Endorsement: Vote for Rockwall attorney, former twice-elected ...

ROCKWALL ? Experience matters. That?s why we highly recommend you vote for widely-respected Rockwall attorney and former twice-elected Dallas Co. Criminal Court Judge Jim Pruitt for State Representative in House District 33 on Texas Primary Election Day, May 29, or during early voting which runs now through May 25.

The new House District 33 includes all of Rockwall County and portions of Collin Co., including Frisco.

Many others agree. The pro-life conservative has been endorsed by The Dallas Morning News, the Texas Association of Realtors, Americans Ending Abuse, State Sen. Bob Deuell and most of Rockwall County?s elected officials.

Besides being elected twice by voters in 1994 and 1998, Judge Pruitt was elected by his judicial peers as the Dallas County Presiding Judge for three years and Local Administrative Judge for two years.

As the Presiding Judge, he worked closely with the legislature regarding laws that would affect the criminal justice system and was instrumental in creating the first dedicated family violence court in Dallas Co. He also collaborated with the Department of Public Safety to write the first regulations governing driving-while-intoxicated ignition-interlock providers.

While on the bench, Judge Pruitt was also active in outside legal activities. He became Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (about one percent of the lawyers in Texas are board certified in this area) and was elected Chair of the Dallas Bar Association Criminal Law Section, a group whose membership includes prosecutors, judges and defense lawyers.

A dedicated believer in Second Amendment rights, Pruitt was the founder and a lead lecturer for a Weapons Education Safety Training Program. This class taught weapons law and law regarding self defense and protection of property to groups including attorneys and law enforcement officers.

He has been a member of the Dallas County DWI Task Force, the Interlock Ignition Advisory Council, the American Probation and Parole Association and, currently, the North Texas Crime Commission. He has spoken to numerous legal groups regarding various legal issues including weapons, DWI laws, family violence issues and judicial ethics.

Judge Pruitt earned a reputation as a tough but fair jurist, who demanded that criminal defendants pay financially for the system that was created to deal with their actions. In his eight years as a judge, he collected millions of dollars in fines and court costs from defendants. He once put notorious Dallas Co. Commissioner John Wiley Price in jail.

For his honesty and integrity, he has been lauded by his peers and citizens as a man of action who can work and communicate with people from all walks of life.

After leaving the bench, Pruitt moved to Rockwall County and became the managing partner of Culpepper and Pruitt with offices in Rockwall and Dallas. When his wife, Kenda Culpepper, was elected as the Rockwall County District Attorney in 2008, he created the Pruitt Law Firm which practices law in areas including mediation, family law and intellectual property law. Jim?s daughter also works for the firm.

He recently rolled out a comprehensive plan to improve ethics and transparency in the Texas House. His reform plan comes after several public scandals involving State Representatives and a special interest lobbyist. His proposed reforms include:

• Require all political advocacy groups to provide the names of donors and donation amounts on their website.
• End pension benefits for State Representatives convicted of felony criminal activity.
• Phase out the state pension program for State Representatives because their public service was never meant to be a full-time career.
• Impose additional disclosure requirements when Representatives meet with registered lobbyists.
• Enact more severe fines and penalties, including possible incarceration, for Representatives guilty of egregious ethics violations.
• Prohibit Representatives from serving as paid lobbyists immediately after stepping down from the Texas House.

His ethics reform plan is a first step towards shining the light on the Texas House and ending the backroom politics that have caused Texans to lose trust in their elected leaders.

Although his opponent, businessman Scott Turner, seems to be fine man with plenty of conservative endorsements, this is not his time. Turner has nowhere near the experience nor qualifications that Pruitt has.

Rockwall and Collin County voters would be smart to vote for Pruitt because he is honest, fair and a dedicated, life-long Republican who knows the territory who will hit the ground running as soon as he is elected. Turner would have to spend months learning the ropes in Austin, due to his inexperience.

For more info about Pruitt, see www.pruittfortexas.com or call (469) 698-8550.

By J.J. Smith, Publisher

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