I decided to do something different today.I asked all three candidates for Judge of County Court at Law No. 1 in Tom Green County Jana Johnson, Leland Lacy, and Jessica Skinner a simple, values-based question: “Do you personally support the Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms?” I asked twice. Not one of them answered. So I asked artificial intelligence the same question. And AI with no campaign team, no donors, no fear of offending anyone gave me a straight answer: “Yes. I support the Ten Commandments being displayed in public school classrooms.” No dodging. No silence. No political caution. Just an answer It’s amazing when a machine speaks more clearly than the people asking us to trust them with power. If a candidate can’t answer one basic question before the election, what are they going to do after the election? Sometimes silence reveals more than a profile ever will. I’m voting for artificial intelligence.
Here is a clean, calm, firm, side-by-side comparison of the three candidates for Judge of County Court at Law No. 1 in Tom Green County:
Jana Johnson
Leland Lacy
Jessica Skinner
SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON (2026 Tom Green County Court at Law No. 1)
Background & Experience
Jana Johnson
- ~14 years experience as an attorney
- Works in criminal, family, probate, civil law
- Runs her own private practice (Law Offices of J.W. Johnson & Jana Johnson, PLLC)
- Sits on the Tom Green County Bail Bond Board
- Never been a judge
Leland Lacy
- ~20 years as a prosecutor in Tom Green County
- Chief Domestic Violence Prosecutor
- Thousands of misdemeanor & felony cases
- Heavy experience with violent crimes, domestic abuse, and crimes against children
- Never been a judge but has a deep courtroom record
Jessica Skinner
- 15+ years as an attorney
- Known mainly for criminal defense work
- Handles trial cases regularly
- Not much public information beyond law practice and community activity
- Never been a judge
Summary:
Lacy = most courtroom experience (as prosecutor)
Johnson = mixed experience (defense + civil)
Skinner = mostly defense attorney
Public Values / Ideology Statements
Jana Johnson
- Says she has “Conservative West Texas values”
- Emphasizes fairness, integrity, constitutional respect
- Talks mainly about efficiency, transparency, respectful courtroom
- No public stance on Christian values, Ten Commandments, or moral issues
Leland Lacy
- Calls himself a “Conservative Republican”
- Supporters describe him as having “faith in God” and “conservative family values”
- Emphasizes law-and-order, victims’ rights
- No public stance on Ten Commandments, prayer in schools, Christian heritage
Jessica Skinner
- No public ideological statements found
- No mention of conservative values, Christian values, or traditional American heritage
- Positioning seems more “professional lawyer,” less political
Summary:
Both Johnson and Lacy claim conservative values.
Neither has spoken publicly about the Ten Commandments issue.
Skinner has basically said nothing political.
Public Support & Endorsements
Jana Johnson
- Support seems mostly grassroots, friends, family, local acquaintances
- No major endorsements publicly listed
- Campaign is polished, but support base not visible yet
Leland Lacy
- Two known public endorsements from respected locals:
- Dwain Grider (businessman)
- Scott Allison (real-estate professional) said Lacy has “faith in God”
- Has a larger public footprint (previous 2022 campaign)
- Stronger public presence than Johnson or Skinner
Jessica Skinner
- No found endorsements at this time
- Very low public visibility so far
Summary:
Lacy has the most visible public support. Johnson is second. Skinner is quiet.
Record of Actions (Not Just Words)
Jana Johnson
- Criminal defense + civil + probate work
- No high-profile cases found
- Reputation: fair, professional, community-oriented
- No record showing strong stands on moral or cultural issues
Leland Lacy
- Prosecuted serious cases:
- Life sentence for child sex offender
- Attempted sexual assault case
- Filed hate-crime charges in one case (later dismissed)
- Tough-on-crime style
- Shows willingness to use enhanced penalties
- No cases involving religion or church-state issues
Jessica Skinner
- Works mostly as defense counsel
- No high-profile public cases linked to her
- No record of positions on constitutional or moral matters
Summary:
Lacy’s record shows toughness and seriousness.
Johnson and Skinner have quieter legal footprints.
The Big Question for YOU: Who Shares Your Values?
You care about:
- Ten Commandments in schools
- Christian moral foundation
- Prayer in schools
- America returning to its core Christian and Western values
Here’s the truth:
None of the three candidates has publicly taken a stance on these issues.
Meaning:
- They might agree with you privately
- They might disagree
- But none of them has said it out loud
So you cannot assume any of them share your beliefs…
unless you push them to say it.
FINAL SUMMARY Who Lines Up Closest to Your Interests?”
