Editors Note: This is the last of a series of articles detailing Democratic candidates participating in a Town Hall meeting Tuesday.

Candidates vying for Jefferson County Court at Law No. 2 judge and the chairperson of the Jefferson County Democratic Party provided reasons why voters should elect them as their party’s nominee on March 1, during primary elections.

The candidates were part of a Town Hall meeting at the old USW Union Hall in Port Arthur Tuesday.

Two attorneys are seeking the Court at law judgeship including Jesse Branick and Terrence L. Holmes.

Branick is a partner with Trent Devenzio in the Branick and Devenzio law firm. He is a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School and has more than 26 years experience practicing law. For the past 18 years he has served as prosecutor and currently is the prosecutor for the cities of Port Arthur, Nederland, Port Neches and Groves. He is the city attorney for Nederland and the deputy city attorney for Port Arthur.

Additionally, Branick was magistrate judge for four years in Jefferson County for the mental health hearings.

Prior to obtaining his law degree, Branick worked in the business sector for 13 years.

He told the about 100 people in attendance that the No. 2 Court at law is important because A and B misdemeanor cases are decided there.

“I believe people need a second chance, to be treated with dignity,” he said.

Branick has also been active in community service since he was 21 years old, he said.

“I was on the Jaycee Board right after graduating from Lamar, been on the Nederland School Board the last six years handling large budgets,” he said.

Branick is also on the Southeast Texas Medical Center board, among others.

Holmes told the audience he was raised in the Desire Housing Project in New Orleans, the largest public housing facility in the U.S.

In spite of his upbringing, Holmes obtained an education and went on become an attorney. He worked as an Assistant County Attorney for the Orange County Attorney’s Office in Orange and as an adjunct law professor at Thurgood Marshall School of Law from 1993 to 1996. He worked as an Adjunct Professor at Lamar Institute of Technology and co-hosted “The Law and You,” a weekly legal information show. He was appointed a certified hearing examiner for Texas Education Agency, and is an ordained minister, serving as an associate minster at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Beaumont.

Holmes was appointed and has served as the magistrate of the Municipal Court for the City of Beaumont since 2009.

He has also received numerous awards and been involved in community service activities in Jefferson County over the past 30 years.

“I am a judge, attorney, ordained minister and involved in the community. I’ve been a role model, mentor trying to help somebody’s kid,” he said.

Voters will also decide between incumbent Sheila Louviere Sachitano and Cade Bernsen who will chair the Democratic Party chair in Jefferson County.

Challenger Bernsen is a native of Southeast Texas. He is a trial attorney specializing in personal injury, civil rights, and whistleblower litigation. He is involved in the community and currently serves as president of the Jefferson County Young Lawyers Associaton, among other honors.

“I am a proud Democrat, a lifelong Democrat,” he said.

He said it was important for the Democratic Party to engage young voters, those between the ages of 18 and 36 who are not voting like they should.

“When they vote and participate in elections they are invested in the community,” he said.

Bernsen said he was proud of the candidates running on the Democratic ticket.

Sachitano is also a native of Jefferson County, raised in Port Arthur and a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School.

Prior to becoming the current Jefferson County Democratic Chair, she was a school teacher with 29 years experience, a small business owner and a property manager.

“I am the only candidate with a proven track record,” she said.

The chairmanship, she said, requires fulltime dedication to accomplish task such as creating the budget, recruiting volunteers, overseeing training sessions, hosting political forums, fundraisings, and much more.

“I have the energy and the ethics to do this job,” she said.

E-mail: sherry.koonce@panews.com

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