Judge Beth Smith, the 23-year incumbent in JP Pct.2, has filed for reelection. She brings to the table not only proven integrity, fairness, and community justice for all, but an extraordinary amount of the experience and education it requires to be an effective and efficient public servant.
Always above and beyond her everyday duties, she offers a true love and commitment to her position.
She states, “It’s not just a job or position, but a complete way of life. I live and breathe the position that my constituents have trusted me with for 23 years and will continue to do so.”
Her expertise and knowledge make her the best candidate for the position.
She’s lived in Mountain City for 43 years and has been serving her community and the surrounding Hays County area in every way she can. Her work was all voluntary while her husband Everett and she raised 3 children. In 1984, Mountain City incorporated and she ran to be the first mayor and served for 14 years in that position, meanwhile serving the last 38 years as the president of the then Kyle Rural Fire Department (ESD 5) and is still serving. Judge Smith has served on many boards that have given her the experience and resources to help victims, defendants and other opportunities to utilize as your JP. To name a few, The Hays County Women’s Center, CPS Board, Hays Caldwell Council on Alcohol and drug abuse, and Child fatality review board. She was nominated and elected to her first statewide board last year, TEXSAR (Texas Search and Rescue) and re-elected at the beginning of this month by the general membership of 500 volunteers across the state that serve. She’s currently a member of the Kyle Rotary Club and Kyle Chamber of Commerce.
She states, “One of my proudest accomplishments was singlehandedly introducing the Shattered Dreams program to HCISD high schools. If it has saved one life over the last 20 years, it’s been worth it. It’s now a combined effort between family, emergency personnel, faculty, staff, community, and generous businesses, and worth every minute of it”
Judge Smith is the only judge that donates all her wedding contributions to sponsor nonprofits in the community. “Weddings are fun, but also work to make enough to give to all that I’d like. I charge the least amount but have managed to donate over $100,000 in 23 years…well, with quite a bit of personal monies added to it”.
Her husband worked for 37 years for Texas Lehigh in Buda, is now retired, but understands the toll a 24/7/365 on-call job can have. She may have to leave home at 2 a.m. for a homicide and return in time to shower and throw on clean clothes to conduct a jury trial at 8 a.m.
Due to a daunting caseload in Pct 2, she anticipates adding another JP or splitting up some of the area in 2-4 years. This year alone, she conducted 120 inquest (death) investigations. Each one, throughout the process, can take hours upon hours to determine manner and cause. (As thought by the public, JPs don’t “pronounce “people being deceased.”) Being more mentally stressful than anything, the over 1,500 hours of continuing education and Judicial College hours now require that the JPs take secondary PTSD classes.
Judge Smith’s JP Court was the first to go paperless, and the only court in Hays County using texting as reminders for court dates and other business. This has saved the taxpayers money, as she has taken it upon herself to cut her budget for the last three years in a row. She also touts, “I have the best team in Hays. My clerks are extremely customer friendly and we pride ourselves on that.” Most people that show up in a court setting are probably not happy to begin with, but they usually leave with a smile.
She can be reached for any questions and additional information on her Facebook page Beth Smith JP2, www.judgebeth.com, or [email protected]
