The County Political Party Chair is both a community leader and a guardian of the party’s election process. Their work ensures that local voters have a lawful, orderly, and accessible primary election—and that the party’s grassroots structure remains strong. So, how do the two candidates for the Republican Party position view those duties, and how do they hope to carry them out?
The following are responses from Jack Brooks and Mike Millender on issues raised both locally and across Texas. The bullet points in the five sections are not necessarily asked directly; they are used to focus on matters identified as significant to the role of county party chairpersons. Those start the various sections.
Responses from each candidate are switched back and forth between them so as not to have the same person’s responses read first or last. Sections beginning with JB:=Jack Brooks, and those beginning with MM:=Mike Millender. Each candidate is invited to provide additional information on their candidate webpage or personal social media sites.
JB: I believe that all Republicans believe in God, family and country. I do not want to alienate Grassroots and Moderates because of their beliefs. I think it is possible to have a good decision and open communication and still stay within the Republican Party's platform. I have been doing some research, and I have found out that there are online and in person classes available to educate Chair and Precinct Chairs. I believe it will help us to utilize information we gather from other counties and workshops. I want to get our precinct chairs involved and be known in their precincts. From there we can plan things to do year-round, but it goes back to getting boots on the ground.
MM: It would be rare to find any two people that agree on a full range of political issues. I would concentrate on the top 5 or 6 issues and support the party platform. Trying to get all party members to agree on 20 different issues only creates division in the party. I would press local leaders and interested parties to speak at party meetings. State representatives would be invited/coerced to show their faces. To me, Franklin County is like the Iowa of Texas. Any Republican that cannot carry Franklin County probably will not carry Texas.
MM: I would not support one candidate over another during the primary period. That divides the party. The primary winner would then receive my full support. Help with signs, etc. I attend many city and county functions. These functions are the perfect chance to communicate election schedules. And now with the popularity of MVnow.com, we have another powerful tool to keep county residents informed. The high school has a TPUSA chapter. The next party chair has resources and opportunities previous chairpersons did not.
JB: The Republican Party of Texas is talking about a closed primary. The paper ballots used in Franklin County seem to be more popular throughout the State favored by the State Electoral members. We have a functioning election administrator. That word that I use a lot is “WORK”, the county chair is going to have to keep the precinct chairs informed therefore the precinct chairs need to keep the voters informed. It goes back to how we have to get information out to the voters. Our Republican County meetings need to grow in size, and back to what I've said, we've got to get some younger people involved and we've got to let people know what is going on in the federal state and local elections.
JB: Our local school board, city council and Mayor do not declare a party. Therefore, to get more republican candidates involved we have to spark peoples’ curiosity about what's going on in the county, and create interest in county government. I will have personal opinions on all of these topics, but this doesn’t come under the responsibilities of the Republican County Chair.
MM: I do not believe city or school board positions are partisan positions. Identifying qualified county positions will require some teamwork from precinct chairs, current office holders, and the party chair. Theoretically, none of those issues are partisan issues. I ran for school board not long after I moved to Mount Vernon. I do not remember declaring a party.
IV. Transparency, Communication & Public Trust: How will you ensure that party activities, finances, and decision-making processes are transparent and accessible to Republican voters in the county? What is your plan for improving communication with local Republicans—through meetings, digital platforms, or community outreach—so voters feel informed and included?
MM: Those details would be communicated at party meetings. A party group email would be another good way to communicate those details. This question sounds much like 2b. I attend many city and county functions. These functions are the perfect chance to communicate election schedules. And now with the popularity of MVnow.org, we have a more powerful tool to keep county residents informed.
JB: I have told everyone that I have talked to, I have nothing to hide, I am what you see. I would hold all meetings open to the public. We would abide by the Public Information Act, and all minutes will be recorded. I have checked with the Republican Party SREC SD1, and according to party rules the only time you really need a closed-door meeting is if the problem is related to a sensitive topic such as Censorship. The County Chair will be responsible for getting information out to the Precinct chairs. We will be using MVNOW.ORG, the online newspaper. I want to start a Franklin County Republican Party informative webpage that will be updated as we receive information from the Federal and State levels.
JB: Jackie Don “Jack” Brooks was born in Dallas and grew up in Garland. He graduated from Rockwall High School and Junior College. Cattle, horses, along with building houses for 25-30 years was his life. He was self-employed the majority of those years, but found a two-year stent with the American Shorthorn Association a good place to gain experience. From that he worked and ran many registered cattle operations. Currently, he owns and operates Jack Brooks Quarter Horses. Brooks service to the community included serving on several FFA boards, the Sulphur Bluff Little Dribblers for eight years, and Franklin County Election Committee. He moved into the Hagansport Community of Franklin County 20 years ago, and previously resided a few miles down the road in the Mahoney Community 22 years. He is married to the former Glenda Burns of Hagansport Community.
MM: Coming from a military family, Michael Miles Millender was born on Bergstrom Field, Austin and then spent the next 18 years of his life at 12 different military installations in stints ranging from six months to five years. He graduated from Iowa Park High School in 1972. Millender went on to earn a Associate of Applied Science Electronic Technology and then a Bachelor of Science (Biology) from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls. His work career began in 1973 with Sprague Electric in Wichita Falls (15 yrs), then Augat/Elfab, Lewisville and Sanden International, Wylie (30 yrs). His service to the local community has been through the Franklin County Historical Association, Mount Vernon Rotary Club, and as an advisory board member for Franklin County Community Cares. He and his wife of 36 years, Peggy, purchased property in Franklin County in April 1999, and moved her full time upon retirement in May 2020. The Millenders have a growing family including six children, 14 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Mike says, “I haven’t convinced any of the to move to Franklin County yet, but I haven’t given up on them.”
