Greg Evans announced his candidacy for Justice of the Peace Pct. 1, 3 and 4 last month, but he had been thinking about joining the race since last summer.
“I started thinking about it last year when I heard that Shawnee (Bass) might not run for re-election,” Evans said. “I was not going to run against an incumbent that’s done an excellent job.”
When Bass stated she was stepping down from the office, Evans still talked to many people about his candidacy and prayed for guidance.
This level of caution is nothing new for Evans, who brings 45 years of law enforcement experience.
The Van Zandt County native finished third out of 31 students at the Dallas Police Academy when he was 19. He attended Abilene Christian University, where he majored in Criminal Justice and minored in Bible Studies.
After that he served as a detective sergeant, administrative planning sergeant (of the Homeland Security/SWAT Division) and sergeant/acting lieutenant (of the Central and Northeast Divisions) in the Dallas Police Department before retiring to Erath County in 2008 and joining the Erath County Sheriff’s Office as a full time and reserve deputy shortly thereafter. Evans said his experience
Evans said his experience with homeland security and SWAT was what drew ECSO to want him on board, but his experience as Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Instructor also proved beneficial when Evans helped ECSO, other local law enforcement and area schools develop active shooter training and programs.
His background and experience helped ECSO to become one of the first agencies to put together and active shooter program after the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.
Evans has developed many relationships with local law enforcement and officials in his time in Erath and he hopes to utilize this if Erath voters pick him for the JP position.
Evans said he would bring professionalism and care whether responding to tragic events like death investigations, happy circumstances like officiating a wedding or dealing with day-to-day events like arraignments.
Evans praised many of the people serving Erath and the job they’ve done, saying he won’t come into the office and make “wholesale changes,” but offered that he will be open to making changes that can benefit the county.
One program Evans would like to institute is a ‘JP for a day’ program, offering local students interested in how local government works the chance to come and observe a typical day.
As an instructor and official, Evans believes in education, tracing it back to a day at the fair, when his mother bought him a set of encyclopedias.
“They were about one of the only books we had except for the Bible so I read them,” Evans said.