By Josh Siatkowski | Staff Writer
Four district judge positions will be on the McLennan County ballot on Nov. 5. Although three of these tickets contain unopposed Republicans, the race for the 19th District Court is a contested and contentious one.
Incumbent Republican Judge Thomas West, 59, faces off against Barry Johnson, 68, who became a Democrat in December 2023 before filing for election. It is safe to say that neither thinks the other is fit for office. The issue with the opposing candidate, both agree, is not a matter of political lean, but of experience and character.
Johnson — who had a long career as a civil litigator in Dallas and served as McLennan County district attorney from 2018-2022 — is returning to local politics by challenging West, who is in his first term. Johnson said that much of the exigence to switch parties and run for district judge came from his perception of West’s character.
“I have not seen any judges with any poorer temperament or any worse character flaws than the incumbent in this case,” Johnson said. “That’s the reason I ran for election.”
West, who had a long career in criminal law before becoming a judge in 2021, said similar things of Johnson, calling his opponent “an angry man.”
He also denied Johnson’s claims that he has a poor temperament, saying that his efficiency as a judge disproves them. When West began his term in 2021, there was a growing backlog of 2,500 cases.
“I started with 2,500 cases in the backlog, and I get new indictments every two weeks, so that’s about 6,000 [cases] in three and a half years.”
Since then, West has held over 18,000 hearings and said he has reduced the backlog of cases to 800.
“You cannot move 5,000 cases with a bad temperament,” West said. “I have a great temperament.”
The reduction of case backlog, West said, is one of his biggest impacts in this role. According to West, every day a prisoner spends awaiting trial can cost taxpayers up to $200. On top of this, it creates a better justice system.
“Justice delayed is justice denied. And the victims are out there suffering too. They’re suffering through this five or six-year wait,” West said.
West also said his career as a criminal lawyer gives him more relevant experience to the work of a judge.
“I know both sides of the docket. I know what games they are going to play. I know they’re going to use the stall tactic to help their case. It’s part of the gamesmanship that you have to do as a lawyer, and I know all of that.”
It’s his experience, West said, that separates him from Johnson. Johnson, whose career has been almost exclusively in civil law, would have to learn the procedures. Even more than knowing the rules, West said that in his experience he has “lived the rules.”
Although the job of the Judge of the 19th District Court is to handle criminal felony matters, Johnson said his own experience still gives him the necessary skills to serve well.
“If you’re a practicing trial lawyer, which I have been, you’re constantly in the process of preparing to go to trial, or you’re going to trial. That’s where you develop the skills you need to be a judge.”
Johnson switched to the Democratic Party on the day he filed for the election. While Johnson acknowledged that much of this change was to give him a chance to run against West, the Democratic Party is not entirely foreign to him.
“I think like the majority of people out there,” Johnson said. “I’m moderate to moderate-right on some issues and moderate to moderate-left on some issues. … I think the majority of people fall into that [category].”
Just a few years ago, Johnson was the district attorney as a Republican before losing badly to Josh Tetens in 2022. Johnson said that the election of Tetens, who is further right than him, influenced him to leave the Republican Party.
“The more extreme right-wing faction of the party took hold of the party, and they jumped in full speed to defeat me and did so in a 70-30 defeat,” Johnson said. “Republicans didn’t like moderate Republicans anymore, and there was room for a moderate Democrat, and so here I am.”
However, when running for a position that relies more on competence and character than political views, the party label is unimportant, Johnson said.
“It’s my position that if there were an area of elected offices where it really wouldn’t matter if you say ‘I’m a Republican’ or ‘I’m a Democrat,’ it would be in the Judiciary.”