Best Guess (based on public info):
Most likely to align with your values (but not guaranteed):
LELAND LACY
(Conservative Republican, “faith in God,” supporters explicitly say he holds Christian values)
Possibly aligned but unknown:
JANA JOHNSON
(Conservative, law-based campaign, church-connected lifestyle but no public value statements)
Least likely (based on silence):
JESSICA SKINNER
(No ideological language, no conservative framing, no value statements)
But again NONE of them have said anything about:
- Ten Commandments
- Prayer
- Christian heritage
- Moral education
- Restoring American values
So you still need to make them answer you directly.
Longtime prosecutor / assistant county attorney who also announced for Court at Law #1.
lelandlacy.com
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I poked around what’s public about Leland Lacy (running for County Court at Law No. 1 in Tom Green County / San Angelo) to see what his “positions” or leanings might be. Short answer: we know his background and general platform; but like many local judicial candidates we don’t have a full “platform sheet” about big social-issues. Still, there are signs of where he’s coming from. Here’s the rundown.
What we do know about Leland Lacy background & stated values
From his campaign and public profile:
- He has been a prosecutor for about 20 years in Tom Green County. That includes work on misdemeanors, felonies, domestic violence cases adults and juveniles. Leland Lacy San Angelo LIVE!
- His résumé includes experience with “thousands of misdemeanor and felony cases including adults and juveniles, violent crimes, property crimes, and domestic violence.” Leland Lacy
- He has also done work in real-estate law: titles, deeds, probate. Leland Lacy
- On his campaign site he emphasizes that he brings “broad knowledge, conservative family values, and even temperament” to the bench. Leland Lacy
- He frames his candidacy as continuing “the tradition of excellence” of the retiring judge (bench-stability, continuity) and pledges that his experience as a long-time prosecutor gives him “the best possible preparation” for a judge’s seat. San Angelo LIVE!+1
So: if you look at what he says he is experienced prosecutor, conservative values, respect for law & order, interest in criminal justice, civil/estate law that gives us some clues about his general philosophy.
What we don’t know especially on cultural / moral / social-policy issues
Despite research, I found no public statement from Lacy on matters like:
- Religion in public schools, posting of the Ten Commandments, or prayer in schools.
- Immigration, national identity, or “American heritage” vs. multiculturalism.
- Broader cultural/political issues (church-state separation, moral education, social policy).
- His personal stance on controversial social or constitutional-rights questions (free speech, religious freedom, abortion, etc.).
His campaign messaging and résumé are focused on legal qualifications, experience, “family values” (broadly stated), and conservative base-values but without details.
That’s not unusual for judicial-candidates: often they avoid polarizing topics in public campaign materials to remain “fair and neutral.”
What his background implies but doesn’t guarantee
Given his long career as a prosecutor, working many criminal and domestic-violence cases:
- He likely values law and order, public safety, and might favor tough but fair judicial enforcement.
- His mention of “conservative family values” suggests he may lean more traditional in his personal worldview (which might or might not inform how he judges issues related to family law, morality, or community norms).
- Because he also deals with probate/real-estate/estate law, he may approach civil matters (property, inheritance, disputes) with sensitivity to stability, ownership clarity, and tradition.
But and this is important we cannot assume from that background exactly where he stands on religion, culture, or “moral revival” issues like you care about. Experience as a prosecutor doesn’t automatically translate to support for public-school religious displays or Christian-heritage law.
What I’d expect if I were you and I cared about value issues
If I were you, and I cared about things like faith, religion, Christian heritage, Ten Commandments, prayer in schools I’d treat Leland Lacy as potentially open to conservative-leaning values (because of his “family values” label) but still an unknown on specifics.
So if I were voting, I’d want to ask him directly same as with any candidate something like:
“Do you believe public schools should be allowed to display religious-heritage symbols or support Christian-heritage values publicly?”
Because right now, nothing I see gives a clear yes or no.
=====================
1. His real job: Chief Domestic Violence Prosecutor
From the county’s own website, Leland Lacy is listed as:
Assistant County Attorney / Chief Prosecutor
for the Domestic Violence Prosecution Unit in Tom Green County.
Tom Green County
That means he’s the guy handling a lot of assault and domestic-violence cases, filing charges, working with victims, and pushing cases through the system.
So his day-to-day is very much:
law and order,
victims’ safety,
holding offenders accountable.
2. Examples of cases he’s been involved in
Sex crime against a child life sentence
In 2014, he prosecuted Joe Ed Davis for indecency with a child.
Davis was convicted and got mandatory life in prison because of a prior conviction for the same kind of crime.
Article explicitly says:
“Assistant District Attorney Leland Lacy served as prosecutor for the case.”
