By Chris Moore

chris.moore@panews.com

 

BEAUMONT — Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick was elected to his third four-year term over his Democratic challenger Nick Lampson on Tuesday. In the past, Branick has hinted that this term could be his final. In a Q&A with the Port Arthur News, Branick talked about the campaign, coastline projects, the next four years and how his decision on this term being his final one isn’t set in stone.

Q: You’ve hinted that this may be your last term. Is that still true?

A: My wife wants it to be my last term. When I wrote my letter, that’s what I said. I’m going to wait and see. I don’t want to retire that young, but I understand her wanting to have some time where I’m not working so we’ll continue to have communications about that. My dad 97 and my mom is 90. All of my grand parents were in their 90s and 100s. I don’t want to retire as such a young age and sit around and watch TV. We’ll have to see what happens.

Q: The election was a close race. Were you surprised that the margins were that slim?

A: No, I wasn’t surprised. Jefferson County has a long history of being controlled by the Democratic candidates. My opponent was well known in this community for years.

There was also the Beto effect, where you have a charismatic candidate who is extremely well funded running against the probably the most intelligent guy in the senate a guy who is full of charisma.

Going back to the Civil War, I can’t think of a time where we’ve been more polarized societally.

Q: What issues do you think resonated with the voters?

A: I don’t think issues as much as it was identity. Are you an “R” or are you a “D”? Unfortunately, we’ve reached a point in history where people on both sides seem readily willing to demonize the opposition. It’s very unfortunate that people can’t hold philosophical views without their integrity or their humanity being called into question.

Q: Lampson campaigned on growing the county and post-Tropical Storm and Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. Given the margin of victory, do you believe those areas need to be looked at further, or was the voting simply party identification?

A: I think it was misleading. We’ve gotten well over a billion dollars in relief aid in the aftermath of Harvey that has gone directly to the people of Jefferson County, which is well more than the other 41 counties who received disaster declarations.

My focus going forward is to deal with the federal government. The state and local government are always ready to begin the recovery mission. It’s the regulations that cause things to be delayed 12-15 months.

I thought it was misleading for (Lampson) to act we were behind other counties when in fact we were ahead of them. He mentioned Port Arthur residents and we don’t handle their long-term housing recovery.

As far as the other part, we haven’t loss population. We’ve gained population. It hasn’t been as dramatic as some of the other areas that are around Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston. There has been tremendous growth in those areas. However, our job creation and economic investment per capita has been greater than those areas. Growth for the sake of growth is pointless if you lose your quality of life.

Q: Do you believe switching form the Democratic Party to the Republican Party caused any ill feelings?

A: I’m sure there were some. I had people that had my signs in their yard when I was a Democrat. I had long histories with them and they had my opponent signs in their yard. I don’t know of anything more open and honest than to go to the party that currently reflects your philosophical bend. No. 2, to do it a year and a half before the election so that the other side has an opportunity to contest it, was the best way I could think of. If I wanted to be devious, I could’ve waited until Nov. 8 to switch, which would’ve been much easier for me. I don’t think I was intellectually dishonest with anyone.

Q: How do you see the Sabine Pass improvements play out over the next four years?

A: It’s a seven-year project. The president signed a bill that appropriates funding to the United States Army Corps of Engineers and they would have to select our project from that funding source. I am keeping my fingers crossed that right around Thanksgiving we’re going to hear some news. I’m hoping for an early Christmas present.

Q: What has the county accomplished with McFadden Beach and what more needs to be done?

A: We have $85 million in funding. The vast majority of that comes from the BP Oil spill. We are waiting for a permit for the siphon project, which will allow us to restore fresh water inflow. We’re reading to start construction as soon as the corps issues that and we are calling every week to check on it. On our beach dune project, we are looking at a May 2019 start. We have weekly calls for that one.

Q: Do you think citizens of Jefferson County realize the importance of, or fully appreciate McFadden Beach?

A: I don’t know that the vast majority of people understand how important that areas is to reducing storm surge form hurricanes and how much it protects our coastlines. There is probably a lot of people that don’t realize how important that 139,000-acre marsh is to fish, crab, shrimp and water fowl. Most people appreciate it form a recreational standpoint. It is a gem of an area that receives visitors from all over the world. I don’t think enough people in our county take advantage of the opportunities that are there.

Q: I understand that Harvey was, hopefully, an anomaly. With some of the recent flooding, do you think that the county has taken a reputation hit because of the floodings?

A: I don’t think. We are much, much better off than we were 20 years ago. Drainage District 6 has gotten well over $100 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant funding that they have used to dramatically improve drainage in the county. The damage form Harvey would been much worse if it weren’t for their improvements. There are still improvements to be made and they are working to get funding for those.

Q: What do you want to accomplish most over the next four years?

A: The things I wanted to achieve most four years ago were costal restoration, deepening of the ship channel, improvements to our hurricane levee system, improvements to our flood control — those have either been accomplished or will shortly be accomplished. I guess what I like most to see happen is have a better educated and trained work force and see people who have a family history of poverty rise out of that poverty. We sometimes have discussion in this area about — there are sometimes allegations made about racism. There certainly some in this campaign. There was suggestions made by supporters of my opponent that the would ‘represent all parts of the county and not just some parts.” They were veiled racial slams. I don’t know one Anglo person in this county — maybe there is a person in the Arian Brotherhood in the prison that wishes black people ill, just as there might be an Nation of Islam person out there that wishes all white people ill. I don’t know one white person that I come across that doesn’t want members of the black community to have better jobs, live in better homes, make more money and be better educated. That’s what I’d like to see. I’d like to see the most impoverished in our community transition to high-paying jobs.

Q: If this is your final term, what do you think you will do afterwards?

A: This Saturday night, my wife and I are celebrating a Young Life banquet. It’s a national high school ministry that’s been around since the 40s. Now, it’s international. The purpose of the ministry is to introduce high school students who never darken the door of a church to Jesus Christ and do it in a way that doesn’t bore them. They have 22 camps I the United States. When kids go, we promise it will be the best week of your life or your money back. They are really, really nice camps with a lot of things to do. I could see myself as grounds keeper or something at one of those camps or a carpenter or working the kitchen or something.