the court must be handled with justice, respect and dignity and in a manner that I would like to be treated.”
He also said that “Kindness and justices will be my mission for this office.”