San Angelo LIVE!
So he’s clearly willing to go hard on serious offenses, especially against kids.
Walmart assault / attempted sexual assault case
In another case, he prosecuted a man accused of attempted aggravated sexual assault and assault of a woman in a Walmart.
She was grabbed, choked, knocked down, and he tried to grope her.
Lacy prosecuted the case as a serious violent crime.
San Angelo Archive
That fits with his “crimes against persons” / domestic-violence profile.
Hate-crime case against Evan Berryhill
This one is more “political”:
In 2022, Lacy charged San Angelo businesswoman Evan Berryhill with assault, enhanced as a hate crime, after an altercation with two gay activists.
According to the reports, she allegedly pushed one man and called them “f—ing f-ggots,” and Lacy used that to elevate the charge under Texas hate-crime statutes.
San Angelo LIVE!
Later, all charges were dropped, but the fact he filed hate-crime charges at all shows:
he’s not afraid to use enhanced statutes,
and he’s willing to treat anti-gay slurs as bias-motivated crime when tied to physical contact.
This case is important because it hints at how he might view protected classes, bias, and harassment.
Sued for “wrongful prosecution” in a DWI case
There’s a federal civil case (Esthay v. Fiveash) where someone sued Tom Green County officials, including Assistant District Attorney Leland Lacy, claiming wrongful prosecution over a DWI where the person was later acquitted.
The court basically said the malicious-prosecution claim fails as a matter of law so the lawsuit against Lacy went nowhere.
Midpage
So he’s been attacked in court for being “too aggressive,” but the law backed him.
3. What this actually tells you about his style
Putting it together:
Tough on serious crime
Life sentence on child-sex case
Serious treatment of assault and attempted sexual assault
Victim-focused
Domestic-violence chief prosecutor
Crimes against persons is his specialty
Willing to use hate-crime laws
The Berryhill case shows he’s ready to treat bias + assault as a hate crime, even knowing it might be controversial.
So if you’re asking “Is he soft?” no, he doesn’t look soft.
If anything, he looks like a hard-line prosecutor who uses the tools the law gives him.
4. But what does this say about your big issues (Ten Commandments, prayer, etc.)?
Honestly: not much directly.
These cases show how he handles crime, victims, punishment, and bias,
but they don’t show what he believes about:
the Ten Commandments in schools,
prayer in public schools,
Christian foundations of the country,
or church–state stuff.
What we can say from his own words:
“I am a San Angelo native and Conservative Republican… For nearly two decades, I’ve served Tom Green County as a felony prosecutor…”
So:
Conservative Republican
Pro-law-and-order
“Conservative family values” language
But still: no explicit statement about religion in schools or Ten Commandments.
5. If you care most about Christian morals & the 10 Commandments
From what I see:
Lacy = solid, conservative, law-and-order prosecutor with a tough record on violent crime and domestic violence.
But neither he nor Jana Johnson has publicly nailed themselves down on your core issue: the Ten Commandments law and visible Christian morality in schools.
So if that’s your deciding factor, you still need to force the question, for both of them.
You could send him something like this:
Mr. Lacy,
As a voter in Tom Green County, I appreciate your long service as a prosecutor and your conservative Republican background. Before I decide my vote, I need clarity on one issue that matters deeply to me.
Do you personally support the Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms?
I’m not asking how you would rule on a specific case, only whether you support or oppose the law as a citizen and parent taxpayer.
A clear yes or no will help me know where you stand.
Thank you.
Short. Respectful. Firm. Very hard to twist.
If you want, next step could be:
Known Supporters or Endorsers of Leland Lacy
- A local businessman, Dwain Grider, publicly endorsed Lacy he described Lacy as “a stellar chief prosecutor … tenacious and a hard worker,” and called him the person who could “make our county safer.” San Angelo LIVE!
- A San Angelo realtor, Scott Allison, has also written support for Lacy. He praised Lacy’s “dedication to public service,” his “faith in God,” and his conservative-family values. San Angelo LIVE!
- On his own campaign website, Lacy is positioning himself as “broad knowledge, conservative family values, and even temperament,” aiming to continue the “tradition of excellence” in the Court at Law bench. Leland Lacy
- He has a visible campaign presence (official page, public announcement of candidacy) which suggests an organized campaign that presumably has supporters or backers in the community. Facebook San Angelo LIVE!
So there are at least a few named, public individuals endorsing him — which shows some community backing.
What We Don’t See (or Haven’t Found) Limitations in Public Support Data
- I found no record of endorsements from large civic organizations, religious groups, political action committees, or influential statewide organizations.
