Editor’s note: State Bar of Texas President Tom Vick sent the following message to members Friday.

It’s election season, which means it’s time to get to know your candidates for State Bar president-elect.

We’re planning a number of communications to make sure the president-elect candidates have a fair and equal chance to reach you with their messages and visions for our bar. Those include a Q&A in the April issue of the Texas Bar Journal and brochures that you’ll receive by mail with your ballot at the beginning of April.

We also hope to encourage more voter participation this year through a series of emails that will include a message from each president-elect candidate on topics of their choosing. The State Bar board’s Nominations and Elections Subcommittee voted today to approve the email series as part of its work to ensure that all candidates have the same opportunities to campaign.

As I reported last week, the State Bar Board of Directors has approved Lisa Blue of Dallas and Randy Sorrels of Houston as president-elect candidates. Candidates running by petition have until March 1 to submit their signatures to the State Bar, but we are unaware of anyone collecting signatures this year besides Ms. Blue and Mr. Sorrels. Voting will take place by paper and online ballot from April 2 to May 1.

Depending on where you live, you may also be voting on your State Bar district director. Click here to see the districts with open seats this year and for information on how to run for those positions.

Also, the Texas Young Lawyers Association will elect a president-elect and 13 directors in April. Raymond Baeza of El Paso and Victor Flores of Denton are the candidates for TYLA president-elect. More information on the TYLA election is available here.

If you have any questions about the election process, please let me know.

 

Sincerely,

 

Tom Vick
President, State Bar of Texas