San Angelo Holy Man Announces Independent Bid for County Judge

SAN ANGELO – A Chaplain for the San Angelo Police Department will announce his candidacy for Tom Green County Judge Saturday as an Independent candidate in the November General Election.

According to information released to local media Thursday, Gary Jenkins will make his run official Saturday at the Tom Green County Courthouse.  

Here is the announcement from Jenkins: "Gary Jenkins, a San Angelo Police Chaplain, pastor and president of the ADACCV Board of Directors will announce his candidacy as an independent candidate for Tom Green County Judge Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. on the steps of the Tom Green County Courthouse at 112 W Beauregard in San Angelo."

Independent candidates for County offices in Texas are required to follow different guidelines than candidates who run for a political party nominee like Republicans and Democrats.  

Candidates running for the nomination of their respective party in the March Primary have to file with the County Party.  For example, the four candidates vying for the Republican nomination for Tom Green County Judge have to file a treasurer appointment with the Tom Green County elections office then file an application for a place on the allot and pay a fee to the Tom Green County Republican Party.  Those candidates then compete in the primary election on March 1, 2022.  The top two candidates then meet again in a runoff on May 24, 2022 if no candidate receives over 50% of the vote in the March primary.  

The winner of the primary and/or runoff then is the party's nominee in the November General election.  

As an Independent candidate for Tom Green County Judge, Jenkins must file a treasurer appointment with the Elections office which he has.  He also must file a notice of intent to run as an independent candidate with the County Judge's office by Monday, Dec. 13, 2021.  

Then Jenkins must wait until the primary elections and runoff elections are over.  Starting May 25, 2022 Jenkins must gather 500 signatures from registered voters in Tom Green County who didn't vote in either the Republican or Democrat Primary election.  He has until June 23, 2022 to file that petition.  

Once Jenkins has 500 certified signatures, he must file the petition with the signatures with the County Judge by June 23, 2022.  The Judge must then validate and certify the petition. If the petition is certified Jenkin's name will be added to the November general election ballot as an independent.  

The General Election will be held on Nov. 1, 2022.