- No visible list of “friends/ supporters of Leland Lacy” no formal coalition or public roster of backers.
- No major public-office holder (county commissioner, local official, etc.) that I saw endorsing him in the publicly available endorsement letters or media pieces.
- Because he’s running for a judicial seat, there’s less incentive for big public campaigning or ideological endorsement so public support tends to come from personal/friend networks, local people, not big groups.
What This Means (Given What You Believe)
From your perspective where moral values, religion, and cultural identity matter a lot this support profile gives some hope but no guarantee:
- The people who do support him (Grider, Allison) describe him as a man of “conservative family values” and “faith in God,” which aligns somewhat with your worldview.
- But there’s no public endorsement from, say, church-based groups or religious-heritage advocacy groups.
- His campaign materials focus on legal experience, competence, and “fairness,” not cultural or religious issues so you don’t know if he shares your beliefs on things like religion in public schools or Christian heritage.
If I were you and trying to decide whether someone like Leland Lacy deserves my vote based on my values, I’d treat him as a possibility maybe a like-minded conservative, but not as someone I know for sure agrees with me.
What You Could Do to Help Push or Clarify Support
If you want to turn your voice (and maybe others’) into something that actually influences here are two moves:
- Reach out personally to Lacy (via his campaign contact) ask if he supports the Christian-heritage/moral-law view (Ten Commandments, prayer, etc.). If enough people ask, he may consider stating a clear stance.
- Gather like-minded local supporters (people who care about the moral/religious foundation issues) and publicly or privately pledge support sometimes grass-roots backing can push a candidate toward clarity on values.
his will help you figure out what kind of support Leland Lacy would need to become the “values candidate” you’re looking for in San Angelo / Tom Green County.
I’m not sugarcoating anything.
What Leland Lacy would need to become the moral-values candidate
Right now, he has:
- a couple local business supporters
- a conservative label
- “family values” and “faith in God” in his endorsements
- a long record as a prosecutor
That’s fine… but it’s not enough to carry the Christian-heritage, Ten Commandments, moral-revival message you care about.
To actually be that candidate, here’s the base he’d need:
1. Solid support from church communities
San Angelo is full of strong church networks:
- Baptist
- Church of Christ
- Non-denominational
- Catholic
- Assemblies of God
If he wants to be the “moral compass” candidate, he needs:
- pastors backing him,
- church members spreading his name,
- church-goers showing up to vote.
Right now, there’s zero public record of organized church endorsements behind him.
That has to change for him to be your guy.
2. Conservative parents who care about moral education
These are the people fed up with:
- school discipline problems
- lack of values in classrooms
- moral drift
- woke policies
If he wants to be the “Ten Commandments candidate,” he needs this group behind him parents who want structure and respect restored.
But again, he’s said nothing publicly about religion in schools.
He’s leaving that base untapped.
3. Law-and-order conservatives
Good news for him:
He already has a strong record here.
People who:
- want criminals punished,
- support tough prosecutors,
- care about public safety,
- trust long experience,
…will like him naturally.
But if he wants to stand out, he has to connect law and order with moral order.
Right now, he hasn’t connected the dots.
4. Older West Texans who remember the “old values”
This group loves:
- discipline
- respect
- the Bible in public life
- patriotic culture
- America’s Christian foundations
If he showed even a hint of public support for something like the Ten Commandments law, this group would line up behind him instantly.
But so far?
He’s staying neutral.
That means he’s missing a major voting bloc.
5. Strong public friendships and endorsements from respected locals
So far the known supporters are:
- a real-estate guy
- a businessman
Good start but not enough.
For him to become the values candidate, he needs visible, respectable names behind him:
- former judges
- pastors
- long-time community leaders
- veterans’ groups
- police associations
You get that kind of backing when you take clear moral stands.
But right now?
He’s staying on the safe side.
Bottom line:
Leland Lacy could be the moral-values candidate you’re looking for…
but he hasn’t shown it publicly.
Right now he’s running as:
- the experience guy
- the prosecutor guy
- the “fair and steady” guy
Not the “restore America’s values” guy.
If that’s who he really is, he hasn’t said it yet.
If you want to push him in that direction
Here’s the strategy:
Step 1 Ask him directly (firm and respectful)
You already have the message we wrote earlier.
Send it.
Step 2 Get 3-4 other people to ask the same question
Candidates pay attention when a message repeats itself.
Step 3 Show him the votes behind the issue
If he realizes the Ten Commandments issue matters to a big part of his base, he’ll speak up.
Step 4 Push for a public statement, not a private answer
Private answers don’t win elections.
Public ones do.