I am a local attorney that practices in Ellis County. I was born and raised in Hays, and I truly love my community. Ellis County is a wonderful place to raise my daughter and practice law. I’m speaking up because it is extremely important to me who holds the office of Ellis County Attorney.
I went to law school with both Robert Anderson, Jr. and Chris Lyon. In fact, Chris and I spent an entire semester sitting right next to each other in a class neither one of us ended up using...bankruptcy law. We visited as law students do, never knowing that we would one day practice in the same community. I found Chris to be friendly and intelligent. We ended up practicing on opposite sides of the courtroom. He as the Assistant Ellis County Attorney and me as a criminal defense attorney. We have maintained our friendliness despite our opposing views at times. I support Chris as a person and a friend, but I do not support him in his bid for Ellis County Attorney.
As a criminal defense attorney, I have been an active participant in Chris’ work as Assistant Ellis County Attorney, Hays City Attorney and Trego County Attorney. It is my opinion that he has overextended himself. His ambition is obvious, but his ability to manage on all fronts is lacking. When asked why he has taken on so much his standard answer has been that he is “just building [his] empire.” I believe the people of Ellis County deserve better than to just be part of someone’s “empire.” We deserve better than to be another job of an already overextended attorney.
I was co-counsel in a case Chris took to jury trial in Trego County that had no business going to trial. It was frivolous and totally unnecessary. A waste of taxpayer dollars. The charges were misdemeanors. My law partner was head counsel for the defense and she won the case easily. It was a full acquittal. In a previous conversation Chris had told me that sometimes you have to take a losing case to trial to “make a point.” I don’t believe taxpayer dollars should be spent on jury trials only to make a point. The justice system should be taken more seriously than that.
It bothers me that when Chris decided to step out of the Ellis County Attorney race he announced it and then threw his full support behind Robert only to remove that support when he decided to step back in. He privately met with Robert to encourage him to run. He has also told Robert that if he wins he will hire Robert at the office and pay him a higher salary than he pays himself. It sounds to me like he has more confidence in Robert than he states now that they are running against each other.
I also know Robert. We have provided professional support to each other throughout our practice. I have been closely involved in multiple cases with him in a wide range of situations. He is, absolutely, the best candidate for Ellis County Attorney.
Robert uses more than just his legal training to serve his clients. He cares about doing the right thing above his own interest in winning. He has a solid grasp on the legal system while not forgetting that he is working with humans...not just defendants. He’s not interested in “building an empire,” but in actually serving the people of Ellis County full time. Robert will not have multiple jobs that require several offices and homes throughout the state. He will have ONE office and ONE home. He will focus on ONE job.
He will not be taking frivolous cases to trial to “make a point.” He will be tough where we need toughness and wise where we need wisdom. We need someone that carefully takes matters to trial for stability and safety. That’s what we can count on Robert to do.
I’ve seen both of these attorneys in action in the courtroom. I’ve been in private meetings with both of them. I’ve seen their philosophy regarding law and order in their actions, and I wholeheartedly put my full support behind Robert Anderson, Jr. for the position of Ellis County Attorney. Please join me in voting him into office on August 4th.
Cassy A. Zeigler, Ellis, Partner at Raub & Zeigler, LLC
Editor's Note: The deadline to submit opinion letters to Hays Post regarding the August primary is noon Thursday.