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Bruce Eliker announces for Bandera County Commissioner Precinct 1

I’m seeking RE-ELECTION to be YOUR Pct. 1 County Commissioner AGAIN!
The Heart To Serve With The Knowledge And Experience To Do The Job Right!
"I still believe county government must be accessible and responsive to our community. With your vote, I will work to make your voice heard at Commissioners Court."

The Experience To Get The Job Done!     
1. I've served as your Precinct 1 County Commissioner for 11 years from Jan. 1, 2005 to December 31, 2012 and again from Jan 1, 2017 to present.     
2. I teach (part time) the Work Zone Traffic Control & Qualified Flagger classes to Texas county and city employees for the University of Texas - Arlington's Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) and have been doing so for 6 years now.  I am a former instructor for Roadway Maintenance/Preventative Maintenance procedures and Heavy Equipment Operator classes to Texas county and city employees for Texas A&M Universities Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) for 8 years.     
3. 34+ year career with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). At first I operated lots of minor equipment and later was promoted to a finish maintainer operator. I was later promoted to heavy equipment operator and ran all of the San Antonio Dist. 15’s heavy equipment, including their 40 ton crane. Was again promoter to Asst. Foreman and then Forman in the Bandera TxDOT Maintenance Section. My last promotion was to the Boerne Maintenance Section where I retired with 20 years’ experience managing the TxDOT maintenance sections of Bandera and Kendall Maintenance sections including parts of Kerr, Comal, Bexar and Medina Counties. This included roadway maintenance planning, budgeting, contract management and personnel management and matters.     
4. 27+ years’ service as an active Reserve Deputy in the Bandera County Sheriff’s Office.  Served as Chief Reserve Deputy for five of the last six Bandera County Sheriffs and held an Advanced Peace Officer & Advanced Jailer Certification's from TCLEOSE. Retired in the summer of 2007.     
5. 26+ years of service in the US Air Force, active duty from 1965 to 1969 and reserve duty from 1970 to 1992 including five and a half months active duty during Operation Desert Storm. While active duty I was in the Aircraft Control and Early Warning Ground Radar repair Air Force Specialty Code. After one year of electronics repair training on radar equipment at Kessler AFB, MS I was transferred to my first duty assignment. It was at Opheim AFS, Montana where I worked on the FPS-26A height-finder radar. Later I was transferred to Blaine, WA working on the same type of equipment. My AF Reserve duty started after I returned home to Bandera from active duty. After a short break, I re-enlisted and I was assigned to the 433rd Military Airlift Wing at Kelly AFB, TX. While there, I continued work in electronics on our Airborne Radar Equipment on assigned aircraft. Those included the  C-119, C-124, C-130-B and later the C-5A model aircrafts. My last assignment was as a Quality Control and Quality Assurance Inspector in Avionics with oversight of work performed on all assigned or transit aircrafts.

Commissioner Court assignments I have been tasked with to give each group access to a Court member before taking items to the full Court if or when necessary.     
Liaison from the Court to our county Road & Bridge Department.     
Liaison from the Court to our county Engineering Department.
Liaison from the Court to the Bandera County Convention and Visitors Bureau as a non-voting board member.

Some of Commissioners' Court major accomplishments I have supported in the 11+ years I have served on the Court.
The Court has had a balanced budget all 11 years I've been on the court with more than a 30% fund balance at the beginning of each budget year, and with many above 35%.
A new Jail and Justice Center bond election, construction with the final completion and open house in 2010.
Renovation of the Courthouse roof and upstairs County Courtroom and an elevator to the 2nd floor in 2006.
A New Road and Bridge facility completed in 2010. We established a County Road Map in accordance with  HB1117 in 2007.
Purchase of an existing building on the courthouse square for the Auditor, HR, JP1 and  JP4  offices.
Provided offices for Constable Pct. 3 and JP3 as well as the Medina polling place for elections.
Budgeted for a new Animal Control facility in the 2011-2012 budget year. 
It was completed in the 2014-2015 budget year.
Voted for the reduction of our rental-lease properties. 
We no longer have any rental-lease properties and we now own all of our county office space and work areas .
We also bought the property where juvenile probation is located.
Voted for a new roof on the old county jail located on 12th street to help preserve one of our oldest historical buildings.
Also put new roofs on the Co. Attorney's Office building, Auditor & JP1 & JP4 offices and the Tax office building.
Voted for new revised Subdivision Rules and Regulations to better protect those buying property in them.
Voted for a County Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT Tax) to help pay for promoting our county with the help of our contracted organization, the Bandera County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Voted to buy new voting machines.
I was the first Bandera County elected official to travel to Poland in 2007 (at my own expense) to represent Bandera County Commissioners Court in the Strzelce Opolskie Commune (City) and Strzelce Powiat (County) of Poland for our Sister City/County Program we were/are involved in.

​Committed To Our County     
Bandera County Resident, over 54 years, with 27+ years of volunteer service to Bandera County.
Happily married to Roma for 23 years. We have three daughters, Cassie, Nicole and husband Kevin and our Polish daughter Ewelina and husband Adam. And we have one Polish granddaughter, 2-year-old Emilka. The Polish all live in Strzelce Opolskie, Poland.
Hill Country Chapel in Pipe Creek, active member.
Frontier Times Museum, active member.
Bandera County 4H Stock Show, active supporter.
Pipe Creek VFD, active member. Castle Lake VFD, active supporter.
Bandera County Boys & Girls  Club, active supporter.
Bandera County Chamber of Commerce (Past Member)     
1. Served as Committee Chairman for their Beauty Pageants.     
2. Served as Frontier Days Parade Co-Committee Chairperson.

Things I’ve been working on and looking to get completed in the near future.
With approval from Commissioners Court, I’m working with the property owners to acquire a small piece of property on Madrona Ranch Road at SH46 to make our county road intersection safer for all users, especially our school children and their school buses turning back towards SH16.
I’ve also been working for several years to work with TxDOT to raise or at least improve the English Crossing Bridge Structure so it would not be closed during flooding weather that we receive all too often. We had a date of 2019 that was set back due to all the damage to bridge structures from all the Texas hurricanes. Commissioner Rutherford jumped in to help with contacting State Senator Buckingham and I just received word from the TxDOT Kerrville Area Engineer on Jan. 30, 2020 that our bridge has been put on schedule for replacement in Dec. 2021. These usually get pushed back, but it is progress.
I volunteered to draft a Roadway Access Agreement Policy giving the county control to permit access driveways and approaches to our roadways. I have submitted it to our Road & Bridge Superintendent, John Andrade for his review and comments.   
"I want to thank all of you for your continued support and with your vote of confidence, I look forward to serving Bandera County and Precinct 1 for another four years!”

Sincerely, Bruce Eliker, Commissioner Pct. 1