One of the things I’m beginning to appreciate about long-form conversations is that sometimes a few words reveal more about a person than a résumé ever could.

During my recent conversation with Susan Werner, Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1 in Tom Green County, those words were:

“Why not me?”

Susan didn't begin her career intending to become a judge.

Before taking the bench, she spent years working inside the justice court system. She started as a court clerk and eventually became a certified Master Court Clerk. She worked alongside several judges and learned the court from the other side of the bench—dealing with cases, paperwork, procedures and, perhaps most importantly, people.

Then an opportunity presented itself.

A vacancy opened for Justice of the Peace in Precinct 1.

Susan remembers thinking about the qualifications, her experience and the years she had already spent working in the court system.

Then came the question.

Why not me?

She asked Judge McGuire the same thing.

His response was essentially the same:

Why not you?

Susan applied. Six people sought the appointment. After interviews before the Commissioners Court, she was selected and sworn in.

That was nearly ten years ago.

More Than Weddings and Traffic Tickets

I'll admit something Susan and I talked about during the interview.

When I hear Justice of the Peace, one of the first things that comes to mind is getting married at the courthouse.

Apparently, I'm not alone.

Susan told me that's what many people associate with the office. But the responsibilities of a JP extend far beyond performing marriages.

Justice courts handle traffic cases, small claims and evictions. JPs also perform magistrate duties, review probable cause following arrests, set bonds and impose appropriate bond conditions.

And then there is a part of the job most of us probably never think about.

Inquests.

When someone dies unexpectedly or unattended outside the care of a physician, a Justice of the Peace may be called to the scene.

That can mean getting a phone call in the middle of the night and driving across Tom Green County while most of us are sleeping.

Susan spoke about the first inquest she attended with Judge McGuire and about learning to remain professional while standing in a room with grieving family members.

She also acknowledged the emotional toll.

Sometimes, she said, you do your job professionally—and deal with the emotions afterward.

That part of our conversation changed my own understanding of the office.

Getting to Know the Person

I didn't know Susan before this interview.

I'd heard her name and had probably been at community events where she was present, but we'd never really had a conversation.

In fact, the interview happened because a mutual friend connected us.

Susan had apparently watched some of my previous conversations and expressed an interest in coming on the podcast.

My response was basically: Okay, let me learn who Susan Werner is first.

We laughed about that during the interview.

And that's really the reason I wanted to have this conversation.

Susan is running for reelection. Elections naturally encourage candidates to condense themselves into signs, slogans, mailers and short answers.

But a person is more complicated than a campaign sign.

Susan talked about growing up in a small West Texas community, attending vocational school, working in banking and law offices, spending several years in Alaska, raising a family and eventually finding her way to San Angelo.

We also talked about her involvement outside the courthouse—from Meals on Wheels and Helping Hands to local civic and political organizations.

Those things don't necessarily tell you how someone will rule from the bench.

But they do help you understand the person sitting behind it.

Now She Has to Fight for It Again

Susan is running for reelection this November, and the race is contested.

During our conversation she told me something else that stuck with me.

She described campaigning as fighting for something she wants.

Susan describes herself as relatively quiet and laid-back. But when something matters to her, she says there's a competitive side that comes out.

She experienced that during her first campaign, when she felt she wasn't simply campaigning for an office—she was fighting to continue doing work she had grown to love.

And now she's doing it again.

My purpose with Voices San Angelo isn't to tell you how to vote.

It's to create enough room for people in our community to tell us who they are without reducing the conversation to a sound bite.

Susan Werner came into my studio as a candidate for Justice of the Peace.

She left having given me a much better understanding of what that office actually does—and of the person asking voters to let her continue doing it.

The full conversation will be available Tuesday at 6 PM on

YouTube https://youtu.be/y2iUQCgIbmM

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/4em7Yb9QqWZaDRzqNNDpow?si=t8NIrQelRf2U8M4qEAqAzQ

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gabriel.menchaca

Listen to the conversation.

Get to know the candidate.

Then make up your own mind.

People. Issues. Community.

Voices San Angelo | A/T Podcast