— As the new chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party, Billy Oliver wants to see a contested race in every election. To him, it’s vital to the county as a whole to have strong opposition in every race.

If every election had at least one Democrat and one Republican candidate, it would balance out the race. And it would make peope realize that they do not have those jobs for life, Oliver said.

“We can’t have a small group of people running the county for years,” he said. “It’s stale.”

Oliver, 51, will be sworn in as the JCRP chairman during a ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 22. But he has not been involved with politics for long. He works as a mechanical engineer, creating new products for Helena Laboratories in Beaumont.

Oliver, who lives in Port Neches, served as precinct chairman for two years before people started telling him that he would make a good party chairman, a position that represents the entire county. He seriously started thinking about it then.

“What made me do it was that a lot of people who have been in politics a long time had confidence in me,” he said. “I feel pretty honored.”

One of those people was Shane Howard, Jefferson County tax assessor-collector.

When Howard was chairman of the party, he met Oliver in the winter of 2010 while he was recruiting precinct chairmen and Oliver stepped up to volunteer. Oliver would always ask “How can I help?” and be there whenever he could, Howard said.

One of their first interactions involved moving furniture in the rain. Oliver donated his time and his truck for the rainy day occasion.

He is a hard-working guy who understands how volunteer organizations work, Howard said. He focused on neighborhoods and made sure they had the support and the information they needed to vote.

As party chairman, Oliver said he would continue to focus on the voters. He wants to get out there and meet the Republican voters. He wants to create a personal relationship with the voters and get everyone involved. And he wants to walk them to the polls.

The next time voters would be able to enter the polls is Nov. 6, and the last day to register to vote before that election is Oct. 9.

For the next 80 days, Oliver wants to improve the party structure, building it back up from the ground. He believes this county needs a strong party with a grassroots foundation. It may not happen in the next 80 days, but it might in two years, he said.

“Hopefully, in two years we will have a whole handful of Republicans running and the full party out and functioning at every level,” Oliver said.

In the past, too few people had to do too much work, he said. He wants many people focusing on specific tasks to improve the party’s efficiency and get Republicans elected across the county.

Jefferson County has been going downhill for the past 30 years, he said, and he attributes that trend to the one-party rule. There are no checks and balances, he said.

“We can do better,” Oliver said.

This area has not had growth like North Texas, yet it possesses assests like a port, an airport, industry and infrastructure, he said.

“Nobody moves to Jefferson County,” Oliver said. “We got to change that.”

The JCRP ceremony to swear in Oliver will be held Aug. 22 in the Cafe Del Rio party room from 5-7 p.m. The restaurant is located at 2830 Interstate Highway 10 East, Beaumont, Texas, 77703.

bcrum@panews.com