Gene Roberts – 44th State Civil District CourtViolated basic Notary Public guidelinesRalph Eugene “Gene” Roberts Jr. is running for the 44th Texas State Civil District Court. It is an office that requires a mind for detail and someone who demands that rules and procedures be followed carefully. Roberts is clearly not the person for the job. All major party judicial c andidates in large counties are required to submit a petition of at least than 250 signatures (Texas Election Code §172.021(e)). The Roberts campaign collected these necessary petition signatures to be submitted to the Texas Secretary of State. Roberts, who holds a permit as a Notary Public, used his official state seal to notarize nine of his own ballot petitions, three of which were officially circulated by his wife Celeste Roberts (Secretary of State’s office: Notary Public Complaint form). This is a blatant violation of the Texas State Notary Public guidelines and directly conflicts with written instructions provided to Notaries. The Texas Secretary of State’s website, “Notary Public Educational Information” section reads: “The basic rules are: the act of taking and certifying acknowledgments cannot be performed by a notary public financially or beneficially interested in the transaction; and one who is a party to an instrument, cannot act as a notary public.” Roberts is clearly “beneficially interested” in the notarization of a petition to place his own name on the ballot. Roberts’ improper notarization did not go unnoticed. A formal complaint has been filed against him with the Secretary of State. It is possible that Roberts has committed an act prohibited to Texas notaries public and he “may be subject to possible criminal prosecution, civil liability, and the revocation or suspension of the notary’s notary public commission” (Source: Secretary of State). Bottom Line |
County Criminal Court No. 6Criminal history includes DWI and “Terror Threats”Christopher Koustoubardis is seeking election as Judge on the Dallas County Criminal Court. A Criminal Court Judge makes daily, life-or-death decisions that affect both the fate of prosecuted individuals and citizens’ public safety. Incredibly, Koustoubardis includes in his candidate bio, posted on the Dallas County Republican Party’s website, the very reason why he should not be allowed to serve as a criminal court judge in Dallas or anywhere else. As noted in his bio, Koustoubardis served for six years as an Administrative Law Judge for the Texas Youth Commission (TYC). He points to this experience as a qualification. He does not, however, disclose that he was fired from the TYC as part of the department-wide housecleaning that took place after widespread physical and sexual abuse of children by TYC employees was exposed. During the housecleaning, the criminal background of all TYC employees was checked (Source: Austin American-Statesman, May 25, 2007). It turns out that Koustoubardis has a criminal record that includes serious misdemeanor offenses including Driving While Intoxicated as well as repeated charges of “terror threats” (Dallas County Government website). Bottom Line |
