How to be a political candidate in Wise County

By D. A. Sharpe, 2007

Many citizens don’t know exactly how to become a political candidate in Wise County. This article is intended to help citizens decide if they should make that commitment for public service. The article is written from a bi-partisan perspective, so it’s of use for candidates either in the Republican or the Democratic Parties.

The next primary elections for the Democratic and the Republican parties of Wise County are March 4, 2008. Yet preparing to run often begins more than a year earlier. You may have already seen several public announcements from incumbents and intended challengers.

Any qualified citizen (registered voter residing in Wise County) who aspires to an elected office should probably begin planning now or in the very near future. This article can serve as a road map for becoming a candidate.

First, you may be interested in the compensation paid this elected offices. Here is the current information:

List of Elected Officials Salaries for FY2008
Elective Office	Party	Official	Next Election	Annual Salary	Annual Allowance	Total
Does not list fringe benefits
County Judge	R	Bill McElhaney	2010	$75,000.00	$7,500.00	$82,500.00
County Clerk	R	Sherry C. Parker	2010	$59,300.00	$5,000.00	$64,300.00
County Court at Law Judge	R	Melton D. Cude	2010	$140,000.00		$140,000.00
District Judge	R	John Fostel	2010	$140,200.00		$140,200.00
District Attorney	R	Jana Jones	2008	$139,600.00		$139,600.00
District Clerk	D	Christy Fuqua	2010	$59,200.00	$5,000.00	$64,200.00
Justice of the Peace Prec #1	D	Jan Morrow	2010	$52,100.00	$8,000.00	$60,100.00
Justice of the Peace Prec #2	R	Terri Johnson	2010	$50,000.00	$8,000.00	$58,000.00
Justice of the Peace Prec #3	D	Mark Autry	2010	$51,000.00	$8,000.00	$59,000.00
Justice of the Peace Prec #4	R	Clay Poynor	2010	$50,000.00	$8,000.00	$58,000.00
County Attorney	R	Greg Lowery	2008	$100,850.00	$7,500.00	$108,350.00
County Treasurer	R	Katherine Canova	2010	$61,000.00	$7,500.00	$68,500.00
County Tax Assessor-Collector	R	Monte Shaw	2008	$58,000.00	$7,500.00	$65,500.00
Constable, Precinct #1	D	Dennis R. Hudson	2008	$27,800.00	$10,000.00	$27,800.00
Constable, Precinct #2	R	Leonard Denney	2008	$27,300.00	$10,000.00	$27,300.00
Constable, Precinct #3	R	Wingate K. Williams	2008	$26,330.00	$10,000.00	$26,330.00
Constable, Precinct #4	D	Joseph W. Gilliland	2008	$28,100.00	$10,000.00	$28,100.00
County Sheriff	R	David Walker	2008	$63,000.00	*	$63,000.00
Commissioner, Precinct #1	R	Robert Rankin	2008	$60,500.00	$14,000.00	$74,500.00
Commissioner, Precinct #2	R	Kevin Burns	2010	$60,500.00	$14,000.00	$74,500.00
Commissioner, Precinct #3	R	Mikel Richardson	2008	$61,100.00	$14,000.00	$75,100.00
Commissioner, Precinct #4	R	Terry Ross	2010	$60,500.00	$14,000.00	$74,500.00
Totals				$1,451,380.00	$168,000.00	$1,579,380.00
$125,000 of the District Judge and District Attorney each comes from the State
$15,000 of County Judge comes from the State
$31,250 of County Attorney comes from the State